Sexual and Domestic Violence Survivors Fund (Survivors Fund)

This is a member-driven fund that came out of members’ needs, and was specifically modeled on the CUPE 3903 Sexual Assault Survivor Fund.

Who is eligible to apply to the fund?

Each year of the Survivors Fund (1 September – 31 August), anyone who meets the following criteria is eligible to apply:

1. You have secured at least 1 hour of Unit 1 work by the time the application is made, or have a guaranteed subsequent appointment.
2. You are a survivor of sexual and/or domestic violence.

What expenses are eligible for reimbursement?

Understanding that violence can impact many areas of life, the fund deliberately does not define all eligible expenses. Members are invited to submit claims for any expenses they consider eligible.

Examples of eligible expenses include:

1. Legal fees.
2. Related counselling fees in excess of what is covered by Green Shield.
3. Administrative fees associated with change of name ($137), re-issuing of passport ($120 for the 5yr, $160 for the 10yr), etc.
4. Related medical procedures not covered by Green Shield(e.g., STI tests, emergency dental procedures, laser treatment to remove visible signs of violence, etc.), and related transportation costs.
5. Safety costs, including lock changes, hair cuts, new phone numbers, secure transportation, etc.
6. Emergency relocation to secure safe housing, including moving fees, first and last month’s rent, hotel stays, etc.

Expenses incurred in the fund year (1 September – 31 August) will be eligible for reimbursement.

How much money will I get?

The fund has been allocated $25,000 per year. Each applicant has yearly cap of $5,000 and a lifetime cap of $15,000 per fund.

The fund year spans from 1 September to 31 August.

If there are monies left over after the fund has reimbursed all eligible claims, the remainder of the monies will be reallocated to Group B of the SWAF for that year.

When will I get my money?

Equity Fund review meetings are scheduled to take place monthly.

For your application to be considered at these meetings, it must be received at least one day in advance. We will do our best to accommodate last-minute applications, but this cannot be guaranteed.

We aim to mail disbursement cheques to eligible applicants within two weeks of approval.

How will disbursement decisions be made?

Applications will be reviewed and eligibility decisions made on a case-by-case basis by the Equity Funds Committee. The Equity Funds Committee is comprised of the Secretary-Treasurer, the Chair (or designate), the Vice-Presidents of any Unit with Equity Funds, and two members per Equity Fund to represent the relevant constituencies, to be appointed by the Executive Committee after a call for applications.

The Secretary-Treasurer chairs meetings of the Equity Funds Committee, presenting an anonymized and paraphrased version of each application to the committee for review. No other officer or member of the Local has access to Equity Fund applications.

How do I apply?

If you have worked 1+ hour since 1 September of the fund year and once the database has been updated with payroll information, the application form will be available online and accessible through the Union’s website. To find the application, login to the Member Portal (found by scrolling up to the top right of this page), and select the ‘Forms’ tab.

A complete application for the fund will include:

1. Political membership — you must have signed a membership card or filled out a Membership Application Form. (If you do not have a CUPE No. (found on the left-hand side of the Portal home page), then you have yet to gain political membership. To do so, select the ‘Forms’ tab and fill out the Membership Application Form. Note that processing membership applications can take up to one hour.
2. The Survivors Fund Application Form.
3. Supporting documentation — this documentation should include a statement outlining the need for which funding is being requested, and any other supporting documentation you may have (receipts, invoices, letters of support, etc.).

You will receive an automatic confirmation email for each application you submit. Note that if you do not receive a confirmation email, you did not successfully submit the application. If you experience any issues during the application process, please see the Fund Application FAQ for answers to commonly asked questions.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. The fund year is 1 September – 31 August. The fund cap per person per year resets every year.

Accessing healthcare and benefits

CUPE 3902, Unit 1 members’ protections under the Collective Agreement (CA) for Survivors:

• one month’s paid leave for survivors (p. 58)
• four month’s paid “Surgery, Hospitalization, and Serious Illness” leave which can be used for mental-health purposes (p. 57)
• Sexual violence and harassment protections (pp. 9-11)
• Letter of Understanding on Sexual Violence (p. 85)

CUPE 3902, Unit 1 members’ access to relevant healthcare:

• Mental health care (counselling/MSW/social worker, incl. psychotherapy): $2500/year under top-up plan + $500 under base plan (total: $3000)
• Basic dental: $1350/year
• Glasses/contact lenses/laser eye surgery: $225/year
• Family HCSA: $600/year
• Drug max: $15K/year

Health plan combined max: $15K/year