A Yukon resident with a severely compromised immune system says she’s been forced to live in her vehicle after her social assistance cheques were halted at the beginning of June.

“They have now denied me any kind of social assistance for this whole month and everything I own is locked in the Riverview Hotel,” Tania Jordanova told the Star in an interview Thursday afternoon.

“I have no medication, I have no way into town.”

Jordanova had already been on social assistance for several months when the support was cut off. 

It was halted because she couldn’t verify that her bank account had been closed earlier this year. Her identification had been stolen, making it difficult to acquire any documentation from the bank.

Her social worker first informed her of the required documentation on April 27.

In an email to her social worker dated May 27 and obtained by the Star, Jordanova explained she was having problems verifying the closed account.

“I’ve tried twice now and both times I was told that I can’t validate who I am and therefore they can’t provide me confirmation that I don’t have any accounts,” Jordanova wrote on May 27.

“I can’t keep going back and forth; my health is still pretty crappy. I need my support, as I need to eat and buy my over-the-counter meds.”

Her social worker responded that while he was sympathetic, he couldn’t proceed on her June budget without documentation from the bank.

The social worker contacted the bank in question and told Jordanova that the bank would verify her identity without ID if the teller recognized her.

Jordanova responded that she had visited the bank several times, in spite of medical isolation orders, and the bank was unable to provide her with the documentation.

Up to this point, Jordanova had been staying at the Riverview Hotel.

She left the hotel when it became apparent her funding was not going to come through at the end of May. She didn’t have a way of removing her belongings, so she left them in her hotel room.

“I had no way to pay for my room, and I was under the impression it was going to work itself out,” Jordanova told the Star.

On June 8, her social worker suggested via email that she seek a private room at the Whitehorse Emergency Shelter.

Jordanova has Addison’s, a rare autoimmune disease, as well as other conditions making it extremely unsafe to share a space with other people, especially during a pandemic.

She said her social worker was aware of this when they made the recommendation to go to the shelter.

“It doesn’t matter about having my own room; I can’t be there,” Jordanova said.

“My system is beyond compromised. I have to take shots; I have no immune system.”

With nowhere else to safely go, Jordanova has spent the last two weeks living in her car without funds to purchase food or medication.

In that time, her social worker has repeated that the Yukon government requires bank documentation before she can receive funding.

“All this is literally over $700,” Jordanova said.

“I just wanted my support and to be able to go get my belongings and medication.”

If she wasn’t able to receive social assistance, Jordanova considered returning to her hometown of Nanaimo, B.C., and requested repatriation funding with an itemized list of costs the trip would entail.

Her social worker responded that without valid identification, her car would most likely be seized at the B.C. border.

On Wednesday, Jordanova requested a different social worker.

She received a response from a supervisor from Income Support Services that day.

“I have reviewed your request for a new supervisor, unfortunately, there is no reason for us to assign a new work (sic) to your case,” said the supervisor.

“Your social worker has done everything that he can.”

In that email, the supervisor said she had been afforded “ample time” to obtain the bank documentation, offered to issue her a drug card for medication, and suggested again that she was welcome to use the emergency shelter.

Jordanova, who holds a Masters in Addictions and Mental Health, worked previously as a nurse in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

She has a long professional history of advocating for vulnerable people, and said she’s never seen so many barriers to assistance over something as simple as a bank letter.

“I’m a really good advocate for others, but when it comes to advocating for myself, I suck,” Jordanova said.

She said her experience with Social Services has been akin to bullying.

“They don’t just make you feel like you should grovel, they belittled me to the point where I had to pass the phone to Nick, because I was on the verge of a panic attack.”

Nick Turner, Jordanova’s best friend of 35 years, has acted as an advocate for her as poor health and high stress levels have made it difficult for her to advocate for herself.

Turner told the Star he’s been shocked by Social Services’ treatment of Jordanova’s situation.

“I’ve worked with Social Services for a while, and their job description is to take down barriers, not create barriers,” Turner said.

“She just wants to go home now, and even that’s not going to be able to happen; she has no idea what to do.”

Turner said he’s been concerned for Jordanova’s safety as she’s gone into the bank several times trying to procure the documentation she needs.

“It compromises her every single time she goes out in public, until she gets those shots,” Turner said.

He was surprised at what seemed like willful ignorance about Jordanova’s condition at Social Services, as their expectation seemed to be that Jordanova should repeatedly be in public spaces.

“Either the education isn’t there, or they don’t care enough to look into it,” Turner said.

“They’re not caring for the person they’re supposed to be caring for; they’re creating barriers, not taking them down, and that’s the worst thing the government could ever do, especially in this time.”

Jordanova said that, ideally, Social Services would have helped her procure some identification or get back home to B.C. Instead, she feels victimized by the system and hopes her story will serve as a warning to others.

“I want to make one thing clear: she’s not out trying to get a hand-out,” Turner said.

“She’s at the point where the next person in the system needs to be aware of this.

“A weaker person, mentally, this could put them over the edge. This can’t happen to people; this isn’t right.”

Clarissa Wall, a spokesperson for Health and Social Services, told the Star in an email today that most social assistance clients must reapply and are reassessed for eligibility monthly. This means reviewing bank statements, pay stubs and financial information.

“If irregularities are found or suspected for a new applicant or a client already receiving social assistance, the social worker will work with the client to resolve the issue,” Wall wrote.

“Our social workers work diligently to help clients overcome any barriers they may face during this process. Social workers also work with clients to try to address any client concerns directly.”

Wall said that clients of Social Services are encouraged to speak with a supervisor if they have concerns about their social worker.

“As a matter of policy, we always try to help clients get ID when they don’t have any,” Wall added.