WESTLOCK – The Town of Westlock is looking to bring its fight to have Alberta Supports offices reopened to walk-in traffic to the upcoming Alberta Urban Municipalities Association’s annual fall convention.
High on the town’s agenda since June when councillors sent a letter to Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken expressing their concerns, councillors voted 7-0 at their Sept. 27 meeting to draft and submit an emergent resolution for consideration at the Nov. 17-19 AUMA conference. Although the wording of the resolution may change, what was presented in the town council package reads: “It is therefore resolved that the AUMA advocate for the Alberta government to immediately resume walk-in services for Alberta Supports and Children’s Services and include municipalities as part of a consultation process to better serve Albertans at the local level.”
Coun. Murtaza Jamaly, who is the Westlock and District Family and Community Support Services advisory board chair and was behind the unanimous motion to press the MLA for answers, said this is a last-ditch effort. Alberta Supports, which helps people access programs related to disabilities, employment, homelessness, financial assistance, abuse, and family violence prevention, has been closed to walk-in traffic throughout the majority of the pandemic.
During the last 18 months people needing those services have been forced to either phone a call centre, or go online — options which are limiting access as Jamaly says people who need help don’t always own a cellphone, or a computer with Internet access and are “falling through the gaps in the system.” The closures have also meant more folks are turning to FCSS and even the library for help, which is creating more stress on the system.
Jamaly called the current situation “a travesty” and noted that while the Alberta Supports offices did open to walk-in traffic for a handful of days in the summer, they were quickly shuttered following the latest provincial COVID-19 measures. In addition, clients wanting in-person help during that short window needed to call ahead to set up an appointment and were turned away if they didn’t.
“We’ve taken it to the MLA and his response wasn’t acceptable. We need to take the next step which is to take it to AUMA floor and we need AUMA to lobby the provincial government to say that the doors need to open,” said Jamaly. “This is no longer a COVID discussion. We as municipalities have continued to offer critical services to all groups regardless of the pandemic. We have modified, we have changed, but we have continued to offer critical services. The water still flows, the toilets still flush, fire prevention still exists.
“There is no reason why the province should be closing their doors to people who require needs-assessments and emergency income supports … it just makes no sense.”
Jamaly, who’s also the northeast region rep on the FCSS Association of Alberta, said they’re compiling data from across the province which they’ll present at the AUMA convention alongside the motion. In a July 7 e-mail, Community and Social Services press secretary Rob Williams said that the pandemic forced the government to temporarily close Alberta Supports centres to in-person visits, but with Stage 3 of Alberta’s Open For Summer plan in place, “we are developing a plan to resume in-person services.”
“I’ve been working on a report that summarizes the impact of this across the province. I’ve gotten indications from piles of communities that have come on board and given me good data on how this is affecting their FCSS offices and how it’s impacting their municipalities,” Jamaly continued.
“And not just on the FCSS front, but in community services, in enforcement. The reality is that municipalities are not equipped to help the individuals who need this type of assistance and the province is failing them every day that the doors remain closed.”
