Toilet floods & dress code violations

Challenge card: A toilet flood has ruined most of your clothes. You don't have the $ for laundry. Spend a day your most well-worn clothing.

I dug out my summer camp sweater from 2006 (I am not a hoarder, it has sentimental meaning!) and my old jeans and walked to work today. My outfit absolutely violated the dress code at my workplace, where jeans and relaxed clothing are only really allowed with manager permission or on our 'dress down Fridays'. (Staff can pitch in $2 to a local charity in order to get their denim on for the day. Consider giving it a try if you aren't already; it's an easy way for your workplace to support a local charity together 😀 ).

I work in an office and today I didn't have any video conferences. Really only a few of my coworkers and members of the public saw me in my older clothing. If I were working in a service job, a job that required a lot of interaction with members of the public, or a job that required me to wear a uniform this challenge would have been a struggle. I'm assuming that my uniform would be among the clothing that was ruined in the flood. Hopefully I'd have a supportive supervisor at work whom I could call and work through the issue with. Perhaps they have spare uniforms, or maybe I could have the day off to deal with the flood, handwash or soak a few of my clothes in the bathtub, or figure out a free way to get my laundry done.

I don't really think that this challenge card would be a one day issue. I'd wear my older clothes to work, but then how will I eventually wash everything if I don't have enough money? (Check out Sam's blog about the ridiculous cost of doing laundry at the laundry mat in town.) It would likely be a better option to chuck the clothes that have been ruined and visit Women's Place Kenora, the Salvation Army (currently under renovations), Jubilee Church, Fellowship Centre or Minto Parent Child Resource Centre to see if they have donated clothing that I can use to piece together a new wardrobe AND if they have any cleaning products to help me to clean up any mess from the flood.

Challenge card: You received a rebate in the mail. $2.00.

I received this challenge card on Sunday but carried it over to today when I could make a phone call to the OW case worker at Kenora District Services Board (KDSB). Here's what I found out about my rebate and my dead microwave:

• Not everyone on OW has a bank account, some receive their funds as a cheque that then needs to be cashed at a 'quick cash' type business. These businesses most often take a cut of the cheque amount as a fee or service charge. If I didn't have a bank account, I'm not sure what my rebate cheque would look like after cashing it through a quick cash service? Perhaps with an amount as small as $2 I'd be lucky and they would wave the service charge. Reporting of any rebates or winnings was recommended by the OW case worker that I spoke with so I would need to include my rebate on my monthly income reporting statement.
• OW discretionary benefits help individuals to repair or replace essential appliances such as fridges and stoves. However, a microwave is considered a luxury item and is not covered under these benefits. I would be out of luck or searching for a used or very cheap microwave to replace mine. And then I would need to carry it home from wherever I get it.

It's amazing how much I can feel that people around me want to help me with the challenge - lots of love and support. I realize that if I were in a situation where I was really struggling financially I would have a lot of different people and communities within Kenora to turn to. I can't even begin to imagine how lonely it would feel to have no one to turn to and nowhere to go.

Just a note, Northwestern Health Unit's harm reduction nurses save up mini toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, soap), deodorant, toothbrushes, and pads and tampons for clients that they see on- or off-site through the Needle Exchange Program and their outreach programming. (Thank you to my coworker for sharing this info!) This seems to be the case for other service providers as well; they try their best to stock up on resources that they can offer to anyone in need, no questions asked.