1. Figure out if you’re eligible

The rules about who can qualify for help are very strict. To get most kinds of help from the Victim Quick Response Program+ (VQRP+), you must:

• be a victim of a violent crime that took place in Ontario
• live in Ontario
• report the crime
• show that you have no money to pay for the expenses and that there are no publicly-funded programs that can meet your needs

Types of violent crimes

Some examples of a violent crime include:

• serious assaults
• sexual abuse
• criminal harassment
• intimate partner violence

You can apply if the crime happened to you, to someone in your immediate family, or if you witnessed the crime.

If you're under 16 years old, your parent or guardian can apply for you.

Report the crime

You must report the crime to the police.

But if you're the victim of child abuse, you can report the crime to a child protection agency.

If you're the victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, criminal harassment, elder abuse, or a hate crime, you can report the crime to a community victim support agency such as:

• a domestic violence shelter
• a sexual assault centre
• a hospital
• a community agency

There are very strict rules about who can qualify for help. For example, if an adult victim of childhood sexual assault reported the crime more than 90 days after the assault happened, they won't qualify.

You also can't get help from VQRP+ if you were charged with a crime related to your assault. For example, in cases of intimate partner violence, both partners are sometimes charged by the police. In that case, neither person can get help from VQRP+.

No money

When you apply to the VQRP+, you'll be asked to sign a service agreement to say that:

• you have no money or insurance to pay the expenses that you're asking the VQRP+ to cover, and
• there are no publicly funded programs that can meet your needs.

The VQRP+ should be used when you have no other options.

When you apply through your local service delivery organization, they will send you the service agreement to sign and return. They won't ask you for any other proof that you can't afford the expenses you're asking the VQRP+ to cover.