Erik King has been on the province's Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program for four years – but if it wasn’t for the support he receives from his family, he wouldn’t have enough money for food at the end of the month.
Wendy King, Erik's mother, said Erik lives with his brother and they share expenses such as groceries. Still, Erik has nothing left at the end of the month.
“The other day he went to get groceries. And then what happened?” Wendy turned and directed her question toward Erik. “He had no money left.”
Erik called his brother, who then called Wendy and Wendy transferred Erik money for groceries. Wendy said they normally catch the lack of funds before Erik is at the grocery store, but they didn’t this time.
Erik, who has Down syndrome, is a student at MacEwan University and got laid off at the beginning of the pandemic. The extra dollars he made while he was employed made a significant difference in his budget.
He's looking for work, but it is difficult for him to find employment.
“Society’s about what can you do. And what can you contribute. And what somebody like Erik can contribute is not valued the same way as somebody like his brother who can work and be employed and pay taxes and feed into that system,” said Wendy.
“Erik could absolutely do that. He just needs more supports.”
Wendy said Erik's family pitches in the couple hundred dollars Erik would get if he was employed.
“I think we take for granted that we can help Erik – I don’t think that that’s a really common thing for a lot of people,” Wendy said. “They don’t have a family member that can put in a couple hundred dollars every month.”
St. Albert NDP MLA Marie Renaud, who is the Opposition critic for Community and Social Services, got a lesson in living on AISH last month when she experimented with living off of $1,685 – the maximum living expenses for one under AISH – in order to raise awareness about what life is like on an AISH budget.
Wendy said she found the experiment an interesting one.
“I mean we did have a little bit of a laugh because she budgeted, I think $180 a month for her groceries, which is pretty on par for what we budget for Erik’s groceries ... we kick in probably another $50 near the end of the month,” said King.
Renaud ended up having to selling a personal item for $40 before the month was over so she could have enough money for an extra week of groceries.
“I could see why she was running out of money because that’s exactly what does happen,” Wendy said.
Julie Heffel was on Renaud's AISH advisory panel. Renaud does not have a disability, so Heffel and a few other AISH recipients gave Renaud insight into costs associated with their disabilities, how and where they would shop and what they would eat on their budgets.
Heffel has been on AISH since she was 18. She has cerebral palsy and requires a walker to get around. It took her 10 to 15 years to find accessible housing that didn’t have bed bugs or mice. She said she is fortunate to receive subsidized housing, as that means she can afford vegetables.
“The first thing to go when your budget is more stretched is the vegetables and things. Unfortunately, the cheaper the food is, of course, the less nutritious,” Heffel said.
Heffel has found the pandemic has made it harder to get around. Bus passes were hard to come by because everything was online and needed a credit card for purchase. Heffel said she can't get a credit card.
“I don’t qualify for one. They tell me I need to be gainfully employed and AISH is not that.”
Heffel said getting around less has been good in at least one sense – she has not gone through so many shoes. In normal times, she would go through a pair of shoes a month. AISH doesn’t cover expenses for her shoes and they don’t cover maintenance repairs for her walker.
“Equipment maintenance is something I’m always paying for. And AISH doesn’t really cover that for me. I applied to get repairs one time and I waited and waited and waited,” said Heffel.
Her church ended up getting Heffel a spare walker as she can't get around without one.
Heffel has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She does piece work when she can and occasionally works as a university guinea pig. She finds that volunteer work is easier to find, as volunteer organizations seem to be more willing to work with her disability.
“People shouldn’t be a monetary value, nor should I be judged for how I choose to spend 10 bucks, on a magazine or whatever. I’d rather have a magazine than stare at blank walls.”
Heffel also has a message for the government, in the wake of ongoing turmoil about the future of the AISH program, rumours of pending program cuts or eligibility changes.
“We ask is that when you’re looking at things and looking to make budget cuts, or whatever, at least be clear about what you’re saying. That would give us some measure of preparedness,” she said. “Not that AISH is a budget by which you can be prepared for anything.”In a press conference, Renaud said she now has a pretty good understanding of what it’s like to live on AISH.
“It’s almost impossible to live on. I had nothing left – I had nothing left,” she said.
Renaud said she initially felt guilty after her month concluded because she had talked to so many people who actually do live on AISH and can't change their circumstances.
She is continuing to meet with her AISH advisory group every two weeks. She is also writing down her experiences and hopes they will be able to guide public policy at some point.
“I guess I didn’t really know – I had a sense from what people were sharing, how tough it was to live on an AISH budget, because there is just no breathing room at all,” she said. “So anything that goes wrong is a problem.”
