Do Your Best…
Your Right to…Vote
Hey everybody, we are celebrating rights (and responsibilities) this month! Today’s post is about VOTING. You can register to vote in BC if you are:
- 18 or older by General Voting Day (Oct. 24)
- a Canadian citizen, and
- a BC resident for the past six months as of General Voting Day (Oct. 24)
While Election Day in BC is coming up next Saturday (Oct. 24), in many places advance voting starts TODAY (Oct. 15)! If you plan to vote, check out what political parties say they will do about issues you care about. For example, the BC Special Olympics focused in on health care, check out this article for more information. Inclusion BC wrote to the political parties to find out what their plans were, check out their questions and issues here. You will need to decide which political party you will vote for in the election.
When you have decided who you will vote for, you will need to know where to go to vote. Find the place you will be voting (either in advance, or on Oct. 24) on the Elections BC website.
You will need to bring some specific items with you when you go to vote. You might want to get the items together in advance (i.e. your ID, a mask, etc). If you aren’t sure what you need, there is more information in this Elections BC voter guide.
Most importantly, if you’re planning to vote… ask for help, if you need it! Here are some ideas of who you could talk to and ask for help:
- Your family or your friends
- Your support worker or your home share provider
- People you know at your church or in your neighborhood
When you’re making your plan to get out there and vote, you might need to know what help is available at the voting station. You can find information about what help is available on this Elections BC webpage.
Elections BC also has a webpage all about keeping healthy and safe while you vote — check it out here.
Happy voting!
LINK! Training – Starts next week!
Hey everyone, if you haven’t already – check out the LINK! training all about safety, sexuality and relationships, starting next week online through posAbilities! This training is open to participants in the Okanagan and in the Kootenays.
Sign up or get in touch with your questions: https://www.laurelbc.ca/c-2020/
Your social distancing reminder of the week…
Hey everyone, I came across this list of over 50 activities that can be social-distancing-friendly — check it out! Which ones do you think look like the most fun?
WEBINAR: Voting!
Hey everyone, if you’re going to vote in the upcoming BC election there’s a webinar that can help answer your questions about voting — happening tomorrow!
You Can Vote! Webinar with Guest Melanie Callas from Elections BC
WHEN: October 14th, 2020 at 1:00-1:45PM (PST)
Inclusion BC is pleased to welcome Melanie Callas, Outreach Coordinator with Elections BC, to host the 5th webinar in our Virtual Learning Series. Melanie will talk about the voting process and answer questions about voting and the election.
https://inclusionbc.org/bc-votes-2020/
Send us your questions! Inclusion BC is collecting questions to ask Melanie in the webinar. We want to hear from you! Please send your questions to Semanthi at swanni@inclusionbc.org
Have Your Say In…Parking
Hey everyone, have your say in accessible parking in Kelowna and enter to win a $50 gift card to a local business:
The City is reaching out to accessible parking users to take a survey and share their experiences using City of Kelowna accessible parking stalls. Survey feedback will be used to create a new accessible parking program and respondents can enter to win a $50 gift card to a local business for their participation.
“We completed the Downtown Area Parking Plan last year and during that process we heard from residents that there are barriers to accessible parking in Kelowna,” says Andrew Rolston, Parking Operations Coordinator. “This survey will help us understand more clearly what those barriers are and what solutions users would prefer.”
The survey is open to anyone who regularly uses or has used accessible parking stalls in City owned parking lots and on-street parking, for themselves, friends, family members or clients. The survey is open until 4 p.m., Oct. 20.
To take the survey, go to https://getinvolved.kelowna.ca/. To check out a map of accessible parking stalls, go to https://www.kelowna.ca/roads-transportation/parking/find-parking.
Giving Thanks!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! How’d you spend the weekend? Send us a picture!
Thanksgiving weekend…
Thanksgiving weekend is here! Holidays look different this year as we move into our “new normal” keeping our “bubbles” small, and staying safe and healthy at least 2m apart.
The CDC website has suggestions for safer celebration alternatives for Dia De Los Muertos, Halloween and Thanksgiving. Here are suggestions for lower risk activities over Thanksgiving:
- Having a small dinner with only people who live in your household
- Preparing traditional family recipes for family and neighbors, especially those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and delivering them in a way that doesn’t involve contact with others
- Having a virtual dinner and sharing recipes with friends and family
- Shopping online rather than in person on the day after Thanksgiving or the next Monday
- Watching sports events, parades, and movies from home
And here’s an example of how you can get creative! Have a Thanksgiving “dinner” online via videoconference, where everyone eats a turkey meal that the “host” prepares the day before and drops off at “guests’” homes that morning.
Stay healthy and safe this long weekend, as we all connect with loved ones.
Equipment & Supplies Available to Order…
Hey everyone, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and supplies are available to order from the Province of BC! Products available are listed in the PDF (below). You do not need an account to order off the website. Here is the direct link to the form.
