City
Struggling Calgarians line up Applying for Alberta Works government social assistance means a cold wait outside as no appointments are taken and people may be turned away
Photo by jessica BRADY/Calgary journal
A man with three young children waits outside of One Executive Place on Feb. 12 in the cold to apply for social assistance. Jessica Brady jbrady@cjournal.ca
“I
t’s too cold and I have cancer!” A man hollers from the front of a 20-person line up outside One Executive Place — a building on Crowchild Trail where the Alberta government rents space. Every day, struggling Calgarians line up to apply for a government income support program called Alberta Works, where they sometimes have to wait outside in sub-zero temperatures. People are frustrated with standing outside before the building opens. Government employees review each application, says Brenda Wadey, spokesperson for Alberta Human Services. Recipients have to line up to be given an appointment time for the day, which is handed out on a first-come, firstserve basis. At that appointment, they meet to discuss their financial needs. According to Alberta Works, qualified applicants may receive $635 per month for a single person. Single parents can expect about $880 per month under two conditions; they have no main income source and qualify for income support. One potential recipient was a man who loudly complained about the -12 C degree weather
during the early morning of Jan. 6. He refused to give his name, but says he has been waiting in the cold since 6:30 a.m. He reminded The Calgary Journal and fellow applicants: “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” If applicants don’t get there early, they might not get seen by the administration, and would have to come back again. The government declined to comment on how many people they see in one day.
“Sometimes it’s a matter of managing the volumes” Brenda Wadey, Spokesperson for Alberta Human Services
Calgary has had severe winter weather in 2014. January saw an average low of -9 C, while February had an average low of -17 C and in March it was -14 C. Applicants are not necessarily allowed to wait indoors before the building opens. Therefore, it is up to the building security at One Executive Place. On the morning of Jan. 28 it was -11 C at 6
a.m. When The Calgary Journal arrived around 8 a.m., the security guard had already allowed some people and children to come inside the building. The front foyer was filled. The guard, who cannot be named for security reasons, says, “It’s a little colder, so I’m going to do that. If it weren’t for the fact that there is a considerable amount of wind, I wouldn’t do that. They have to wait till 8:15 a.m.” At 8:15 a.m., a security guard tells applicants they can start entering the elevator to head up to Level 3 to make their appointments for that day. Before everyone goes up, a man is turned away because there are already too many people ahead of him. He yells that he has been turned away three days in a row and leaves angrily. Wadey would not confirm whether applicants were turned away after waiting in line because of a limited number of spaces. Cassandra Kellar also waited outside on cold mornings to make her appointments. Kellar says, “I have fibromyalgia and I broke my back four years ago in a car accident.” She adds, “I wish we could go inside and sit down on cold days, It’s ridiculous.” She says she’s had to reapply at least 10 times due to her situation and every time she had to stand in line outside just to get an appointment. Over three days in January, The Calgary Journal handed out an anonymous survey to people waiting in line and the line ranged from 15 to 20 people. A total of 26 people took the survey and 23 agreed with the following: “I wish there was a warmer place to wait” and “I wish there was somewhere to sit while waiting for an appointment.” Wadey says she couldn’t comment about the line up outside of One Executive Place, saying, “Sometimes it’s a matter of managing the volumes.” Wadey says the government doesn’t do prebooked appointments: “We work on a first-come first-serve system for the initial meeting.” She adds that the building is owned by Great-West Life. “So you should contact Great-West Life.” In an email, Libbie Jennings, a spokesperson for Great-West Life stated, “While we understand the situation and empathize with those affected, the building is not in a position to safely accommodate both large groups and the needs of visitors and tenants before the building opens. We appreciate that this has been a particularly cold winter. We applaud the Commissionaire’s compassion and support him continuing to use his judgement on an exception basis.” calgaryjournal.ca
APR 2014
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