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Alberta Works-Income Support provides financial benefits to individuals and families who do not have the resources to meet their basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter. This assistance program is administered through Alberta Human Resources and Employment. To apply for Income Support, contact your nearest Human Resources and Employment office for an appointment, or for more information call the Income Support Contact Centre in Edmonton: 644-5135. Toll free across Alberta: 1-866-644-5135.
You can also look at their website at: www.gov.ab.ca/hre
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North District Office |
| South District Office |
West District Office |
You can call the Edmonton Food Bank (Edmonton Gleaner’s Association) for information on getting a food hamper. Their number is 425-4190. This is a very busy line and you may have to phone several times before you get through. They take calls from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, Monday to Friday. They have depots located throughout the city, and they will be able to tell you where and when you can go to pick up a food hamper.
You can also call The Salvation Army Family Services at 424-9222. They take calls Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, or you can drop in at 9620 –101A Avenue. Drop-in hours are from 9:00 am to 11:00 am, and 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Monday to Thursday. They ask that you bring two pieces of ID for each adult and one for each child, a rent receipt, and an income receipt. The Salvation Army is able to help with a food hamper once every 90 days. At the 1241 Hyndman Road NE location at 472-6743 you must call to make an appointment between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm, Tuesday through Friday. The NE location also has an Excess Food program every Friday from 10 am to 11:30 am where you can receive food every week.
While both agencies are able to help if you need assistance with food, remember that once you access one for help, you cannot access the other.
You can contact the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC) at the AADAC Adult Counselling and Prevention Services. Their number is 427-2736 and they are located at 10010 - 102A Avenue. Walk-in intake occurs Monday through Thursday between 8 am and 3 pm and Friday between 8 am and 1 pm. AADAC provides information and counselling to persons with alcohol, drug, and gambling misuse and for family members and friends affected by it. You can view their website at www.aadac.com. They will also have information on AADAC Youth Services, 422-7383, if your family member is under 18.
Alcoholics Anonymous, www.edmontonaa.org is a self-help group for people seeking help with alcohol problems; call 424-5900 for information on the group and times most convenient.
Al-Anon, www.al-anon-edmonton.org provides help to families and friends of alcoholics; call 433-1818 for information on the group and times convenient for you.
Another source of information 24 hours a day about AADAC agencies in Alberta is the AADAC Helpline 1-866-332-2322.
Some places that take donations for families but may not resell these items are:
There are many different variables of anger management that you will want to clarify.
A few of the questions to ask yourself and the agency offering the service include:
Once you have asked yourself these questions the next step is to contact some agencies to see what they offer.
Some places that offer groups are
You can get referrals to psychologists who offer one-on-one anger management by calling:
The first thing you want to do is refer to your past utility bill statement to find out which broker company you are through. Discuss with them about payment options. By being up front with the utility company about your financial situation, they will usually negotiate a more affordable payment plan. To phone EPCOR about your water or power bill, call 412-4000. A broker company for gas services is Direct Energy Regulated Services 1-866-420-3174.
Low-income Albertans who have received a disconnection notice from their gas or power company and have no way of paying their overdue utility bills may be eligible for emergency assistance. Emergency assistance can be provided more than once but the recipient must repay Alberta Human Resources and Employment. Contact your nearest AHRE for assistance.
Support for seniors is given through Alberta Seniors 1-800-642-3853.
If you or your spouse has been employed full-time for at least three months and you have dependent children, try the Salvation Army Working Families Fund 424-9222. This fund is available on a one-time-only basis to working families in financial crisis.
Planning Ahead, and the IMPACT Program are two different programs that a person can register for if charged with impaired driving. You can get more information about these programs by calling 430-8811 in Edmonton or 1-800-272-5698.
Planning Ahead is a one-day interactive educational course dealing with impaired driving, impaired driving laws, the effect of alcohol on the body and how to separate drinking from driving.
The IMPACT Program is a weekend assessment program designed to help you reflect on how the use of alcohol and other substances is affecting your life. You are required to remain on-site for the entire weekend.
A public service that connects you to health information over the phone is the Capital Health Link 408-LINK (5465). Capital Health Link is a free, centralized service that can respond to your health-related questions, based on physician-reviewed information, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Find public health services and programs, register for pre-natal programs, register environmental health concerns, and access immunization records by calling the Health Link.
The Support Network’s 211 service offers a Volunteer Information and Referral Service to meet the immediate need for volunteer referrals in Edmonton. By assessing area of interest, geographical area, and population served a potential volunteer is provided with contact information for organizations that have volunteer opportunities matching their area of interest. Access this service by dialing 211 if you’re within the City of Edmonton. Outside of the city call 482-INFO (4636). To further explore specific volunteer positions view www.govolunteer.ca. Go to the site, click on "volunteer opportunities" and then “search by location” or use "advanced search".
