COVID links of interest, masks, and pictorial guide

Plain Language Question and Answer Sheet

Q&A about COVID (Plain Language)

Here is a plain language question and answer sheet made by the Government of Alberta. (Friday, April 24th, 2020)

Poster for how to put on and take off Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Putting On PPE:

How to put on PPE

A picture version of how to put on "Personal Protective Equipment" -Alberta Health Services (AHS), May 2014)

Taking off PPE:

A picture version how to safely remove Personal Protective Equipment. (AHS May 2014)

Link to Mask Guidelines (Friday, April 24th, 2020)

Alberta Health Services guidelines on when a mask needs to be worn in a group home, seniors home or long term care facility. 

Telephone Town Hall with Minister Rajan Sawhney, Minister of Community & Social Services, please register

To: PDD families and service providers  

🔼(Listen here if you have a hard time reading this letter)🔼

Telephone Town Hall Register by 10 am Friday, April 24

As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic is a rapidly evolving situation and we continue to follow the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw.

As Minister of Community and Social Services, I am committed to keeping you informed of the latest information regarding COVID-19 and the ongoing work being done to protect Albertans.

Please join me in a Telephone Town Hall taking place 

from 

12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, April 24. 

I will share the latest information about what CSS has been doing to support the disability community, and will take your questions.

Please feel free to share this invitation with people you think are interested in participating.

Please pre-register for the telephone town hall by visiting https://extranet.gov.ab.ca/opinio6//s?s=PDDTTH 

And entering your name, city/town, and phone number. 

Please register by 10:00 a.m. on Friday, April 24.

You will receive a phone call just before the Telephone Town Hall begins to link you into the phone conference.

Information for the call:

We will call you at the number you provided when you registered. Please be ready to answer your phone up to 5 minutes before the scheduled start time.

If for any reason you miss the call, you can still join by using one of the following call-in numbers. If you have any issues with the first number, use the second one. 

Caller ID is the same for both numbers and is 115500#. 
Press this number once you dial in. Please keep this information available for the call.

1-877-229-8493

OR 1-844-229-8493

Sincerely,

Rajan Sawhney                                                 

Minister of Community and Social Services                                  

New online Meeting time! Thursday from 6 pm to 8 pm

Going somewhere? 
Want to? 
Why not join us? 
By request, we are trying out a new meeting time...

Join us from 6 pm to 8 pm on Thursday nights on zoom! 

News Release: Albertans on income supports cannot keep up and are at risk

Albertans on "Income Supports" cannot keep up and are at risk

For Immediate Release, Calgary, AB

Many Albertans on income supports are afraid to speak out about how much the monthly payment date change has affected them. The payment date change to the first of the month alone has been costing people more to live as people continue to get NSF charges despite their efforts to do what the government suggests to rearrange their finances. For instance, people are being charged NSF fees at around $45 each.

The Disability Action Hall is a group of people with disabilities and their allies. One of our members has had three NSF charges since the Alberta Government changed the payment dates for AISH and Income Supports. They also told us that because they were about to get a fourth NSF charge, they went to get a payday loan last month.

“I took out a cash loan last month just to pay [for] medical supplies. They might charge interest. I am still waiting to find out. I learned I will be now charged another $45 tomorrow (April 3^rd) and I would be overdrawn. The bank offered me overdraft protection for $5 a month, but I would rather spend $5 on personal items like shampoo or toothpaste.”

The coronavirus crisis is not helping any. It is leaving people isolated without being able to afford food.  A person told us how they have maxed out the credit/debit card with delivery charges while another member says they have trouble getting a credit card to try to make ends meet. There are over 137,000 people on AISH or Alberta works, and even if someone may have COVID-19, they may have no choice but to leave home and put themselves and other Albertans at risk. Dependence on charity is not enough to help all 137,000 Albertans in need.

“Not everybody can get a credit card – it’s difficult to get one at all if you’re low-income. A friend of mine has one, but they have low limits, and they’re maxed out. Many places do not take cash. It feels like we are at the back of the line. People are being left behind.”

“The limit on a visa debit card is only $100. It is not very much. We (elderly parents and I) can no longer order groceries and we are too medically complicated to leave the house. Calling the foodbank? Those hampers are gone. You have to keep calling and calling to try to get through.”

We also learned of a friend who lost a part-time job as a result of COVID-19. They found out that if they applied for EI or the federal relief (CERB) available to others, the money would be clawed back dollar-for-dollar from AISH. The rules as to how often a person can access emergency supports from Income Supports like AISH are also unclear.

“When I called my AISH worker and told them [about my situation], they were of little help other than telling me to ’wait and see.’ How helpful is that?”  

The members of the Disability Action Hall are hopeful the government will do the least harm and reverse the payment date.

Who:             Members of the Disability Action Hall

Why:              To reverse the date of payment of income supports

Contact:        Colleen Huston 403.473.3510  email www.actionhall.ca