Help Bernie make it to CPP & OAS!
I’ve been lucky enough in my life (so far) not to need to lean on my friends and family for financial help just to make it through the day-to-day. I also know I am lucky enough to have family and friends who could lend me a helping hand when the cookie starts to crumble and I am so lucky to have you all. If you have a minute to read, share, or even help I would truly appreciate it. Thanks for your time … and thanks for being part of the network that I’m so blessed to have.
This is Bernie. This is one of the kindest, sweetest, most hardworking men I’ve ever met (and I’ve met a few of them!). He’s had his fair share of hardships and I can tell you that none of them have been because of any fault of his own. I know this is a lot to read … thank you again if you make it through everything below.
Bernie started working at Escoba back in 2010. My wife (Laurel) hired him to be a dishwasher and kitchen helper. She says she wanted him to be part of the team because of his kind eyes and she thought he might be lonely. He is always friendly, always shows up to work, always works way past when he should, and always tries to sign out early. After about a year of him working with us, we learned more about him. Before he started at Escoba he had been living at the Calgary Drop-In Centre. Why? Because his apartment building had burned down and he lost track of how to be in connection with the Red Cross. So he spent a year and a half working at McDonald’s and living at the Drop-In to save up money for an apartment (deposit, credit check, etc). Got the apartment, got himself a landline, got himself a job at Escoba, got himself right back on his feet with zero help except for his own gumption.
In 2014, he suffered a devastating ankle fracture. We helped as much as we could but had no idea that he had taken out a line of credit to cover his expenses that disability coverage didn’t. Truth be told, it never healed properly but he is just that grin and bear-it kind of guy. It wasn’t a workplace accident and he was more vulnerable than we could imagine to the costs of living. After the ankle fracture, he STILL returned back to work. He is still hindered by the damage from this incident, and the likelihood of him gaining a job right now is slim to none. Covid rules, lack of access to exercise equipment, no family GP, etc … Not to mention he is 63 (if he files for early CPP he will receive a whopping $271.34 per month). If I could hire him back - I would. Honestly, I really don’t think his body can handle the abuse of kitchen life anymore, and I know he’s worked hard enough his whole life and shouldn’t have to do it right now.
He is surviving right now on CRB. We helped him get his taxes in order and to get him registered for the program. Embarrassingly, we followed up, things seemed good, so we just proceeded with our world and trying to keep Escoba afloat during COVID. In March, he was still visiting, we were checking up, and then in May, he asked for a phone book. Laurel asked why, and he said “well dear, I filed paperwork to try to get into an old age home but they said I have to wait to file until I’m 65 so I think when my CRB runs out in June I’ll move into the Drop-In again until I’m 65. I just need to call Goodwill so I can donate some things.” His CRB has been extended until mid-September thankfully.
That’s not how we roll. I can’t sleep knowing he would spend 2 years at a shelter waiting for his full pension and old age security to kick in and THEN start applying for safe and sustainable housing/care. We’ve exhausted all the usual avenues for help. It will take 6 months to get him considered for AISH (the Alberta version of help for those with disabilities etc) … but he’s still on CRB so the ball can’t start rolling until that runs out. We’ve found some short-term immediate help and he is being accepted into a low-income “senior almost” downtown apartment which will save him about $600 per month. He has no other family except us. We will be moving him out of his current apartment on July 25th and into his new lodgings!
I am asking that you make a donation to his lodging for the next almost 2 years while we wait for his CPP and OAS to become sustainable. God knows, times are tough for everyone right now, and I hate to ask this of anyone. If it wasn’t for COVID, we’d be in a better situation to help him long-term and more sustainably… but here we are. The ask looks like a lot, but it’s two years of keeping a great, hardworking, caring man sheltered, safe, and sound.
If you read all of this, thank you for taking the time! I’m happy to sit and drink a beer with each of you who does, and to tell you just another reason why this man could use your help. I think we all have a Bernie in our lives, and any like, share, or donation will go a long way to helping us keep ours happy and healthy a little bit longer. If you have any suggestions for networks who could help that we should reach out to please send them! We will be doing a few fundraisers through Escoba so please stay tuned for those announcements!