r/AISH_Alberta

This week I received a notice alongside my paystub stating:

"NEW LEGISLATION EFFECTIVE JULY 2, 2026
IN MID-MAY AISH CLIENTS WERE NOTIFIED BY MAIL WHETHER THEY
CLIENTS WERE
WILL REMAIN ON AISH,
VISIT WWW. ALBERTA. CA OR CONTACT YOUR LOCAL OFFICE VISITING WWW.ALBERTA. CA/CONTACT-AISH."

I didn't think anyone received any info about this in May so this feels like a lie...

I still have not even received any info regarding ADAP, nothing saying I've been moved to it either. I spoke with a local AISH rep over 3 weeks ago and they said I should be receiving the ADAP notice but I still havn't. I'll be calling them tomorrow.

I havn't heard of a single person who received any ADAP info in May.

What about the people who ADAP actually benefits? There is a group of Albertans who need a program like adap as they are inbetween working full-time and being on disability fully...I'm just interested if anyone has thought about these people

I was quite worried about the transition on July 2nd, but heard nothing and seen nothing. All just speculation now. I would advise everyone to calm down and relax until we hear from ADAP. I have been reading a lot of posts about adap with no clear absolute answer.

I, too, need to reapply for Aish, but will wait for their (ADAP) phone call first for their latest instructions on this.

Perhaps, they needs to deal with alberta works (and others) first before dealing with us (Aish)??? That why there is that $200 transition benefit for 1.5 year because we may be dealt later......

I was approved for AISH specifically because I can't keep a job, so I'm pissed off and extremely stressed out about being moved to ADAP.

I'm probably going to get kicked off for being 'uncooperative' because I will get fired from any job because of my laundry list of problems that all of my disabilities will cause in the workplace. I appear very capable but struggle with things that are easy for everyone else, which no workplace will put up with for very long.

I seriously think that the government ran an AI script through all of the files and moved everyone who is under 60 and not in a government run care home. It's ridiculous!

I feel so powerless right now, and my overall well-being is really suffering. I don't know how to see the whole picture in any situation, so I have no ability to plan for my future.

EDIT: I took the SI part out of my post because I don't want that to be the center of attention and the only thing people comment on.

Need some advice for my mother. She is the permanent guardian of my sister who is on ADAP. We are trying to get her back onto AISH and need to get the entire file from AISH immediately. Would my mom have to make an Alberta.ca account to request files on my sister’s behalf or would the account have to be for my sister? My sister is deaf and mute and does not know how to handle online technology. I’m just trying to make sure my mom does this properly because my sister shouldn’t even be on ADAP in the first place and we don’t wanna botch anything.

I’m on ADAP now, transitioned from AISH, I get CPPD, ADAP (July 1st), and CDB. My husband is self employed so his income varies. I work a few days a week helping him but I don’t get paid. I have physical & mental limitations so I don’t feel like I could keep a full time job. I’m 50 years old & my work experience is mostly in a family business we no longer have. What is going to happen with my CPPD on ADAP? The government in Alberta’s benefit calculator doesn’t have a space to enter my CPPD amount. Does anyone know if I should reapply for AISH and if so how? I think I lose my CPPD if I start working so I don’t understand how this will work. Thanks for any advice.

I’m looking for some advice from anyone who has successfully navigated the current AISH/ADAP application delays.

I submitted my application in January 2026. My file is marked as complete, but I’ve been stuck in a 'document loop' where they kept requesting information I’ve already provided, once that went through. Now they’re trying to redirect me to Income Support.

I was told income support has 6 month or longer waitlists. I’ve tried calling the main lines for AISH, but it feels like a black hole.

For those who have been through this, what actually worked?

Has anyone had success submitting a formal Access to Information request to get their internal file notes? If so, how did you do it?

Has anyone here bypassed the standard support line and gone directly to the Ombudsman or another oversight body?

Did you find that a social worker or a specific type of legal advocacy actually forced movement on the file?

I’m wondering how to escalate this properly without wasting time on phone loops. if anyone has advice, it would be appreciated. I'm now homeless and spending money out of pocket on medical stuff because of the delay. I have very clear medical issues including brain damage, damaged knees, degenerative disc disorder, a herniated disc that won't heal, torn ACL meniscus in both knees, ASD, ADHD, a speech studder, 1st percentile executive dysfunction, amnesia, a temporal lobe injury, a damaged airway causing sleep apnea, severe insomnia, seizures and all kinds of other permanent injuries, many resulting after an assault.

I'm feeling like I'm maybe slipping through the cracks. I can't wait forever. I'm also stuck in limbo waiting for the crime victim assistance program to cover all the medical treatments. but they're also stalling. claiming a review process that's been 5 months now. I was a victim of a violent crime that left me permanently disabled.

