Inclusion in Action

An update from Inclusion BC
June 2023 Edition

a rocky creek with deep blue water in a forest. mountains are visible in the distance

Inclusion BC In The Community

Inclusion BC's Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday, June 8 from 3-5 pm. Join us online or in person to celebrate the work of our federation in the past year. Register here
The Community-Led Collaboration Project will be hosting Conversations in Castlegar on June 15-17. We want to hear from you about improving services and supports for children and youth with support needs. Register and find more information here.
Inclusion BC's Communications Working Group will be meeting Tuesday, June 13 at 1 pm. Anyone working in community living involved in communications is invited to attend every month. Please contact Galen Exo for more information at gexo@inclusionbc.org
Inclusion BC Executive Director, Karla Verschoor will be joining the Elections BC Accessibility Committee this month in support of their accessibility plan.

Three people standing in front of a tire shop. The person in the middle is a young man with short dark brown hair. He is wearing a striped button up shirt with the text "Kal Tire" written on one side of his chest and "Tye" on the other. To the right is an older man with short white hair and a white short trimmed beard. He is wearing a colourful short sleeve button up shirt with illustrations of fish printed on it and cargo shorts. To the right is an older lady with curly short brown hair. She is wearing purple rimmed glasses and a flowy blue dress with diamond shaped patterns. All three people have their arms over each other and are smiling while looking at the camera.

Our 2022-2023 Annual Report

We’re excited to present this year’s annual report summarizing our work over the past year! We invite you to read the report and join us in building awareness and advancing rights for inclusion in our province.

Read the Report

Challenging Misconceptions

As part of our Challenging Misconceptions Project, Galen Exo interviewed Brent and Fiona Hall about the ups and downs of their almost 15-year marriage as people with disabilities and writes about how we can get closer to a world in which everyone is afforded a chance for a fulfilling romantic life.

Read Their Story

A man and woman both wearing red shirts hugging outside with greenery in the background. The woman has a leather backpack. The man has a grey shoulder bag. They are both wearing glasses

“I could have thrown in the towel many times…but something told me that this was definitely worth my time.”

The flag of british columbia with the sun shining through from behind

Diversity Includes

Representative for Children and Youth Research Report Aligns with Kids Can’t Wait Campaign

Change to services and supports for children and youth with support needs in our province is long overdue, but what should that look like? We are encouraged by how the community-based research and work from our Kids Can’t Wait campaign is aligned with the findings of the new research review and analysis released by the Representative for Children and Youth earlier this year.

Read More

Self Advocate Feature

Michelle Goos: Advocating for Parents With Disabilities

This month, we are highlighting the work of parent and self-advocate Michelle Goos. Our content writer, Katie Miller, interviewed Michelle about her experience raising a family as a person with a disability, and her project “Supporting Parents With Disabilities”

Read Their Story

A portrait of a woman smiling at the camera. She has teal hair and black-rimmed glasses. She is wearing a black zip up sweater with white patterns.

Community Partnerships

Inclusion BC Featured in BC PRC Quarterly Member Spotlight

This month, Inclusion BC is proud to be featured as the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition’s Quarterly Member Spotlight. Every quarter, a coalition member is given the opportunity to highlight their work and contributions for a more equitable future. We wanted to share with you the reasons why we are a member of the BC PRC.

Here is What We Wrote

Member Feature

Welcome, Autism BC!

We are thrilled to welcome Autism BC as the newest member of our provincial federation! Autism BC is a grassroots organization founded in 1975 with the goal of supporting people on the autism spectrum and their families. With over 6,000 members and offices across the province, they provide opportunities based on their three “life pillars”: learning about the autistic experience, building a community around celebrating and better understanding that experience, and providing support for people with autism, their families, and care providers.

Read More

We’re Hiring!

Inclusion BC is hiring for 3 new roles:

Apply Today!

Special Events Coordinator

Social Media Coordinator

Employment Program Coordinator - MentorAbility

Support Our Work

Your support makes all of Inclusion BC’s work possible. Thanks to you, we can support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families when they need it most:

“We got help from Inclusion BC during our son’s transition to adult services. Inclusion BC guided every step to help meet our needs. Without them, we wouldn’t have known what options or rights were available to us. My son is in a program now, and my husband and I can keep our full-time jobs to support our family. Without Inclusion BC, we would still be running in circles. We really appreciate the help from Inclusion BC during this stressful time.“
-Wei, Parent

Your ongoing support means we can continue to advocate for the rights and opportunities of people and their families.

Donate Today

Disability In The News

BC Ed Access
- All Means All - Including on Field Trips
Vancouver Sun
- Daphne Bramham: Sadly, children and youth are still not a political priority
Global
- $4.1 million announced for the Seamless Day Kindergarten pilot program
Simcoe
- Honour AccessAbility Week with action on Canada’s Disability Benefit Act, advocate says
Disability Scoop
- Google Displaying Accessibility Information More Prominently
BC Government News
- Minimum wage increases to $16.75 per hour on June 1

You may have noticed we changed the format of our newsletter…we want to know what you think! Give us feedback about the new format here

If you know someone who would be interested in the work of Inclusion BC, please spread the word, share this email, and ask them to sign up for Inclusion in Action here: https://inclusionbc.org/join-newsletter/