The Employment Roundtable of the Tri-Cities awarded the Inclusive Employer Award to the Tri-City branches Vancity at the Mayor’s BBQ on September 7, 2017.  Currently, there are 2 branches in the Tri-Cities who are inclusive employers and another branch that is in the process of hiring another person with a set of unique abilities. Vancity’s work on diversity and inclusion is intentional, organization wide, and is rooted in its organizational values. We very much appreciate the efforts of Vancity Savings Credit Union and you very much deserve this award because Vancity gives people the opportunity to show that they can be valuable employees and contribute to public service. Vancity’s actions are a great example of community inclusion and what being an inclusive employer all about.

Long overdue investments in people, affordability welcomed

Victoria, BC – September 11, 2017: BC’s Budget Update and Throne Speech include initiatives that will make a real difference for people with intellectual disabilities, children with special needs and their families, along with an important message of hope that all British Columbians are valued.

Inclusion BC and Disability Alliance BC welcome several key announcements as a positive start.

These include an additional $200/month earnings exemption for Persons With Disabilities (PWD) monthly benefits. This raises the total annual earnings exemption for 2017 to $12,000 for a single person before any reduction in their monthly PWD benefits. BC now has the highest annualized earnings exemption for disability benefit recipients in Canada.

The Budget Update also confirms new dollars for a $100/month increase in PWD rates, which was announced shortly after the new government took office. The increase takes effect in September, bringing the monthly benefit to $1,133 for a single person. The Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction will also receive an additional $16 million for 2017/18 to address social assistance caseload pressures for the current year, with further increases in future years.

“British Columbians with intellectual disabilities and their families have been struggling and falling further behind for many years,” said Inclusion BC Executive Director Faith Bodnar. “These initiatives, along the overall focus on putting people first, on tackling poverty and affordability and on building a better province where everyone belongs is a very welcome message for people who have been without hope for far too long.”

“This is a good start,” added Jane Dyson, Executive Director of Disability Alliance BC. “As Finance Minister Carole James said, these increases are long overdue and we look forward to working with government on a comprehensive poverty reduction plan.”

Inclusion BC notes that many challenges remain, such as the need for a comprehensive operational review of Community Living BC that will address its financial, program and policy challenges. CLBC’s budget does not address waitlists and still reflects expectations for lowered costs per adult, which conflicts with all the evidence.

“Our federation looks forward to working with government to confront these challenges,” Bodnar said. “But we can’t overstate how important it is for British Columbians with disabilities to hear their concerns acknowledged, with concrete commitments to start on immediate improvements.”

Not included in the Budget Update, but mentioned in Friday’s Throne Speech, was confirmation that BC would reinstate a transit pass for PWD recipients, effective January 2018. Minister James confirmed the January 2018 implementation date, with “no clawbacks” from PWD benefits to fund the new pass.

Inclusion BC and DABC also welcomed the commitment to restore the transit pass, and hope to see an equitable approach to providing access to transportation for all PWD recipients.

The Budget Update included additional funding for social policy initiatives, including initial planning for a poverty reduction strategy and a basic income pilot. Inclusion BC and DABC have emphasized that a comprehensive strategy is critical to addressing poverty as a structural barrier that excludes British Columbians with intellectual disabilities from accessing many of the benefits and opportunities of full citizenship.

Other new budget initiatives to address affordability, including reduced MSP premiums and investments in affordable housing, will bring welcome relief for people with intellectual disabilities and their families.

“With the affordable housing initiatives, we need to ensure there is a clear vision for inclusive housing,” Bodnar said. “We’re also looking for portable rental supplements for PWD recipients because the maximum $375 housing allowance is so out of synch with actual costs, especially in key regional markets.”

Other announcements included new investments in public schools, which are struggling to respond to the landmark 2016 Supreme Court ruling that restored former staffing ratios in teachers’ collective agreements.

