Dear Readers,
Below are highlights of what you'll discover in the August 2022 edition of Inclusion BC’s E-Update:
- Youth Employment Summit 2022
- Back to School 2022
- Inclusion BC's new staff members
- Submission for the Review of the Representative for Children and Youth Act
- Report on the Budget 2023 Consultation by the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services
- Disability Alliance BC's Accessibility Project Grant Applications
- BC Accessibility Committee Applications
- Great ShakeOut BC
- BC Rent Bank's 2021 Housing Stability Survey Report
- Community Living BC's 2022 to 2025 Strategic Plan
- Youth Assistive Technology, a new initiative by Technology for Living
- Stigma-Free Society's Rural Mental Wellness Toolkit
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2022 Youth Employment Summit
On September 22-24, 2022, Inclusion BC and Inclusion Langley are hosting a virtual Youth Employment Summit, where youth with disabilities will learn from community leaders, inclusive employers, and peers about how they can get a job or mentorship and thrive.
On the last day, September 24, there will be a Virtual Job Fair where inclusive employers will be available to answer questions, accept applications, and even schedule interviews!
Read the full schedule and register today here
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Back to School 2022
We are heading back to school, which can bring up many emotions. Each family has unique circumstances on whether you feel more calm, worried, or enthusiastic about this new school year. We honour where you are at, and in this post, we share some essential ideas about your child’s right to an education and some resources that we hope are helpful.
Read the blog post here
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Welcome, Akim!
Akim Giroux joins as Inclusion BC's Community Engagement Manager working for the development of inclusive housing in the province. Akim has a decade of experience in social justice, anti-oppression work, and human rights. Akim was able to build strong expertise from his experience as Co-Director of an NGO working for trans rights, a Senior Project Manager for an inclusive homelessness program, and being an Employment Coach for marginalized youth. Akim will support the development of inclusive housing communities, initiatives, and networking in the province. Welcome, Akim!
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Welcome, Galen!
Galen Exo joins Inclusion BC as our Communications and Engagement Manager for Special Projects, using storytelling as a medium to shift perceptions of people’s limitations. He has worked alongside persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities since 2015, with a focus on community engagement and facilitating independence and personal growth. His values are rooted in a belief that people with lived experience are the experts in their own lives and true inclusion is rooted in collaborative relationships and freedom of choice. With his experience as a freelance photographer, Galen brings a visual storytelling approach to this work and hopes to elevate the visibility of the people that Inclusion BC supports. Welcome, Galen!
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Inclusion BC's Submission to the Select Standing Committee on Children and Youth
In July 2022, Inclusion BC made a submission to the Select Standing Committee on Children and Youth for the Review of the Representative for Children and Youth Act.
We made four recommendations in our submission:
- Expand the mandate of the Representative to include all publicly funded services that impact children and youth with disabilities: education, health, childcare, mental health, or any other.
- Expand the mandate of the Representative to include young adults under any status or agreement under the Child and Family Community Act without any restriction of the time when they were in care and to ensure this includes children and youth who have been under voluntary or special needs agreements.
- Include the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in the list of international human rights instruments that the Representative must take into account in carrying out their functions under the Act in relation to children, youth, and young adults.
- Expand the mandate of the Representative to give them authority to monitor, review, audit, and conduct research with respect to quality assurance processes for all designated services.
Read the full submission here
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The Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services' Report on the Budget 2023 Consultation
On August 11, the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services released a Report on the Budget 2023 Consultation based on the public consultation held for the provincial budget.
