Red Deer residents Gary and Stephanie Mottl say changes to AISH which take effect March 1 will cause them hardship. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

wondering 'why?'

Anxiety high over changes to AISH payments

Feb 29, 2020 | 10:48 AM

For Red Deerian Gary Mottl, changes to Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) payments are causing him nothing but grief.

Mottl, 37, has Asperger’s Syndrome, diabetes, social anxiety disorder, and was born with short tendons in his legs. He’s been on AISH for 15 years.

As of March 1, Mottl, and many others, won’t be receiving AISH payments from the province before month’s end. Rather, they will be direct deposited on the first day of the new month, which is causing recipients to worry about potential snafus related to paying rent and other bills on time.

“There are people with disabilities that are born with it, like me, and there are people who live perfectly normal lives and then have an accident and it changes their life; like they lose a leg, or an eye, and they have to adapt to that,” says Mottl, whose wife Stephanie is also disabled.

“What they (the UCP government) are doing is going to hurt a lot of people.”

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Mottl points out the changes could also affect their ability to utilize bus passes, which can only be bought at select locations in the city and expire at the end of each month.

The change is even more concerning for those who receive AISH payments by cheque. The Alberta Government says benefits will come in the mail on the payment date or within three business days.

“Often, with brain injuries, specifically, change is very difficult,” says Christine Stewart, executive director with Canadian Mental Health Association in Red Deer. “It will be a long time before some of our clients are able to remember that their cheques are deposited on a different day.”

Stewart says the change is even more confusing when taking into account that AISH clients will still need to spend their money prior to payments coming in, thereby not actually being able to stretch their money further.

Another CMHA staff member shared with rdnewsNOW that one of her clients who has mental health issues has been obsessing over the change, causing an increase in anxiety.

“She is so concerned that her rent will be late that it is causing a severe disruption in her daily functioning,” the staff members says. “Another client whose rent is paid third-party has also been worrying about whether his rent will get to his landlord on time, and he is worrying that if it doesn’t, he will be evicted.”

The Government of Alberta says, “Having a consistent and predictable payment date aligns recipients’ monthly income and monthly costs. This change should help Albertans receiving payments better plan and budget for expenses from one month to the next.”

The opposition NDP have described the change as “cruel and callous.”