Who runs AACT? We have a Council made up of two self-advocate representatives from each region. Each region decides how it picks its representatives. At least six representatives and three regions must be at a meeting for decisions to be made. Anyone can come to Council meetings, but only the representatives can vote.
AACT may have committees work on activities like communication and workshops. Sometimes members volunteer to work on an action together. We also use our meetings to take action. See our AISH page for a video we made about the cost of meds on AISH.
Each meeting has two co-chairs from different regions. The co-chairs run the meeting.
- Our next Council meeting is planned for October 19 at 1 pm on Zoom.
We also write letters about issues that are important to us. Transportation is one of those issues. We sent letters to the Alberta Minister of Transportation to say how cuts to bus service in Alberta affect people who do not drive or have a car. This affects people with disabilities, seniors and other people who are poor.
2014 Highlights
We are very excited about the Self-Advocacy Summit we
held on June 13 - 15, 2014. It was free for up to 200 self-advocates
and their supporters. Participants had a great time seeing old friends,
meeting new people and learning from each other.
We want to know what you liked best about the Summit.
Follow us on Twitter @AlbertaACT.
2015 Activities
This
year we put in a proposal to the government to help self-advocacy
groups learn to make videos using cell phones and other devices and free
or cheap video-editing apps. Videos are a good way for groups to show
what they do, talk about important issues and get new members. They did
not give us an answer about our proposal.
AACT does not get a regular grant from the government to do its work. We have to raise money through memberships
and fundraising. We had a 50/50 draw for up to $1500 (if we sold all
the tickets) on September 30, 2015. It helped pay for us to have a
face-to-face meeting of the AACT Council.
2016 Activities
This year we started a list of speakers
who will talk to self-advocacy groups. You can contact anyone on the
list to see if they will speak to your group. We also started a feature
in our newsletters called "Tips for Self-Advocacy Groups" to help all of our self-advocacy groups be stronger by learning from each other.
2017 Activities
This
year we are planning another Self-Advocacy Summit for October 1 -
3,2018 at Deer Valley Meadows Camp near Alix in Central Alberta. We
invite
you to speak at the Summit. Tell us what you want to talk about:
2018 Activities
AACT took part in the PDD Review! Click here to read what AACT sent to the PDD Review panel based on what self-advocates said at the Self-Advocacy Summit.
We hosted a Self-Advocacy Summit October 1 - 3, 2018 at Deer Valley Meadows Camp near Alix in Central Alberta. Our theme was "Listen. Learn. Take Action!"About
120 self-advocates and allies came and talked with members of the
Premier's Council on the Status of Persons with Disabilities, the PDD
Review Team and the Disability Advocate's office. We identified lots of
issues and came up with good ideas to make things better for people with
disabilities. AACT will share these good ideas with the government.
Check out our newsletter for the Summit story with photos.
When
the 2020 budget came out from the Alberta government, they de-indexed
AISH and other social assistance to poor people. This means that after
they agreed last year to raise AISH with the cost of living each year,
they changed their mind and will not increase it. We wrote a letter to
the Minister of Community & Social Services to protest this change.
We sent copies to lots of our ally organizations. Click here to see our letter.
We hope you will write letters to let the government know how
de-indexing affects you and what your living expenses are like now. Let
them know how your costs are going up and how it affects you. Also
contact your MLA and ask to meet. Click here for what you can do to prepare to have a good meeting with government.
AACT
sent its final report on the Summit to the Community and Social
Services Ministry of Alberta, who helped us with the Summit. We sent
copies of the report to regional self-advocacy groups. You can read the
whole report or just the parts you want to read on our Summit page. If you want your own copy of the report, ask for it at alberta.act@gmail.com.
We
have just started planning on the next Self-Advocacy Summit. We do not
yet know when it will be. We are looking for your ideas as to what we
should do or talk about at the next Summit. Please send your ideas to us
at alberta.act@gmail.com.
Ohhhh my goodness so glad I was referred to this website by a friend !!! I'm usually on top f things and this is a bonus I'll be sharing this with others I know that have a Disability and are being disregarded by Aish and thier Generalists, as to what they are entitled to .
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