Yahoo Finance Windsor man richer for surrendering finances
Doug Lisqum says his life was horrible before he voluntarily handed over his finances to Family Services Windsor-Essex.
The not-for-profit organization helps people with low incomes manage their money and find housing.
Four years ago, Lisqum came to the agency to file his taxes.
"I was lucky if I got an hour-a-night sleep," he said. "I was worried all the time. Every time the phone rang, it was a bill collector."
Filing taxes is becoming the key strategy for organizations looking to lift people out of poverty. The challenge is convincing low-income households to actually do their taxes, since that demographic has the lowest filing rate.
At risk of missing out of benefits
Families, in particular, are at risk of missing out on thousands of dollars in benefits and credits that are only accessed by completing a tax return.
Lisqum has filed his income tax since he was 16, but when he filed them with Family Services he agreed to enroll in the Voluntary Trusteeship Program.
That decision was a defining moment in his life.
"It's stress relief. It's comforting to know I'm able to go to the bank and I do have some money in there, for small things," he said. "It cheers me up. I can go to the store and get a loaf of bread, without worrying if I have enough in the account."
The Voluntary Trusteeship Program assigned Lisqum a trustee, who pays all of his bills and budgets his money so he can make it through the month. All of his income goes to the program.
"I don't get paperwork in the mail, no bills in the mail," he said.
And that means phone calls from collectors have gone silent.
"Life has changed 360 [degrees]. I eat better, I sleep, I'm not worried looking over my shoulders all the time, no phone calls."
There are 160 people in the Voluntary Trustee Program.
Many people aren't filing income tax
Family Services Windsor-Essex is one of the few agencies to file income tax returns throughout the year.
So far, they have helped 3,923 people file their 2015 taxes, and 100 of those were in October.
"Many of the folks that come in here to get assistance with their taxes, haven't filed for many years," said Joyce Zuk, Executive Director, Family Services Windsor-Essex. "Our volunteers will go back as far as seven-to-10 years and complete tax returns."
The problem is people don't know they can get money back, says Zuk.
"They think perhaps because they aren't working or they work infrequently and they perhaps aren't sure about the amount of taxes that they've paid that they will receive nothing back," she said.
By not filing income tax, people with low incomes are not gaining access to services that would help them.
For people to receive Ontario Works, Disability Supports Program, or those who are living in geared to income housing, their income is verified by their annual assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency.
"For those folks, it's really critical that they do file their taxes so they can maintain their housing or so they can maintain their Ontario Works," she said.
