#BCACL2012

Conference co-hosts

We are proud to be cohosting our 2012 conference with two organizations that are making Penticton a better place to live for people with developmental disabilities and their families.

• Penticton and District Community Resources Society
• Penticton and District Society for Community Living

Keynote Speakers

We are proud to feature incredible keynote speakers at our three plenaries – the opening session, midway session, and closing session. This year’s keynote speakers include:

Ujjal Dosanjh

Ujjal Dosanjh, former Member of Parliament and Premier of British Columbia, served as the Attorney General of British Columbia from 1995 to 2000 and then as the Premier of British Columbia from February 2000 to May 2001. In June 2004, he made the leap to federal politics when he was elected Member of Parliament for Vancouver South, where he served until 2011. From July 2004 to February 2006, Ujjal served as federal Minister of Health. He has served as the Official Opposition Critic for National Defence, Foreign Affairs, Health, and Public Safety.

A long time human rights and social justice activist, he has been involved in community work with many organizations such as the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, MOSAIC, South Vancouver Neighbourhood House, and the Vancouver Multicultural Society. In 1977, while he was Chair of the Labour Advocacy Research Association, he helped create the Farm Workers’ Legal Information Service for janitorial, domestic and farm workers. This eventually facilitated the formation of the Canadian Farm Workers’ Union.

He and his wife Raminder have three sons Pavel, Aseem, and Umber, as well as three grandchildren, Solaina, Alexei and Suhani.

Cathy Anthony

Cathy Anthony has been involved, both personally and professionally, in the community Living movement for almost three decades. She is a proud mom of two adult children and says her 27 year old son Joshua is her greatest teacher.

Cathy has diverse experience in the community living field, as a family advocate, a volunteer and in her career. In the early 80’s she worked in direct support roles with adults and then, using her family experience, she took her passion to join with and support other families. She has participated on many local and provincial committees supporting the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities and their families. In 2008 Cathy was honored with CLBC’s Lifetime Achievement award. Cathy was also involved in creating the Woodlands Memorial Garden.

Cathy loves to share her passion and experience through storytelling. She credits her greatest life learning’s to the many individuals and families she has shared her life journey with. Cathy is the Coordinator of the Family & Individual Support Program with the Simon Fraser Society for Community Living.

Norman Kunc and Emma Van der Klift

Norman Kunc and Emma Van der Klift have spent the last 25 years working to ensure that people with disabilities are able to take their rightful place in schools, workplaces, and communities. Although they are well known advocates within the disability rights community, they prefer to think of themselves as modern day storytellers, continuing the long held tradition of using humour and narrative to initiate self-reflection and social change.

Norman and Emma are co-directors of Broadreach Training and Resources Ltd. They provide in-service and training in the areas of inclusive education, employment equity, conflict resolution, and other disability rights issues. They travel extensively throughout North America and abroad working with school districts, human service agencies, employers and advocacy groups.

More Information

Visit the conference website for  information on workshops, registration, accomodations, sponsorship opportunities, and more!

2012 Inclusive Education Award Winners:

The team at Heritage Park Secondary School
Kathy Baker, Jack Walton, Patti-Lee Simpson and Joel Noftle from Heritage Park Secondary in Mission, BC are classroom teachers who go to great length to have all students included in their English, Art, P.E. and Music blocks without any barriers. They are described as not only promoting inclusive education with colleagues but by also offering practical ideas on how to achieve fully welcoming and inclusive classes.

Carl Anserello
A retired School Services Administrator from Prince George was nominated by a large group of supporters for his creative and innovative approaches within the Prince George school district and beyond to the community and province. Carl was seen as a trailblazer who refused to nothing less than full inclusion for all children regardless of their needs.

Connie White
Connie White is a student services teacher from the city of Cranbrook in the east Kootenays. Fellow teachers at Amy Woodland Elementary spoke of Connie’s leadership and hands on work as central to the successful inclusive education for students with special needs.Connie ensures that students have the needed adaptations and modifications that enable them to learn with their peers and that the educators have the support they need to make this happen.

