Changes to the Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability Program take effect today with the Province saying the new structure will make the program simpler. Inclusion Saskatchewan says while some of the paperwork may be reduced there are still concerns about how people access SAID and get support when they need it.
Christina Martens-Funk is the CEO of Inclusion Saskatchewan and says the waiting can be a barrier for people.
“As well as contacting the income assistance worker who is assigned to you. It can take a really long time to get a phone call back and when we’re talking about the very basic costs of living and people needing to have that money in order to live every day really matters and so we would like to see a reduction in wait times for returns of phone calls as well.”
The organization says reducing wait times and improving communication with Income Assistance workers would be a more meaningful improvement to the program.
Martens-Funk says their concerns overall lie in the removal of some of the benefits that many disabled people use if their disabilities are more complex.
“So, the government was making reference to underutilized benefits, but they were there particularly for people who needed them who had different components of disabilities that meant that living is more expensive.”
The Government of Saskatchewan says current SAID recipients will not see a reduction in their benefits while new applicants will be subject to the new structure. The changes will see several existing benefits rolled into the core living income benefit, including the telephone and disability income benefits. The Province says that will mean an increase of up to 100 dollars a month to core rates while some other benefits are being discontinued.
“That is where it’s I guess gets a little bit complicated that where they say 40 per cent of people will get an increase those are people who are likely accessing less of those specific benefit or those who are in those lower geographical tiers,” explained Martens-Funk.
With files from DiscoverWeyburn.com