“An entire generation of students with special needs and their families has suffered tremendously from cuts and underfunding of public education,” Bodnar said. “We have a real opportunity now to restore supports for inclusive education, with the commitment to reinvest in public schools and a new BC curriculum that supports teaching to diversity. We want to work with the Education Ministry, with teachers and parents to ensure that teachers have the support they need to offer quality learning opportunities for all students in inclusive classrooms. That includes restoring resources for student assessment, specialist supports, teacher training and collaboration and classroom aides ”

About Inclusion BC
We are a provincial federation of people with intellectual disabilities, families and community agencies that advocates for inclusion, rights and full citizenship. Since 1955, we have been working with communities, partners and governments to advance our vision of a world where we all belong.
More: inclusionbc.org

About Disability Alliance BC
DABC’s mission is to support people, with all disabilities, to live with dignity, independence and as equal and full participants in the community. We champion issues impacting the lives of people with disabilities through our direct services, community partnerships, advocacy, research and publications.
More: disabilityalliancebc.org

Contacts

Faith Bodnar
Executive Director
Inclusion BC
Cel: 604 764-2591
Email: [email protected]

Jane Dyson
Executive Director
Disability Alliance BC
Cel: 778 895-6150
Email: [email protected]
Dawn Steele
Communications
Cel: 604 374-1530
Email: [email protected]

It’s that exciting time of year again when we set goals for ourselves and begin putting them into action! As parents, we focus first on ourselves and a big part of that is about how we can support our sons and daughters in setting and attaining their goals. In the first familyWORKs meeting in the fall on Thursday September 28th from 7:00 – 8:30PM, we will go over what employment options are available, which ones make the most sense for our son or daughter and how to access them through our many local service systems.

The option of winging it on your own is always there however families in the Tri-cities are fortunate in that they have plenty of other options available to them. At familyWORKs, parents come away with new ideas and a sense of feeling supported AND they learn about all the options.

We at familyWORKs enjoy meeting new families and so if you or your organization know parents who you believe would benefit in learning more about employment topics and meeting like minded families, please invite them to come to familyWORKs and share our flyers with them.

Additionally, I am happy to come to a parent-oriented meeting at your organization to talk about familyWORKs and the Family Support Institute to spread the word.

Thank you for your support.

cheers

Bob Kashyap

Facilitator – familyWORKs Tri-Cities Chapter

cell: 6049447741

[email protected]

http://www.familyworksbc.com

News Clippings

August 28, 2017

1. BC has the highest rate of working poor in the country and, for the 20th year in a row, one in five children lives in poverty. The Vancouver Sun interviewed the province\’s first poverty-reduction minister about how he\’ll make the province more affordable.

2. Growing inequality in BC means that \”hidden\” scourges like child poverty are not always obvious on the surface and advocates say the best way solve such problems is through access to housing.

3. An editorial in the Vancouver Sun weighs the need for expensive NDP spending promises and the fear of tax hikes that might be required to pay for them.

4. Advocates are calling the NDP government to freeze rents and deliver on affordable housing promises after the BC Residential Tenancy Branch raised the maximum allowable rent increase for 2018 to 4%.

5. Officials in the Fraser Health region are warning the public after a surge in deaths blamed on suspected drug overdoses—17 in one week disproportionately hitting men working in the trades.

6. Meanwhile, Ottawa once again says it has no plans to consider decriminalizing hard drugs, such as heroin, despite calls from local politicians, health officials, and experts who argue such radical action is needed to combat the national overdose epidemic.

7. BC response networks are raising awareness about addictions and promoting the need to approach addiction-related issues as a community.

8. An editorial in The Tyee explains and addresses ableism and the isolation of children and adults with disabilities and then urges readers to see disability for what it is—a natural part of human experience and not something to be feared.

9. Specialized staff trainers in long-term care homes are helping LGBT seniors overcome fears, anxiety, and distrust caused by decades of prejudice.

10. A Vancouver Island family is speaking out about their difficult, frustrating, and painful wait for hospice care after the family was told by Island Health that \”there’s nothing they can do, except wait for someone else to die.\”

After lifting minimum wage, NDP government prepares to consult public about reducing poverty
by Charlie Smith on August 16th, 2017 at 8:21 AM
The B.C. NDP government hopes to have a poverty-reduction strategy in place by next year.