I used to be an entrepreneur. I used to make over $100/yr. I wanna do that again. but I can't remember things when I have a new seizure, sometimes daily. I want to work but I don't think I can. I keep applying for jobs but don't get anything back. over 200+ applications. I have two college degrees. maybe I'm not doing well in interviews? idk what the issue is. tbh.

From what I'm gathering, this Aish thing may not even work out for me. I'm 13k in debt now waiting for this with no support.

I had a weird feeling that going on income assistance would screw up my file. So I haven't taken it. Is that true! Plus they told me on the phone that their waitlist was longer than AISH. and because I have some saving that I'm using for medical treatments, I don't qualify? but I need that small bit for treatments and survival while I wait. Is that wrong of me to have a tiny bit of savings for brain treatments?

I had disability in another province but came here for medical care as it's better here than where I was. What can I do? I'm absolutely desperate at this point. I can't just go back home now. I have medical appointments and good doctors here and I'm waiting for appointments than have years long waitlists. The neurology clinics here are so much bigger and better than my small town in BC. And they haven't even fully diagnosed all the issues as it takes years to get through the waitlist to see specialists.

Thanks.

So like many people I was forced off AISH and put onto ADAP, now adap claims people where assessed and placed where they "belong" but I dont recall seeing any doctors, or specialists to re-assess me. Do you? Doesn't a reassessment require the person being assessed to be there?

that really doesn't seem legal at all. No one talked to me, asked me to submit to new doctors or anything. And my family doctor isnt aware of ever being contacted and asked either.

am I missing something because the more I look into this, the more it looks very very sketchy.

I don't know if I'm missing something, but AISH eligibility no longer seems to require having a "Developmental disability" or "Terminal illness." I'm confused now because earlier they said only those with developmental disabilities or terminal illnesses would qualify for AISH, but the website now leaves it kind of vague.

https://manuals.alberta.ca/dia-policy-manual/aish-adap-program-policy/eligibility/eligibility-criteria-for-aish-and-adap/

The website now says

“Severe disability” means a substantial impairment of mental or physical functioning or both:

• that is permanent or likely to continue for at least two years, the existence and likely duration of which has been diagnosed and substantiated through relevant medical or psychological reports provided to the director, and for which all relevant treatment that could lessen the impairment has been completed and where no improvement is expected.
• AISH: A director may determine, without considering any factors other than the person’s severe disability and its impact on the person’s ability to participate in employment, whether the severe disability permanently prevents employment.
• ADAP: A director may determine, without considering any factors other than the person’s severe disability and its impact on the person’s ability to participate in employment, whether the severe disability substantially impedes employment continuously or episodically.

Note 
If a person has a severe disability that does not substantially prevent (for AISH) or impede (for ADAP) employment, they may not meet the medical eligibility criteria for AISH or ADAP.

Note 
Applications from persons who are receiving end-of-life palliative care, and/or have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and/or in long term care are prioritized.

This isn’t informational. I’m in the same boat as everyone else being transferred from AISH to ADAP, and I’m being told just as little. I’m in the same purgatorial constant panic attack.

I just almost gave up when all of this started, and a kind person on this sub pushed me not to. And I want to do the same, although I’m not sure if this kind of post is allowed. If it isn’t, I totally understand.

When I was going to give up, I kept listening to this song called Right To Die by AlicebanD. I think it’s intended to be anti-capitalist in general, but it feels like it was written about exactly what we’re going through, and as a goodbye note for loved ones after ending things. I know not everyone can listen to songs, so I’ll include the most relevant lyrics:

“Take me down the silver river, and sell my soul for oil, sell my dignity for half a bar of gold. Sell my freedom for another bit of capital idea, and when you’re done, I will not worry, I’ve been sold. Take me far away from here, and sell my soul for light, sell my everything for just one special night. Sell all of my possessions so you cannot see their worth, and when you’re done, I will not say I wasn’t told. Tell my loving family that this wasn’t just their fault, and tell the world that made me whole it was not a joke. And that the little education I have had was pure elation, and that the only ones who die are those who smoke (satire).”

“Take me down the silver river and sell my hair for food, sell my independence first so there’s no fight. Take my little things away, so there’s no memories, and hey! When you’re done, you can just sail into the night. Take me down a peg or two, because I’m nothing else to you - take me down a peg or two, and I won’t fight. And since I cannot be set free, there’s nothing left for me. For now, it seems that they control my right to die.”

I listened to those lyrics while I prepared to stop fighting. While I wrote goodbyes. And the more I listen to it now, the more I want the opposite. It’s criticizing a broken system that takes everything from the most vulnerable and gives it to the rich, and my response to it shouldn’t have been to let that system succeed. I know a lot of us can’t fight. I can’t even leave home or talk on the phone. But it’s still a fight worth fighting in our own ways. If you’re thinking about giving up right now, and the only way you can contribute to the fight against what they’re doing is living instead, do that. And feel proud. Your life means something. You don’t need meaningful employment to be meaningful. They’re cruel, and they’re wrong, and they don’t define your value.

