I do volunteer work for a couple of homeless groups in Toronto and a very common thing is homeless people can't get bank accounts. Why? you need two forms of ID. In ontario a health card (which many homeless people have) is not accepted. So many banks will ask for an Ontario Photo ID (which requires an address and $35 plus other forms of ID) or a Passport and some other info. it's a no go.

Ok no bank account but they can still work right? nope. Guess what the majority of employers pay via? that's right, Direct Deposit. You HAVE to have a bank account for that. No bank account, no job.

I've know a few people that had gotten jobs while homeless but had to quit because there was no way for them to get paid. they couldn't get a bank account, no bank would open one for them without proper forms of ID. Credit Unions were even worse.

The ONLY thing these people did wrong was someone stole their wallets at shelters or where ever. They played by the rules, jumped through hoops to get health cards and all that and are still told "that's not good enough" they are people who CAN work and are told "no, you don't have a bank account"

It's fucked here.