Disability community braces for July 1 income support change
Nearly 80,000 Albertans will move from AISH to a new program with lower benefits and fewer income exemptions.
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Alberta's disability community is facing significant anxiety as the province transitions nearly 80,000 residents from the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program to the new Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP) on July 1.
Under ADAP, the maximum monthly allowance will be $200 less than AISH. The new program will primarily support individuals who cannot work, while ADAP will offer more employment income exemptions for those who are working but still struggling financially.
The concern has intensified after an AISH recipient and government critic died by suicide last week. Fifty-seven-year-old Bruce A. Johnson from Empress, Alberta wrote in a letter shared on Facebook that his anxiety had "skyrocketed" over the changes, describing how the government was "getting this useless person off AISH, through the only way possible to me: Death."
Joanne Dorn, executive director of Cerebral Palsy Alberta, said many recipients already struggle with the monthly AISH allowance of under $2,000 given the high cost of living. "People, I think, at this point in time, if they haven't already received confirmation that they are able to remain on AISH, I think their biggest fear is as of July 1, they are gonna lose the income if they do not have a job," Dorn said.
NDP leader Naheed Nenshi responded to the death on social media, calling it tragic and saying "Every Albertan deserves a life of dignity. The government must change course."