How to Apply for Social Assistance in Yukon

The short answer

Social Assistance in Yukon is a last-resort program run by the Government of Yukon's Department of Health and Social Services, and it is assessed one month at a time. You may be eligible if you live in the Yukon and you do not have enough money to meet your basic needs. If you are approved, your benefit amount is based on your needs, and payments start once your eligibility is confirmed. But approval is not the end of the process: you must apply every month to keep receiving assistance, by submitting the monthly application form with the documents it asks for.

This guide covers process only. It gives no benefit dollar amounts, because the Yukon.ca page publishes no amounts, and no eligibility advice beyond the conditions the page itself states.

Who the program is for

You may be eligible if all of these fit, according to Government of Yukon, Apply for social assistance:

• You live in the Yukon.
• You do not have enough money to meet your basic needs.
• Your partner or spouse does not make enough money to meet your basic needs.
• You do not have a First Nation Status Number, or the last working person in your relationship does not have a First Nation Status Number.

You may not be eligible if you have enough money to meet your basic needs, if your partner or spouse has enough money to meet both of your basic needs, if you are visiting the Yukon, or if you are taking a post-secondary program. If you are eligible for a similar government support program, you must use that first.

If you or the last working person in your relationship has a First Nation Status Number, ask for help from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) or your local First Nation's office instead. That route is separate from the Yukon program.

Step 1: Contact Health and Social Services

There is no online application form for Social Assistance on the Yukon.ca page. Start by contacting the Department of Health and Social Services: phone 867-667-5674, toll-free 1-800-661-0408 extension 5674, or in person at 3168 3rd Avenue in Whitehorse, Yukon. Those contact details are published on the department's own Yukon.ca pages.

Step 2: What happens after you apply

If you are approved, according to Government of Yukon, Apply for social assistance:

• You will receive written notice of the decision.
• Your benefit amount is based on your needs.
• Your payments will start once your eligibility is confirmed.

If you disagree with a decision, you can ask for a review.

Step 3: Apply every month to keep receiving assistance

This is the part of the program that catches people out. Your eligibility for ongoing assistance is assessed each month, and you apply for assistance by submitting your monthly application form along with any required documentation. The documents can include:

• Rent receipts.
• Utility bills.
• Pay stubs.
• Bank statements.
• Proof of job search, if required.
• Proof of child support or maintenance, if required.

You can submit your monthly report one month before your regular assistance cheque. The page's own table gives the deadline for each month of assistance, and the income period each report must cover:

If you submit your monthly report after the 15th of the month, you may receive your cheque late. Note that the table as published lists the December deadline simply as November, with no day given — confirm the exact day with your social worker rather than guessing.

Step 4: Keep your eligibility

To receive and keep assistance, you must, according to Government of Yukon, Apply for social assistance:

• Submit your monthly application form.
• Try to support yourself where possible.
• Apply for other benefits you may qualify for.
• Provide accurate information and documents.
• Report changes right away.
• Stay in the Yukon unless you have approved medical travel or treatment.
• Follow program rules.

If you are able to work, you must look for paid work. You can still receive support for your basic needs while you work, and your social worker can help you find a job or access employment supports. You can volunteer, but volunteering does not replace looking for paid work. You may still be eligible for support while attending school — talk to your social worker to learn what is available.

What this guide could not verify

The Yukon.ca page publishes no benefit amounts, so this guide states none — do not rely on a dollar figure from an older article. The same page does not state a first-application intake procedure, a list of documents to bring to a first appointment, office hours, or how long it takes from applying to receiving a first payment, so this guide states none of those either; confirm them with Health and Social Services at 867-667-5674 before you go. The December monthly-report deadline is published as "November" with no day given, so confirm the exact day with your social worker.

Related guides:

• How to Apply for Saskatchewan Income Support — Saskatchewan's last-resort income program, for comparison with Yukon's monthly-assessed program.
• How to Apply for the Yukon Child Benefit — Yukon's child benefit, paid through the Canada Child Benefit.
• How to Get a Health Card in Yukon — Yukon health care coverage, a separate program from Social Assistance.
• How to Apply for the Canada Child Benefit — the federal child benefit, which Yukon families with children may also receive.
• How to Apply for BC Disability Assistance — British Columbia's disability assistance program, a separate program from general income assistance.

Sources

• Government of Yukon, Apply for social assistance — the eligibility conditions, who is not eligible, the First Nation Status Number route, the monthly application form and monthly reporting documents and deadlines, the maintain-eligibility conditions, and the right to ask for a review.
• Government of Yukon, Apply for a low-income senior's income supplement — the Health and Social Services phone number 867-667-5674, toll-free 1-800-661-0408 extension 5674, and the in-person office at 3168 3rd Avenue in Whitehorse.