Donations help disabled teen realize dream of attending university
Accepted to Carleton University, Benjamin Williamson risked watching his dream slip away
By Ashley Burke, CBC News Posted: Aug 16, 2017 2:33 PM ET

Teen with cerebral palsy faces one last hurdle on difficult road to university
Benjamin Williamson, 18, left \’toxic\’ home life behind to realize dream of attending university
By Ashley Burke, CBC News Posted: Aug 16, 2017 5:00 AM ET

Ottawa family upset government won\’t cover out-of-country surgery
6-year-old Lamitta El-Roz will get dorsal rhizotomy surgery in the U.S. but family must foot the bill
By Laurie Fagan, CBC News Posted: Aug 11, 2017 5:00 AM ET

Why Down Syndrome in Iceland has all but disappeared
By Julian Quinones, Arijeta Lajka CBS News August 14, 2017, 4:00 PM
With the rise of prenatal screening tests across Europe and the United States, the number of babies born with Down syndrome has significantly decreased, but few countries have come as close to eradicating Down syndrome births as Iceland.

Officers who mocked woman with Down syndrome should lose jobs, mom says
Paola Loriggio TORONTO — The Canadian Press
Published Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017 2:49PM EDT

1. The BC government is offering emergency grants of $1,500 for eligible small businesses, Indigenous communities, and non-profits affected by wildfires in the BC Interior.

2. Fraser Health is rolling out a new health grant worth $25,000 of seed money that can be used to leverage further grants for projects addressing physical activity, community connections, food security, or transportation.

3. BC’s new Minister of Justice and Attorney General David Eby (a former lawyer at Pivot Legal Society and past director of the BC Civil Liberties Association) was interviewed by the Vancouver Sun where he answered questions about his portfolio, legal aid funding, and BC\’s justice system.

4. The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls is making “community visits” in Nova Scotia this week, as it seeks to put a crisis of confidence behind it.

5. Maple Ridge tenants and landlords addressed the region\’s rental squeeze in a packed meeting with MLAs; the main topic was the urgent need to close loopholes in legislation around renovation-based evictions.

6. BC churches and service clubs are learning that they can help ease the province\’s housing crunch by partnering on property redevelopments that meet their needs while filling gaps in the housing market.

7. Two engineers at UBC Okanagan have partnered to create a solution to help ease the housing crisis in BC\’s interior—their social renting website matches renters with landlords as is being called the Airbnb for long-term renters.

8. A new Campbell River project is helping those struggling with unemployment and scraping the bottom of the barrel to try and feed their families.

9. Surrey Now takes a tour inside an Indigenous recovery home and sweat lodge in Whalley that is using cultural traditions to help community members heal and recover from addiction.

10. Vancouver\’s unsanctioned injection sites are offering examples and ideas for Toronto harm reduction workers who are scrambling to deal with the opioid crisis spreading through Ontario.

CVS is having another Pub Night so that the people we serve, families, and staff have the opportunity to enjoy each other\’s company and also a burger and a beverage. We hope to see you there!

September 14, 2017

5:30 to 8:30pm

At the Burrard Public House

2414 St Johns Street, Port Moody

$10 per person which includes Burger and a Beer

For tickets please contact Alison

604-939-8070 ex 2013 or [email protected]

We have just received our CARF survey report that outlines the strengths of CVS and provides a number of suggestions on how CVS can improve. You can read the CVS CARF Survey Report here…

When: Thursdays from 6:00pm-8:00pm

Schedule: 

September 7th  & 21st
October 5th & 19th
November 2nd, 16th & 30th
December 14th

Where: 2322 St. Johns Street, Port Moody

Details: Enter off of Spring Street, light snacks- cost is $5, people who need support should bring a support person. For more information call Dawne at 604.838.6381 or go to communityventures.ca