A new federal investment aimed at helping residents navigate mounting affordability pressures will expand financial empowerment services in Windsor-Essex over the next three years. Family Services Windsor-Essex (FSWE) announced Monday it will receive $700,000 through Prosper Canada’s Resilient Futures initiative, funded by Employment and Social Development Canada. The funding will support free services including tax filing assistance, benefits access support, financial coaching and financial education. Executive director Ciara Holmes said more residents are turning to the agency for help as rising costs continue to strain household budgets. “Affordability is one of the most taxing things that families across Windsor-Essex are facing right now,” Holmes said. “Anything that we can do, especially through funding initiatives like this, to support families with accessing that additional income through benefits, that’s really where we’re finding a key difference.” Holmes said the funding will allow the agency to add staffing resources to support people who may not traditionally qualify for existing low-income programs, but are still struggling financially. She said staff had noticed an increase in calls from residents seeking help outside the agency’s typical eligibility requirements. “Not necessarily low income, but struggling financially,” Holmes said. The agency estimates the expanded program will help approximately 6,000 individuals annually with tax filing, along with hundreds more through financial coaching, benefits access support and financial education programs. Holmes said many residents may be missing out on significant amounts of money simply because they are not filing taxes or accessing benefits they qualify for. “There’s probably hundreds of thousands of dollars being left on the table,” she said. “Either the system is a little bit too complicated for them or they’re not filing their taxes and they don’t understand or appreciate that they are eligible for those additional income benefits or tax credits.” Adam Fair, vice-president of strategy and development with Prosper Canada, said the issue extends across the country. “Best estimates are that $2 billion gets left on the table every year because people are having trouble filing their taxes,” Fair said. He said some residents can miss out on life-changing financial supports. “If you’re a single mother and you’re not filing your taxes, you’re probably foregoing close to 50 per cent of your income,” Fair said. “Some people file 10 years back and they could see $20,000. That can be life changing for them.” The funding announcement comes as many residents continue grappling with higher grocery, housing and fuel costs. “I get letters to my office every single day — people who are worried about the economy, people worried about even putting food on their table,” said Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore MP Kathy Borrelli. Borrelli said uncertainty surrounding tariffs and industrial jobs in Windsor-Essex has added to financial anxiety in the region. “Even people just getting really worried about how they’re going to pay their bills if they lose their job,” she said. Residents across the city echoed those concerns. “Groceries right now, it’s getting so expensive,” said Windsor resident Norms Bonilla. “We cannot afford it anymore.” Rose Gebrael said her family has changed spending habits to cope with rising costs. “Shopping is expensive. Cheque is not enough,” she said. “Whatever I want to order, I make at home. I’m not ordering anymore.” Holmes said the initiative is also intended to help prevent housing loss by connecting people with available income supports before they reach a crisis point. “One of the things that we do here at Family Services is housing and homelessness outreach,” Holmes said. “We want to start looking a little more upstream to see if there’s an opportunity for us to really reduce the amount of people that are impacted by homelessness.”
