We Advocate
8 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 4 years ago -Discussion of topics relevant to parents or caregivers in Alberta, Canada who have a child or family member that has a long-term disability. Topics will include guardianship, trusteeship, AISH, Persons with Developmental Disabilities, Registered Disability Savings Plans, Disability Tax Credit, housing options and related topics. Brought to you be disability advocates, Annie & Gordon VanderLeek of Disability Advocates.
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Episodes
008 - Government Assistance & AISH
April 10, 2020 12:00 - 29 minutes - 20.6 MBUnder provincial rules, AISH recipients can work part-time to supplement their $1,685 monthly payments by up to $1,072 a month without a clawback. But unlike other Canadians,AISH recipients who are no longer working because of COVID-19 are not equally entitled to the same emergency relief funds. In this episode, we review the provincial and federal programs and look at these programs from the perspective of a person on AISH benefits, together with some of the other forms of financial assist...
007 - Overview of Guardianship & Trusteeship
April 08, 2020 04:00 - 49 minutes - 33.7 MBApologies for the late arrival of this episode. Today's episode is a general overview of Guardianship and Trusteeship. What is it? Why is it required? What protections are in place as part of the application process? What is the Capacity Assessment Report and why is it the foundation of the application? Thanks for listening in and we hope you are staying safe in this time of social distancing. We know this can be a stressful time for your child with a long term disability or the person your...
006 - Covid-19 Reflections
March 21, 2020 12:00 - 25 minutes - 17.4 MBWe felt compelled to pause our regular teaching and provide you some of our reflections regarding the past few weeks and the Covid-19 pandemic. No family has been unaffected. We don't know where the future lies but it was weighing on our hearts to share some of our thoughts in this ever-changing environment. Speaking of change, after recording the episode we received a notice that the courts are now closed in Alberta until May 1, 2020. Here is the notice from the Chief Justice: https://bit...
005 - AISH Fundamentals Part II
March 20, 2020 12:00 - 47 minutes - 32.6 MBThe Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped ("AISH") is a provincial income support program for Albertans who are unable to earn a livelihood due to a permanent, long term disability. The changes to the program have been in the news as of late so we thought it timely to review some of the basics regarding the program. In Part I, we described the program and why it is important. In Part II, we jump into the details of eligibility, the different exemptions to the asset test, the financial ...
004 - AISH Fundamentals - Part I
March 13, 2020 12:00 - 28 minutes - 19.6 MBThe Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped ("AISH") is a provincial income support program for Albertans who are unable to earn a livelihood due to a permanent, long term disability. The changes to the program have been in the news as of late so we thought it timely to review some of the basics regarding the program. In Part I, we describe the program and why it is important. Here are some links to the government site for the AISH program: The program: https://www.alberta.ca/aish.asp...
003 - The Disability Tax Credit
March 06, 2020 13:00 - 36 minutes - 25.3 MBToday's episode focuses on the Disability Tax Credit or the "DTC". It is run by the Federal government and the Canada Revenue Agency is the agency that receives applications and determines eligibility. The DTC is a credit against taxes owed. At first blush, it would not seem relevant to a disabled person because of low income levels and therefore little or not tax to be paid. However, access to federal programs is typically tied to the DTC. We discuss the importance of getting the DTC and ke...
002 - Transitioning to Adulthood
February 28, 2020 04:00 - 52 minutes - 36.1 MBIn this episode, we explore the areas that parents and caregivers have to address in transitioning from child services to adult services. The discussion includes the considerations of the assessments required (medical evidence), AISH application process, Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD), guardianship, trusteeship and estate planning issues. This is a longer episode as there are many issues involved in transitioning the support services for your child or family member. And when t...
001 - Welcome and Introduction to the Podcast
February 23, 2020 18:00 - 10 minutes - 7.56 MBGordon & Annie share their background as disability advocates: Gordon as the founding lawyer of VanderLeek Law and Annie as the lead team member of Disability Advocates, a division of VanderLeek Law. Be sure to subscribe to receive a new episode each Friday. Thanks for listening and we look forward to sharing our knowledge and insights to make you a better advocate for your child or loved one who has a long term disability. For more information, visit www.disabilityadvocates.ca