I’m an adult and live with my parents. Can I get OW?
Beware of scams
People have been getting phone calls with a pre-recorded message telling them their Ontario Works account has been deleted.
This is a scam to trick you into sharing your personal information. If you get a call like that, hang up the phone. You can report these calls to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
Long delays for appeal hearings
If you're appealing a decision made by OW or ODSP in 2020, your appeal hearing may not happen for a long time. People report that they're getting hearing dates from the that are between 9 and 16 months in the future. We'll update this information as things change.
If you're 18 or older, you might be able to get from Ontario Works (OW) on your own. How living with your parents affects financial assistance from OW is complicated and depends on your situation.
This answer and next steps give basic information. A community legal clinic may be able to explain more fully how this will affect you.
To qualify for assistance on your own, you must be “financially independent”. See Step 1.
OW has rules about whether adults who live with their parents are:
- financially independent, or
- part of their parents' household. OW calls each household a “benefit unit”.
When OW includes an adult child in their parents’ household
OW includes an adult child who lives with their parents in the parents' household if the adult child:
- does not qualify for from the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), and
- is not “financially independent”.
Adult children who OW includes in their parents' household are called dependent adults.
