Case Stories
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
One Friday afternoon the Ombudsman’s office received a call from Mr. N. He was in a City of Toronto social services office in a state of crisis. He had been staying with a friend but owed four weeks’ rent. He had no money. He had no ID after losing his wallet. He was diabetic and had not had insulin in two days. The employee had told him he could not get anything without identification.
In this case the Ombudsman had to act fast. Staff told Mr. N to phone his doctor and ask him to fax a note to the city office, confirming he had diabetes. This would let him get insulin. Putting Mr. N on hold, the staff then spoke to the city employee.
Result: In a call back the following Monday, the Ombudsman learned the city staff had given Mr. N money, helped him with an application for a birth certificate and gave him information on how to get his insulin. He would get a cheque for the next month.
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