Organizations who wish to list volunteer roles can contact Andrea at The Support Network at 732-6643. The primary focus is on non-profit human and social services related to basic subsistence and survival, or help for people who may experience barriers to service. Our secondary focus is on non-profit organizations providing other community services. The organizations listed will provide The Support Network with an overview of the work they do, current and accurate contact information, and volunteer roles. The organization will accept the values, principles and standards of the Canadian Code of Volunteer Involvement.
Depending on the support you are looking for there are a few different options available. If you are looking for one-on-one support with a counsellor almost any counsellor will be able to help. Get referrals to registered psychologists by calling the Psychologists Association of Alberta at 428-8255(TALK).
A few other suggestions are:
Salvation Army: Contact Debbie 412-2743 for individual, couple, family counselling.
City of Edmonton Community Services: Assessment and Short-Term Counselling intake line 496-4777. They support individual, couple, and family counselling in many areas including emotional issues due to separation and loss.
The Minus One Club 434-9284 is a social group for individuals who have been widowed, separated, or divorced for at least three months.
Reaching Out 406-1050 offers support to help individuals handle their new "single" status.
If there are children involved in the situation they are easily affected by the changes a divorce or separation can create.
Rainbows 448-1180 is a 12-week free support group for children grieving a loss due to separation, divorce, abandonment, or death.
For custody and access initiated prior to divorce call Family Justice Services 427-8343. The Family Centre offers a number of courses for parenting including Parenting After Separation at 917-8205. Through Alberta Justice, Family Justice Services offer communication and parenting courses 427-8329. For more information with issues relating to divorce contact Family Law information Centre 415-0404. They can also provide child custody guidelines and procedure booklets.
Many people find the price of lawyers is out of reach. As a result, the Legal Aid Society of Alberta 427-7575 was formed to assist individuals who cannot afford legal assistance in criminal and family law. Alberta Law Line, a project through The Legal Aid Society of Alberta, provides a centralized, easy-to-access source of legal information, resource referrals, and summary advice for Albertans in need through their toll free number 1-866-845-3425 or direct from Edmonton 644-7777, Monday through Friday 9 am to 4 pm, except Wednesdays, 9 am to 2:30 pm.
Edmonton Centre for Equal Justice, 702-1725, tries to fill in the gaps that Legal Aid Society of Alberta doesn’t cover such as landlord and tenant disputes, etc.
Another resource is the Student Legal Services of Edmonton, 492-2226, that provides free legal information, assistance, and education for people who qualify.
The single point of entry for an Alberta resident that needs an assessment done is Home Care. General inquires can be made by phoning the Home Care intake line (780) 496-1300 (open 24 hours a day). This service provides health and support services based on assessed needs for people who wish to remain in their homes. Short-term acute services are provided to people on discharge from the hospital, and long-term services are available to seniors and persons with disabilities. Services include nursing, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, social work, physical therapy, homemaking, personal care, companionship, and driving services.
To find out about seniors’ housing in Edmonton you can contact SAGE (Seniors Association of Greater Edmonton) 423-5510. They will have information on both private and public facilities.
Unfortunately the need for low-cost housing is greater than what is available, which creates waiting lists that can easily be six months to over a year long. While this seems daunting, it is still important to explore all of your options because applications are dealt with case by case.
Some places to try include:
To find out information on the labor market you are thinking of entering, phone the Career Information Hotline 1-800-661-3753. Try contacting the Labor Market Information Centre: City Centre 415-4900, South 644-2888, and North 422-9440. Human Resources and Skills Development Canada also offers information for job seekers 1-800-206-7218. Distinctive Employment Counselling Services of Alberta 474-2500 has labour market resource centers which provides access to computers, fax machines and the internet for job searching.
Another agency to try is the YMCA Enterprise Centre 429-9622. Persons 12-17 years old can receive some help with career planning and 16-30 year olds may participate in an employment program.
Youth Connections 415-4968 assists 16-24 year olds with career planning.
As children grow older their response to your parenting style may change. Many people find that when their children reach the teen years that parenting becomes more difficult. As a result many agencies try to help provide information, options, and counselling to help.
The Boys and Girls Club has a support group for parents experiencing challenges with their children/teens. Contact Rhonda 481-1235 for information on Parent Talk.
Another support group is Toughlove. Parents support one another to make changes in their own behavior in order to effect positive changes in their children based on consistency in applying consequences for children's unacceptable behavior. For further information and locations phone 464-5597.
NB: The referrals listed here are meant to be examples of some of the services available in the community of Edmonton. This is by no means an exhaustive list. For more information, dial 211 (482-INFO outside of Edmonton) or email us at 211edmonton@thesupportnetwork.com.
Page last modified on April 18, 2006
