Difference between revisions of "I Was Abused in a Residential School"

#Because bringing up the past may be difficult, make sure you have emotional and psychological support. You may wish to contact the [[Indian Residential School Survivors Society]] at 1-800-721-0066. The Society provides counselling services and referrals to other services near you; additional contact information can be found in the [[Resource Guide]]. You may also wish to contact Health Canada's Indian Residential School Mental Health Support Program at 1-877-477-0775, or the National Indian Residential School Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419.  

#If you have not already done so, get and complete an application for a Common Experience Payment. The deadline for CEP applications expired on September 19, 2011 but the Settlement Agreement allows for late applications to be filed until September 19, 2012 in exceptional circumstances. You can get a CEP application:

#* at any Service Canada office,

#* by calling the CEP Response Centre at 1-866-565-4526, or  

#* from [[Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada]] (AANDC); see the [[Resource Guide]] for contact and website information for AANDC, including an online application form.]   

#If you personally suffered physical, sexual or psychological abuse at Residential School, you can get an application from and “Guide” for the Independent Assessment Process from AANDC. [See Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada in Part 2 of this Guide for contact and website information, including an online application form.]  You can also contact the IAP Adjudication Secretariat Help Line at 1-866-879-4913.  All of the parties to the Settlement Agreement recommend that IAP claimants have a lawyer to help them through the process.  Most IAP lawyers do not charge for their services unless their client is successful with their claim.  The federal government makes a substantial contribution towards the payment of legal fees.  All legal fees are capped and also subject to review by the adjudicator to make sure that they are fair and reasonable.  Statistics show that claimants who are represented by a lawyer receive higher awards of compensation even after legal fees are deducted.  If you choose not to be represented by a lawyer, it is a good idea to get a friend, counsellor or advocate to assist you with completing this application.  They cannot, however, “represent” you at a hearing.