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I act for A.C. and J.F. — young mothers raised in govt care in Alberta — in a Charter challenge against the Province for cuts to supports they need to transition to adulthood. We won an injunction against the cuts. Alberta appealed. Now, we need your help https://www.gofundme.com/f/legal-challenge-against-cuts-to-the-sfa-program
For years, Alberta supported youth who aged out of care as they transitioned towards independent living as adults. The govt recognized that youth in care didn't have the emotional and financial means to survive on their own when they turned 18.
Alberta came up with Support, Financial Assistance program ("SFA Program") benefits. It included wrap-around support from dedicated social workers and financial assistance to acquire the skills and experience for employment and independent living.
Initially, the SFA Program, created in 2004, supported youth transitioning out of care until the age of 22. Then in 2013, @manmeetsbhullar determined that this was insufficient, and raised the maximum eligibility to the age of 24.
The decision was based on the science around brain development, as well as emotional maturity. People are still acquiring the functioning, skills needed in this area until the mid-20s. Extending the SFA Program meant folks weren't cut-off before they're ready to be on their own
For youth like A.C., and so many others who've grown up in government care, the SFA Program gave her an opportunity to live a longer, more sustainable life.
A.C. is a survivor.
A.C. was raised in government care in Alberta. As a young child, she endured unspeakable acts of violence. She was beaten frequently and severely, to the point where ending her life felt safer than continuing with it.
A.C. was raised in government care in Alberta. As a young child, she endured unspeakable acts of violence. She was beaten frequently and severely, to the point where ending her life felt safer than continuing with it.
At the age of 13, A.C. was forced into sex work. She was kept at a trap house, plied with alcohol and drugs each night to the point of unconsciousness, and wake up to find men touching her and desperately try to make them stop.
But, A.C. survived — now 21, with a young daughter, she is trying to build a healthy and sustainable life for her family. She's in post-secondary studies, working towards a degree to become an Indigenous social worker to help families like her own navigate a better future.
A critical part of A.C.'s journey and success has been the continued emotional and financial assistance she received through the SFA Program. Without it, she would not be thriving in the manner that she is, and may not even be alive.
A.C. and her social worker had built a 6 year transition plan towards sustainable living as an adult. A.C. was working towards the goals she had set for herself. A.C. created an alcohol free home and was about to transfer to @UAlberta. Everything was going to plan.
Then, without warning, this past November, Alberta announced changes to the SFA Program. The maximum age eligibility would be decreased from 24 to 22, and none of the youth would be grandfathered in under the changes. A.C. would be cut off when she turned 22, which is this summer
A.C. was scared. She had built a plan with her social worker that tracked her transition over a 6 year period. She had worked on that plan for 3 years. Now, she would have to achieve the objectives in her plan that would normally take years to do in 10 months. It was impossible.
A.C. didn't know how to survive on her own without the SFA Program supports she received. The only way she knew how to make money was sex work, something that she didn't want to do by choice, but felt that she would need to return to, in order to support her family.
A.C., and other SFA Program participants like J.F. were desperate, fearing that all the progress they made would be erased with the cuts, and that their children would grow up with the same instability, precariousness, and violence that marked their own.
A.C. and J.F. decided to sue. They argued that Alberta's changes to the SFA Program violated their Charter rights, as they were cruel and unusual, and breached their liberty, security of the person, and life interests.
They also applied for an injunction to stop the changes from being enacted on April 1, 2020 until the legality of Alberta's conduct was fully decided by the Courts.
The injunction was hard fought. A.C. and J.F. asked the Court to do something that has never happened in Canada. All the odds were stacked against the young mothers.
And they won. The changes to the SFA Program wouldn't apply to program participants until the case was decided.
And they won. The changes to the SFA Program wouldn't apply to program participants until the case was decided.
Because of the courage of A.C. and J.F., thousands of youth raised in government care that were in the SFA Program will continue to receive their benefits while the legality of Alberta's conduct is being reviewed.
Here is what the Justice said about the Charter challenge in her injunction decision:
But, Alberta appealed the decision. It appealed it in the middle of an unprecedented public health pandemic, and likely to save the government $18 million a year in what it spends on the SFA Program https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/sfaa-alberta-youth-care-appeal-avnish-nanda-1.5536688
A.C. and J.F. fight continues, and Alberta has indicated that it will use the resources that it has to have the decision reversed and to cut-off the women from SFA Program supports.
The young mothers have no resources to devote to this legal battle. They exist solely on the approximately $2,000.00 they receive per month from the Alberta government under the SFA Program. They don't have the resources to match Alberta in this Appeal.
We need your help. We are badly out resourced. No government agency, legal aid body, community legal clinic, or non-profit organization will fund or were even willing to take on this lawsuit. It's just A.C. and J.F. on their own.
That's why we need your help. A donation of $5.00 or $20.00 dollars will help bridge the imbalance between the parties, and help ensure that we can meet Alberta on a more equal footing at the Appeal and throughout this case as it continues. https://www.gofundme.com/f/legal-challenge-against-cuts-to-the-sfa-program