First spotted: https://x.com/sillyrabbitfafo/status/2072172027088339166?s=20

One would think that it would help the Albertan economy more if that 100M went directly to Albertans, either to help ADAP members find work, or to the domestic employment agencies and resources that would actually do so.

Oh, and they are also involved with immigration detention centers and private prisons in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

Is anyone else shocked that the promised details weren't available at midnight today? I was sick with worry all night but I should have remembered that there ARE no details. Anyone want to bet how long it will take for these documents to go live? Anyone else sitting on the page desperate for more information or is that just me and GAD? What do we think--end of day? Tomorrow? Monday? Please keep me company while I stave off a panic attack.

Today is the first day of ADAP, and I know all of us aren’t going to be contacted at once about what the transition is going to be. But has anyone at all been contacted? Has anyone been called or received mail? Someone mentioned a second message we would all be receiving soon, but I never received it - did you guys get it? There are just so many unknowns. I just want to know if even one person has received actual contact.

I realize I couldn't possibly ask a stranger to directly be my advocate, but as a person who struggles cognitively but doesn't have a legal advocate and or any neurotypical/healthy(drawing a blank at the moment on language) trustworthy person willing to help me navigate these things, I'm wondering if anyone who posts or lurks here is NOT struggling with executive dysfunction and would be willing to help me parse out my options and whether they're worth it in regards to asking AISH/ADAP to help me.

Thanks in advance.

Sorry if this is a dumb question but what exactly is going to happen? I'm just a little confused as to exactly where or what is going to happen for employment help. I've been looking for work already and was in a program that was defunded so do I have to find a new program or are they setting that up for us just not sure if I have to do something on my end?

AISH/ADAP application requires you to consent to give permission to "any person, organization, institution or other source to give AISH and ADAP and/or AISH and ADAP contracted services any information about my household situation, education and training, employment, and finances AISH or ADAP requests to determine my eligibility...."

So some rando in Australia gets to know every detail of my life. But if I wanted to report suspected "fraud," I can rest easy and privately; the government isn't trying to hear who THAT person is.

"You can report fraud anonymously

If you wish to remain anonymous, leave the contact information portion of this form blank. Your name and contact information will not be included in the report."

*The Alberta Advantage*

I don't know much about law, but there should a basis for a lawsuit against the Alberta government for this. Should being the key word. Blatantly ignoring the promise of specialized supports to hand us off to generic employment services at the very least is concerning, especially if it turns out that those generic services get access to our files. It feels like there should be. Considering that no matter how many people want ADAP stopped, the government only responds if it wants to, this is all I can think of. They walked back an alcohol pricing choice, but not this. They'll never change anything if they aren't somehow forced to.

I don't know. I'm out of ideas and out of energy. It feels like this is a disability rights issue, but I don't know for sure, and I also know I could never hope to afford to talk to anyone to see if there's any possible legal action. Maybe I'm being stupid or naïve to even wonder if this is remotely possible.

I submitted my application on June 5th. A few days ago, I read that I would be assessed under both the new ADAP program and AISH. Instead, I received my letter today, and I was only assessed for AISH. There was no mention of ADAP.

Do they think I'm applying because I want to live in poverty and sit on my ass? I'd rather work, but I can't. My mental health is in horrible condition and always will be.

They acknowledged that I have permanent limitations, but they believe there is treatment that will help me work. Apparently, they do not read what my doctor wrote in plain English:

• The patient has a severe and permanent impairment.

• The impairment causes a substantial limitation in the ability to earn a livelihood.

• No remedial therapy will materially improve employability.

• The patient is not capable of competitive employment, including sedentary work.

I also submitted more evidence, including an updated psychological assessment with long-term recommendations. I've already engaged in more advanced treatment options then what was recommended. Most of the recommendations are counseling, which I've already done similar things. I've been on so many medications that it feels like I've become a test subject, with one failed medication after another causing me more distress. I've done therapy, mindfulness techniques, and other treatments. I'm so done with this.

I am going to appeal. I feel completely robbed. After a year and a half of waiting through this system, I'm told, "Yes, you definitely have permanent limitations, but we can't predict the future." Well, neither can I, nor can my doctor and we definitely can't so maybe a wizard from the future can.

Good luck, buddy. Enjoy living off $500 a month... or kick the bucket.

Edit: The recommendations I was given are supposed to be long-term and unrealistic to do without financial aid according to my therapist. I have ADHD, GAD, ASD, depression, BDP and PTSD.