John Chenoweth and Faye Ahdemar
At the post-secondary education level we have awarded John Chenoweth, Dean of Instruction and Faye Ahdemar, Instructor, College Readiness & Indigenous Academic Studies from Nicola Valley Institute of Technology, Merritt. As leaders John and Faye ensure that all students follow the same processes for registration, course selection, learning, campus involvement and convocation as every other student.

Read more about the award winners here.

Read more about Inclusive Education Month here.

YaY Fusion! – 12 05 07 Flyer- half page-CII

Read more…Position_Paper_Draft_9-2

Ripple Effect 7 Handout slides

Searching For Home:
a national forum on policy, practices and innovations in building and sustaining real homes for people with intellectual disabilities

Join the conversation with people from across Canada as we strategize,  reflect and plan how to support and create real homes with real choice for people with intellectual disabilities.

January 26-27, 2012
Coast Plaza Hotel and Suites: 1763 Comox Street, Vancouver BC

Discussions include:

Making a House a Home: disability supports, the meaning of real choice, addressing isolation, and creating full lives in the community

Partners Old and New: creative financing, home ownership, partnerships with private developers, social housing, co-operative housing, leveraging assets, and sustaining accessible housing

Access, Affordability, and Inclusion: facilitating homes, income supports, homelessness and poverty, subsidies, and sustainability

Visit BCACL for more details or to register!

Bluesette Campbell
Parent/Advocate

This handbook will help you work within the school system and support your child’s opportunities to learn and to be included as a valued member of the school community.

Families participate in discussions at The Ripple Effect

Eight families participated in this retreat, designed to build leadership and advocacy capacity in communities around BC, as well as strengthen BCACL’s connection with families in our province. Throughout the course of the weekend, we had the opportunity to learn about the history of BC’s community living movement, dream about what we want for our futures, learn about and share advocacy strategies and tools, discuss issues of ethics, learn about tapping into the strength of our communities, and be inspired by each other and our visions for our families. Parents who attended were able to relax in the  hot springs or their hotel rooms overlooking Balfour Lake, enjoy the incredible food, and learn from each other in an atmosphere of fun and celebration.

BCACL knows that our movement began with families, and is committed to ensuring that the voices of families remain strong and are given a place of prominence in our province. As we connect with families through The Ripple Effect, we are continually amazed and inspired by the dedication, care, love, and hope displayed by each parent we meet.

“It was an awesome weekend.” – Ripple Effect participant

“Thank you for this. My life will be better after.” – Ripple Effect participant

To learn more about the Ripple Effect and see if we’ll be visiting your community, visit our website at www.bcacl.org or contact Jeremy Vis, Family Support Coordinator at jvis@bcacl.org.

Go here to download a copy of the Ripple Effect 7 Power Point slides (PDF format).

Families and Facilitators at The Ripple Effect

Youth Make Inclusion Matter Year-Round- Summer Spotlight on Re:Action4Inclusion
July was an exciting time for a group of Ontario youth – not only because school was out, but because they participated in unique summer events through Community Living Ontario’s youth-driven inclusion strategy known as ‘Re:ACTION4INCLUSION’.

http://www.communitylivingontario.ca/

The Yukon YACL’s Ynklude group is celebrating Women’s History Month with a performance this week that spans the generations.

“Songs of Love, Loss and Living” bring mothers and daughters together in a moving performance by the group. The show will take place this Thursday, October 27, at 7 p.m. at the YACL office, in the Yukon Inn Plaza.

“Ynklude has worked hard to bring the message of inclusion in the arts and society,” says show director and producer Julie Robinson. “Now the voices of mothers of children with disabilities are joining us in spreading the message.”

The Ynklude group, formed in 2005, includes people with and without disability. The troupe has performed on stage in Whitehorse and Whistler BC, published a book, and held several displays of art they have produced. The group has been welcomed and encouraged by the Yukon’s artistic community over the years.

