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Hey everyone, we’ve been posting a series to celebrate Community Inclusion Month. We have talked about where we’ve been, and about some current issues where we are and how to self-advocate. And so, as we end Community Inclusion Month, we wanted to leave you with some thoughts about where we’re going.
While it’s impossible to know the future, our hope for where we’re going is described best by Cole Blakeway: We are all DIFFERENT, and that’s AWESOME!
Hey everyone, as you know we’ve been posting topics for Community Inclusion month and last week we talked a bit about self advocacy.
A really important part of self advocacy is standing up for your own rights. We have a whole page that talks about rights and responsibilities here, complete with help to understand different kinds of rights, like:
Everyone has rights as a person in Canada, and rights as a person in BC. If you have a disability and you are getting supports, you also have rights as a person who uses the services of Community Living BC (CLBC).
With all those different kinds of rights in mind, we thought this would be a good time to remind ourselves about this awesome conversation that helped explore rights and responsibilities:
If you’ve got questions about rights and responsibilities, please let us know or leave us a comment.
Hey everyone, October 24-31 is PRIDE WEEK in Kelowna, and there are a whole bunch of events going on to celebrate 25 Years of Kelowna Pride! You can check it all out here, including the bike derby, trans and non-binary storytelling evening and social, pride festival and pride cabaret.
You can find Kelowna Pride Society on Instagram at the link below, on Facebook here, and you can read about Pride Week on KelownaNow.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CVQb3rgJCdP/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
Hey everyone, we’ve been posting a series as part of Community Inclusion Month. Last week, we talked about where we’ve been in terms of disability rights and inclusion, and the work done by self-advocates who have brought the movement to where we are now. This week, we’re focusing on where we are by exploring some current issues and resources for self-advocacy.
So, what’s self-advocacy?
The BC People First Society (BCPF) talks about self-advocacy being what happens “when we stand up for our needs when they are not being met” and members help each other learn self-advocacy skills. Here is a video of the BCPF Advocacy Committee on Accessibility on YouTube.
The Self Advocate Net website has a whole page dedicated to self-advocacy topics, too, as well as a YouTube playlist of helpful videos here.
Here is an interview from Kelowna Now with Kelowna resident Shelley Decoste that was published on October 7th, to mark Community Inclusion Month. Shelley talks about her experiences and stereotypes about people with diverse abilities.
Here is a news article from CTV News about a young man from Toronto who is part of the Dear Everybody campaign put on each year by a rehabilitation hospital. He (and a team of young people with disabilities) are doing a virtual tour of classrooms and workplaces to talk about ableism.
What’s ableism?
Here’s how the Dear Everybody website explains it: Ableism is the discrimination towards someone based on their abilities, often favouring those who do not have a disability and seeing less value in those that do. And it needs to stop.
The idea is to get people talking about ableism, in order to end it — and that’s where self-advocates come in! Self-advocates can start great conversations about what’s wrong and how to fix it. You can see the videos made to start the Dear Everybody conversation here.
The Easter Seals website has a great idea on this page that would help start important conversations (like Shelley’s interview and like Dear Everybody). You can invite people you know to watch TED Talks about different disability issues, different people’s perspectives, and different experiences, and the then start a conversation about it, or a video chat, or have a talk on the phone. Or, if you’re interested in exploring another way to safely try out online community, you could post on the video page, a message board, or Facebook page, or post a comment below!
Check out the Easter Seals 10 suggested TED Talks about disability, accessibility, and inclusion to get started (printable list below).
Hey everyone, Plan Institute is offering their Level 1 and Level 2 webinars about the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) over the next few months.
Check out the info below to see which would be best for you, and click here if you’re interested in signing up!
Hey everyone, this year’s Inclusion BC Summit is happening on THURSDAY (OCT 14) from 1-4 pm online! Check out the information below and at this webpage from Inclusion BC, and click here if you want to attend:
The virtual summit is a celebration of Community Inclusion Month. Through presentations and interactive break-out sessions, come explore how to build awareness, inspire action, and advance rights as a federation dedicated to the full inclusion of all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in all aspects of life.
Hey everyone, October 10th is World Mental Health Day. The World Health Organization (WHO) is highlighting how our experience with the COVID-19 pandemic has raised our awareness of mental health challenges.
Most importantly, the WHO wants to raise awareness about a mental health challenge that impacts about 5% of adults worldwide: depression. Below you can find PDF factsheets about depression, and about living with someone with depression. The WHO has video testimonials on their website about mental health and support, check them out here. They also have an entire page for mental health resources for the public, check that out here.
Hey everyone, we posted last week to kick off Community Inclusion Month. This week, we are exploring community inclusion through how we participate. COMMUNITY is one of the 7 keys to citizenship listed in Inclusion BC’s video. Everyone has a right to be included in their community. It’s part of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), check it out here.
Given that we are still battling the COVID-19 pandemic, we can consider how we want to participate in community while still keeping ourselves and others safe and healthy — such as getting outside into local parks (like the upcoming Spooktacular Pumpkin Walk coming up in Kelowna), or participating in an online community, like on the Inclusion BC Facebook page, through an event listed in the Family Support Institute’s Calendar for Connection (like the upcoming Halloween Howl), or alongside your favorite interests and hobbies (like on Pinterest) — or, in the comments section here, too!
Want to hear more about online communities? Let us know in the comments!
Hey everyone, it’s Fire Prevention Week! The National Fire Protection Association theme this year is LEARN THE SOUNDS OF FIRE SAFETY, and they have a great resource that helps explain the sounds you may hear coming from your smoke and/or carbon monoxide alarm. You can download it below. There is also a Frequently Asked Questions page here.
There’s also this page with helpful ideas for those who may need a different kind of alarm.
The City of Kelowna has a great fire prevention webpage full of information and resources, as well as a helpful videos from the Kelowna Fire Department that explain smoke and carbon monoxide alarm requirements and maintenance, and kitchen fire safety. Check those out below!
Hey everyone, the National Task Group (NTG) on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices is offering a free webinar on Thursday this week covering Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s Disease – check out their flyer below, visit their website, or view their webinar schedule.
