On December 18, DABC sent a letter on behalf of 15 organizations to Adrian Dix, BC’s Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, BC’s Provincial Health Officer, to advocate for priority of vulnerable people with disabilities within BC’s COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy.
Specifically, we wish to ensure that people living and working in the followig settings be included in the list of priorities to receive the first wave of COVID-19 vaccine distribution:
People living and working in group homes and other home-based support service settings; and
People detained involuntarily under the Mental Health Act and health care providers working in psychiatric settings.
From all of us at Disability Alliance BC, we wish you a happy and safe holiday season and all the best in the new year! We know this has been a particularly challenging year and we thank you for your support over the year, and your patience as we temporarily navigate new ways of operating during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Please note that our office will be closed for the holidays from Monday, December 21st – Friday, January 1st. It will reopen on Monday, January 4th. During this time,we will only be responding to very urgent messages. All other messages will receive a response as soon as possible after we reopen. We will not be updating or checking social media during the holiday closure.
If you have reached out to our Access RDSP team for assistance with the DTC application prior to the Dec 31st application deadline to be eligible for the $600 federal COVID-19 payment, please email rdsp@disabilityalliancebc.therightfitbc.org and you will receive a response shortly. You can also try out our DTC online app, which is a self-help tool designed to give your healthcare provider the information they need to fill out the DTC Certificate application form: https://disabilityalliancebc.therightfitbc.org/dtc-app.
Plan Institute also has helpline advisors that can help people over the break. They can be reached at 1-844-311-7526.
DABC followed up with the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction last week on a few questions related to the BC Recovery Benefit, a provincial benefit that will provide a one-time payment of $500 to eligible individuals and $1000 to eligible families. We have clarified the following:
Everyone, regardless of whether you are or not on provincial income or disability assistance, will need to apply separately to receive the BC Recovery Benefit. The application process will open online on December 18th, with telephone support available starting December 21st. Here is the website with all the detailed information on it: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/economic-recovery/recovery-benefit.
Ministry clients who receive the BC Recovery Benefit will be able to keep it in addition to any income and disability amounts for which they are eligible.
In addition to the above BC Recovery Benefit, there is a $150 per adult per month BC Recovery Supplement for people receiving income assistance, hardship assistance, provincial disability assistance, or comforts payments. Also, some eligible Senior’s Supplement recipients will receive the BC Recovery Supplement.
People who are receiving federal benefits, including the Canada Recovery Benefits (CRB, CRSB, CRCB) or Employment Insurance (EI) will not receive this supplement.
The BC Recovery Supplement will be automatically added to cheques issued January through March 2021 (February through April benefit months). There is no need to apply for it.
It does indeed look like the $300 monthly COVID-19 Crisis Supplement is being replaced with the above BC Recovery Supplement. The last payment date of the $300 COVID-19 Crisis Supplement is December 16, 2020 (for January benefit month) and December 22, 2020 for seniors receiving the senior’s supplement.
While DABC acknowledges and appreciates the BC Government’s response to aiding our communities into economic recovery from COVID-19, we are saddened to see that this new BC Recovery Supplement in particular will ultimately result in a drop of COVID-19-related financial assistance (from $300 a month to $150 a month) for people on provincial income and disability assistance. DABC has been lobbying the BC Government to make permanent the $300 COVID-19 crisis supplement for income assistance and disability assistance recipients, further indexed for inflation, because we know that current income and disability assistance rates are below the poverty line and therefore inadequate to meet basic needs. DABC will continue to advocate on this issue despite the drop in COVID-19 financial assistance, as we understand this affects people on income and disability assistance beyond our current COVID-19 situation.
An update from our affiliate national non-profit, Disability Alliance Canada: Earlier this year, the #Alberta government decided that the Canada Disability Benefit (#CDB) will be
Earlier this year, the Alberta government decided that the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) will be considered “non-exempt” income for Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) recipients. …
