During pandemics, historically marginalized and minoritized individuals suffer disproportionately. This guide is for health and social care providers supporting people exposed to social risks that impact health, caused or exacerbated by COVID-19. It is intended as guidance and should not replace clinical judgement.
These risks are in 5 key areas:
- Paying for basic expenses
- Paying for food
- Paying for housing
- Isolation
- Violence
Click below to get started:
Ask your patients/clients
Health and social care providers should consider these key social determinants of health as they support patients/clients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Suggested script
“COVID-19 is impacting some people more than others. We are checking in on many of our patients/clients about issues that are important for health and well-being, so we can help people get the assistance they need.“
Will you or your household find it hard to pay for basic expenses in the next 4 weeks?
Families with children face specific challenges and have access to specific benefits during COVID-19.
Yes
The following are some resources and supports that may be helpful:
If the patient/client has stopped working because of COVID-19
Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)
- Provides $500 a week for up to 16 weeks for workers who have lost income due to COVID-19 (including self-employed and contract workers).
- Click here for more information and application process.
-
Or call: 1-800-959-2019 or 1-800-959-2041.
If the patient/client is on Ontario Disability Support Program/Ontario Works
Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program (OW/ODSP) Extended Emergency Benefit (for those on social assistance)
- Provides $100 a month for single individuals and $200 a month for families for COVID-related needs (e.g. food, cleaning supplies, transportation, clothing) for May-July. This is automatically granted to those who received the one-time Emergency Benefit in March/April.
Remind your patient/client to contact their OW/ODSP caseworker if they are not already receiving these funds.
If the patient/client hasn’t filled out and sent in their tax forms
Free tax clinics
- Through the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program, community organizations host free tax clinics where volunteers file tax returns for eligible people.
- Click here to learn more.
Financial support for those caring for children
Canada Child Benefit (CCB) and Ontario Child Benefit (OCB)
- Provide extra monthly funding for each child in your family, up to a monthly maximum of $553.25 for each child under 6 years of age or $466.83 for older children (CCB) and additional $120 for low – and moderate-income families (OCB).
Remind your patient/client to complete their tax returns.
Support For Families
- The Ontario Government is providing a one-time supplement to help families with children age 0-12 ($200) or 0-21 with special needs ($250).
- If you have already successfully applied to the Support for Parents program (income supplement for strike days) and received payment through direct deposit, you are automatically eligible for the Support for Families program and do not need to apply.
- Click here for more information and application process.
Childcare options
Childcare Canada
- Childcare Canada provides updated statuses of Child Care and COVID-19 in Canada across the province.
- Click here to view the resource.
Additional resources
Prosper Canada – Financial Relief Navigator
- Provides up-to-date, personalized information about how one can raise their income or lower their expenses during COVID-19.
- Click here to visit the website.
Financial Services
- Programs that provide people in financial need with basic income support and temporary assistance for urgent and unexpected financial events, grouped by region.
- Click here to visit CEP’s Local Services Resource > Financial Services.
No
Proceed to next question below.
Is there a risk you or your household won’t have food or be able to pay for food in the next 4 weeks?
Yes
The following are some resources and supports that may be helpful:
Food resources
Food Banks and Meal Delivery Services
- Up-to-date information on food banks, delivery and take-away meals, grouped by region.
- Click here to visit CEP’s Local Services Resource > Food.
Ontario Community Services Association with Meals on Wheels
- The Ontario Community Services Association is working with Meals on Wheels and other partners to help people with delivery of food and essential supplies.
- Click here for more information.
No
Proceed to next question below.
Are you currently homeless or at risk of losing your housing in the next 4 weeks?
Yes
The following are some resources and supports that may be helpful:
If the patient/client is homeless
Shelters
- Up-to-date information on shelters, grouped by region.
- Click here to visit CEP’s Local Services Resource > Housing, shelters.
If the patient/client is at risk of losing their housing
Tribunals Ontario – Landlord and Tenant Board
- The Landlord and Tenant Board has suspended “all hearings related to eviction applications” and “the issuance of eviction orders, unless the matter relates to an urgent issue such as an illegal act or serious impairment of safety.” Even if a landlord gives written notice, the tenant doesn’t have to move out. The landlord must first get an order to end the tenancy from the Landlord and Tenant Board Opens – this usually includes a hearing where the tenant can present concerns.
- Click here for more information.
Housing Referral and Support
- Housing referral and support services for individuals and families with low and moderate incomes, grouped by region.
- Click here to visit CEP’s Local Services Resource > Housing, shelters.
No
Proceed to next question below.
Are you alone, and do not have family/friends who can help you during this time?
Yes
The following are some resources and supports that may be helpful:
If the patient/client is an older adult
Helplines for Seniors
- Confidential telephone support is available to seniors and their caregivers in moments of crisis or loneliness, grouped by region.
- Click here to visit CEP’s Local Services Resources > Helplines for Seniors.
No
Proceed to next question below.
Do you have concerns about your (or your children’s) physical safety?