“This year we wanted to show how the issues facing people with disability actually affect several generations,” says Robinson. “So we gathered grandparents, parents, and siblings of people living with differences to tell their stories.”

Those stories came in the form of poetry, art and music. At a workshop earlier this month, a dozen parents came together to create art and talk about disability in their lives. Two songs produced from the workshop will be performed on Thursday. Local performing artists Brenda Lee Katerenchuk, Andrea McColeman and Nicole Edwards will provide the musical accompaniment.

“They are moving songs, coming right from the heart,” says Robinson. The show will also include some old favourites, and new works, done by the Ynklude troupe.

The show will also be filmed as part of a larger project being planned by Ynklude. Using filmmakers in Manitoba and Yukon, Robinson is collecting material to produce a short film about disability across the generations. She hopes to have the film completed by spring of 2012.

“These are stories that affect us all, even if you are not living with disability,” says Robinson. “None of us are perfect. We all know someone who is hurting. And we all live in hope. And that’s ultimately what our stories give us.”

For more information, contact Julie Robinson at YACL at 667-4606

Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

Dear Mr. Leef,

On behalf of the Yukon Association for Community Living, I would like to thank you for meeting with our organization today.

We wanted to speak with you to ask your help to ensure Yukoners with Intellectual Disabilities have full citizenship in the territory and across Canada. For the past 12 years, our organization’s Inclusion Initiative has been a leader in developing policy, as well as locally implementing and delivering service to hundreds of Yukoners affected by disability.

Yukon Association for Community is part of a larger national grassroots movement that has over 450 chapters across Canada. As Yukon’s representative in this grassroots network we learn best practice from one another and have opportunity to bring our best practice to all of Canada. It is a extreemly successful and “bottom up” process and organization.

Among the things the YACL and Inclusion Initiative have helped achieved in the Yukon are:

• brought families together to discuss issues and government service policy, setting an agenda for change that is grassroots and responds to families’ most urgent needs;

• creation of policy on Autism for the Yukon Government that subsequently became the current policy for children and families with a wide range of disabilities, legislation that was cutting edge and responsive to families.

• encouraged a number of territorial and federal legislative initiatives that directly helped Yukoners with disabilities, such as Yukon Supported Decision Making Legislation;

• successfully lobbied for a territorial ‘no claw-back’ policy for the federal Registered Disabilities Savings Plan.

• we had a strong influence on the territory’s most recent Education Policy Act Review.

• through our public, family and professional training initiatives and programs we have served hundreds of Yukoners on a yearly basis in getting up-to-date professional and family training.

• we have held many workshops and conferences, helping build expertise, set standards and develop grassroots strength.

• developed a successful Inclusive Performing Arts company Ynklude, which is beginning to perform nationally.

Despite all the good work and many gains achieved in co-operation with government, much work remains to create a truly inclusive society. We hope we can count on your support for our organization in continuing this struggle for fairness and equality for all Canadians.

Yukon Association for Community is part of a larger national grassroots movement that has over 450 chapters across Canada. As Yukon’s representative in this grassroots network we learn best practice from one another.

Sincerely,

Chris Hale,

President, Yukon Association for Community Living

In a very short period of time, dozens of these meetings have occurred. We are proud to say that every one of our chapters has made the effort and passed on information and the message. Some groups in particular went the extra mile to make sure these messages got through – People First of Saskatchewan has been involved in 8 (yes, eight!) meetings with MPs, while members of People First Nova Scotia took the time to write letters to their MPs telling them how community inclusion has positively effected their lives, along with making a youtube video.

Kings County People First President Tammy Hiltz (center) and Treasurer Seward Bruce (right) meet with MP Scott Brison (left)

Many of our groups worked with provincial and territorial Associations for Community Living and presented a united voice to the MPs.

We will continue to meet with MPs and pass on the message – keep funding community inclusion so we can keep doing our work!