Inclusion BC shared concerns and recommendations about the supports for students with disabilities and income and disability assistance, among others, in our Budget 2023 Submission. The Committee's Report echoed these concerns in the sections on Students with Support Needs and the Income and Disability Assistance:
"Inclusion BC shared that they continue to be concerned by the number of students with disabilities who are excluded from full participation in schools. School District No. 5 (Southeast Kootenay) and School District No. 43 (Coquitlam) also described challenges in providing learning assistance to students with support needs due to lack of funding. Furthermore, the BC Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils noted that there is a gap in resources and supports for students with special needs and other vulnerable students, including early identification and programming, and long wait-times for formal assessments of students who have been identified as having a learning difference. The BC School Trustees Association echoed this concern, stating that the funding formula for the inclusion of students with diverse needs has never been sufficient" - Page 81
"Many organizations and individuals advocated for increases to income and disability rates. BC Poverty Reduction Coalition stated that current rates for both income assistance and disability assistance are well below the poverty line. BC People First Society stated that these low rates result in people disproportionately facing poverty and ongoing debt, homelessness and tenuous shelter, starvation and malnutrition, and being unable to pay for much-needed medication or medical support and resources for mental health issues. YWCA Metro Vancouver and Inclusion BC expressed similar concerns" - Page 97
Read the full report here
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Disability Alliance BC's Accessibility Project Grant Applications
BC celebrated its first annual Accessibility Week from May 27th to June 2nd, 2018. As part of the Province’s goal to improve accessibility for people with disabilities in BC, Disability Alliance BC was selected by the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction (MSDPR) to distribute funding to community-based Accessibility Projects. With the successful administration of the Accessibility Project Grants in 2018-2021, Disability Alliance BC was again selected to administer Accessibility Project Grants in 2022.
Accessibility Projects must focus on at least one of the following:
- Accessible employment;
- Accessible emergency planning and response;
- Accessible arts, culture, and tourism;
- Accessible sports and recreation;
- Accessible education and learning;
- Accessible community participation.
Read more and apply here
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BC Accessibility Committee Applications
The Province of B.C. has opened applications to join committees to improve accessibility in our communities.
Applications are open for people who want to help develop the Province’s first two standards for accessibility in order to remove barriers that can restrict people living with disabilities from pursuing the same opportunities as those without disabilities.
The two new technical committees will assist in the development of the employment accessibility standard and the accessible service delivery standard, respectively.
Read more and apply here
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Great ShakeOut BC
B.C. is at high risk for earthquakes compared to most of Canada. You can be prepared for when the next one hits.
Inclusion BC will be participating in The Great BC Shake Out on October 20, 2022. Register yourself, your family, group, organization, or company today.
Read more and register here
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BC Rent Bank's 2021 Housing Stability Survey Report
BC Rent Bank compiled this report to measure the efficacy of rent banks as a housing loss prevention tool for renters experiencing a short-term crisis.
They surveyed all households in BC that received rent bank assistance between April 1 and June 30, 2021, and asked respondents about their housing situation six months after receiving assistance and for feedback regarding their experience with rent bank services.
The survey results were both conclusive and encouraging: rent banks were successful in supporting renters to maintain their housing when faced with a short-term crisis that threatened housing stability, with 94% of survey respondents indicating they had maintained or improved their housing situation. The survey results also helped BC Rent Bank to learn more about the importance of stable housing for community well-being, and where BC’s rent banks need to do more to meet the diverse and varied needs of BC renters.
View the webpage and read the full report here
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Youth Assistive Technology (YAT)
Technology for Living has launched a new initiative called Youth Assistive Technology (YAT).
Youth Assistive Technology (YAT) promotes independence by providing Assistive Technology and Home Automation to youth ages 12-18 with limited mobility in BC. They offer individualized solutions involving voice control (Google/Alexa), switches, mounts, sensors, lighting, and automatic door openers.
Visit their website here
Watch a video about Youth Assistive Technology here
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Stigma-Free Society's Rural Mental Wellness Toolkit
The Rural Mental Wellness Toolkit provides resources specialized for rural and agricultural communities across Canada. The Stigma-Free Society is aware that communities living in rural areas lack mental health resources and struggle to find help. They want to support these communities by making their Rural Mental Wellness Toolkit and peer support training available to anyone experiencing stigma and/or mental health struggles.
Access the toolkit here
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Our Work is Made Possible Thanks to You!
Thank you for reading our E-update! Consider donating to help us continue working towards an inclusive future.
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