Caution if asking in an environment where an abuser could overhear.
Yes
The following are some resources and supports that may be helpful:
If the patient/client is in immediate danger
911
- If patient/client is in immediate danger, call 911 or advise them to go to the nearest emergency room.
If the patient/client is a woman experiencing violence or safety issues
Assaulted Women’s Helpline
- Provides 24/7 support to access Violence Against Women (VAW) shelters, counseling, and other resources for women, non-binary, and trans individuals.
- Click here to visit their website for more information or call 416-863-0511 or text #SAFE (#7233) (support in over 200 languages by phone).
Talk4Healing
- Free and culturally safe telephone help line for Indigenous women living in Ontario.
- Talk4Healing provides 24/7 services in English, Ojibway, Oji-Cree and Cree.
- Click here to visit their website for more information or call 1-855-554-HEAL (4325).
Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic
- Specialized clinic for women experiencing violence, which offers legal help, counselling and information. They offer language interpretation and video remote interpreting through a Deaf interpreter.
- Click here to visit their website for more information or call 416-323-9149 x 234.
If the patient/client is a senior experiencing violence or safety issues
Seniors Safety Line (SSL)
- Provides counseling and safety planning support for older adults who are abused or at-risk of abuse.
- Family members and service providers can also call for information about community services.
- Click here to visit their website for more information or call 1-866-299-1011.
If the patient/client is a man, non-binary or trans person experiencing violence or safety issues
1 in 6 Men’s Helpline Chat
- Provides 24/7 support to men, non-binary, and trans individuals experiencing sexual abuse or assault.
- Use the online chat to access counselling, support, and other resources.
- Click here to visit their website.
No
Proceed to Goal-setting and follow-ups below.
Additional resources for vulnerable populations
Thehealthline is a province-wide compilation of local health and community services, providing easy access to reliable data and empowering patients and healthcare providers to find the services they need close to home. In order to ensure patients and healthcare providers have access to the most up-to-date information about service availability and service changes during the COVID-19 public health emergency, the CEP and thehealthline have worked together to update this information for select priority services, by region. Priority health and community services include assistance for isolated people, financial services, mental health services, pharmacies, diagnostic centres, laboratories and more.
Provides free and confidential health services information for people experiencing problems with alcohol and drugs, mental illness and/or gambling. Also provides connections to local services/supports. Visit www.connexontario.ca or call 1-866-531-2600 (support in over 170 languages by phone).
Upstream Lab COVID-19 Social Resource Connector
See Upstream Lab for a list of resources and a tool to choose the right resource for your patient/client.
Community Legal Clinics (Legal Aid Ontario)
Provide free legal advice for a variety of concerns (e.g. housing, family law, immigrant and refugee cases).
Provides reliable and practical information online for common legal problems.
A social history tool using the IF-IT-HELPS mnemonic
This tool is designed as a reference, teaching and practice tool to assist in performing a social history in the context of healthcare provision. It is intended as a guide for assessment and intervention, as opposed to a checklist.
This tool directs providers to use key questions to assess their patients’ living situations and current benefits and includes links to key government and community resources to support positive interventions.
Goal-setting and follow-up plan
Goal setting
Work with your patient/client to develop realistic treatment goals. Daily achievable SMART goals are:
Specific (simple, sensible, significant)
Measurable (meaningful, motivating)
Achievable (agreed, attainable)
Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based)
Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive)
Follow-up plan
Developing a clear follow-up plan with the patient/clients has been shown to dramatically increase the likelihood of connecting to a social resource.
Certain groups require more frequent follow-up:
- At imminent risk of losing housing.
- Newly homeless.
- Newly unemployed without income support or savings.
- Experiencing domestic violence.
- Experiencing any of the above with dependent children in the household.
- Unable to leave the home easily due to physical disability or frailty.
- Unable to access the internet and/or telephone.
Consider the following potential barriers as you co-develop a plan with your patient/client:
- Access to phone, internet, etc.
- Comfort with using technology, websites.
- Literacy, English proficiency and language needs.
- Ability to leave home if needed.
Framework and approach
Consider using the following best practices of crisis management, anti-oppressive/anti-racism principles, motivational interviewing, strength-based approaches and trauma-informed care for engaging in conversations with your patients/clients. The following principles for engaging in conversation with patients/clients are grounded in empathy and non-judgmental care and can help ensure your interaction is as client-centred as possible.
Scroll (left-right) for details
Acknowledgement and legal
The COVID-19 Social Care Guidance resource is a product of the Centre for Effective Practice (CEP), Upstream Lab and the Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM), University of Toronto. Permission to use, copy, and distribute this material for all non-commercial and research purposes is granted, provided the above disclaimer, this paragraph and appropriate citations appear in all copies, modifications, and distributions. The COVID-19 Social Care Guidance resource for commercial purposes or any modifications of the resource are subject to charge and must be negotiated with the CEP, Upstream Lab and the DFCM (Email: info@cep.health).
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