Volunteers are making tax season less taxing for patients

By Miguel Amante, Communications Coordinator

Penny Balberman sits at a desk in CAMH’s Queen Street Site Old Gym amidst a small mountain of paperwork, meticulously checking and double-checking the papers fanned out in front of her. For a good majority of people, this could be considered mind-numbing work, but she’s making an enormous contribution to the lives of patients.

As a Certified Professional Accountant, she has been volunteering at CAMH for over a decade, providing her expertise to guide patients through the tax return process and help them file their claims. The program is an extension of the work offered by the team at CAMH’s Social Determinants of Health Service, and has helped thousands of patients over the years.

Today, she’s one of 16 accountants who have volunteered their time to help others, paying it forward for around 200 patients. 
For Penny, volunteering is as much a personal courtesy as it is a professional one. “My late husband had Bipolar Disorder… and I do this as a way to give back.”

“I always make the time to come here. I also come once a month to do clinics for patients who don’t have the time to come to this session,” Penny says. And there’s a huge need for their services. Aside from the patients here today and the ‘blind returns’ (where the patient is unable to physically meet with an accountant) that are sent in, she says that she completes about 8 or 9 returns during her monthly visits.

While the stacks of paperwork may look daunting, the returns are generally easy to manage for these experienced accountants. “Patients are amazed at how easy it is – we make it easy for them, and I try to make it as anxiety free for them.”

For staff, coordinating the annual event is just as rewarding.

“Low income people with mental health and addictions issues face many challenges and barriers in their lives. To be able to remove one of those barriers is a huge benefit for our patients, and we’re very proud of the work that our volunteers and staff do for them,” says Social Worker Reena Sirohi. 

“I couldn’t afford $40 or so to pay to get my taxes done. This was a huge help for me,” says one patient, who chose to remain anonymous. Although he filed his taxes on his own years ago, today was his first experience with the tax clinic.

“It’s such a relief, just knowing that the tax clinic was coming up. It was nice to have somebody who has a lot of experience look into it, verify it, and also suggest tax credits I didn’t realize I could apply for.”

 “I couldn’t believe I got excited to do my taxes. I woke up this morning and thought to myself, ‘I can’t wait to do my taxes!’ – it’s the first time I’ve ever said it. I started to feel it as soon as I sat down with the accountant.”

“I’ve been coming here every year since 2013,” says another patient. “Like most Canadians, you gotta do this because if you don’t, you might have issues with the government later on… and I don’t want that.” Because of this, this patient makes it a point to do their taxes every year, and comes prepared.

Doing your taxes is never fun, and it can at times be frustrating and anxiety-inducing. But with the help of some generous volunteers, CAMH patients are able to get through tax season worry-free, so they can focus on their recovery.