Inclusion in Action

A newsletter from Inclusion BC

January 2024

Find out how Inclusion BC and our partners are advancing the rights and opportunities of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.

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Happy New Year!

In June 2023, we started releasing the newest format of our newsletter with real-life stories of people and of communities coming together to make real differences for inclusion. This month, we are highlighting your favourite articles from 2023.

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We would love to know what you think. Fill out the short survey below to receive an Inclusion BC calendar featuring real people with disabilities who are leaders in their communities! (While supplies last)

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Inclusion BC in the Community

Our call for workshop proposals for our annual learning event closes on January 15, 2024. Read more and submit your proposal here to join us in presenting Everybody Belongs !

This month, Inclusion BC is presenting an update on our Community Led Collaboration Project to the Minister of Children and Youth's Advisory Council

Karla Verschoor will join Brent Frain as a guest on his PWD Allies podcast.

Applications for our Community Engagement Grants are opening soon for community organizations to improve the delivery of disability supports and services for children and youth in your community. Stay tuned for updates!

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

Relationships and Disability – Brent & Fiona Hall

As part of our Challenging Misconceptions Campaign, 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 Brent & Fiona's story

Film: Andrea's Story

As a part of our ongoing Challenging Misconceptions campaign, the Inclusion BC team has been travelling BC to feature stories of people with disabilities. They are navigating a world that is too often not designed with their needs in mind but are nevertheless finding ways to thrive through ingenuity, determination, and the support of their communities.

Andrea’s is one such story.

Watch Andrea's film

A woman wearing a baseball cap and pink-rimmed round glasses smiling. She is wearing a white shirt with a red heart on it and black text.

Teresa Heartchild - Art, Family, and Freedom

Teresa describes herself in many ways – a "self-activist," a "wounded daughter," and perhaps most importantly, an artist. Before she became an accomplished illustrator and poet and published two books of her work, she was at the centre of a fierce conflict between her family members about where she belonged.

Read Teresa's story

Michelle Goos: Advocating for Parents With Disabilities

In this article, we highlight 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 Michelle's 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.

A young man with long black hair and black rimmed glasses smiles at the camera as he speaks. Captions read: Welcome to the self advocate leadership institute

Film: the Self Advocacy Leadership Institute

After 2 years of planning, with self-advocates at the centre of the decision-making process, Inclusion BC helped facilitate the Self Advocacy Leadership Institute which was attended by community leaders from across BC.

The result was a powerful sharing of knowledge and experience between people at various stages of striving to be more effective advocates for themselves and their communities.

Watch our video about the SALI

Support Inclusion

a young woman standing in a library surrounded by shelves of books. Text in handwriting font reads: My name is Taya and I like proving people wrong. I’m pretty funny when you get to know me, and surprisingly outgoing under a few layers of anxiety. I’ve been told I’m a really good listener and people trust me. I’m in school to become an educational assistant because I’ve always wanted to support kids to have an easier time in the school system than I did. I didn’t always have the best experience in school growing up and I want to be that support for others that I didn’t have.

You can help to expand people’s ideas about what the life of a person with an intellectual or developmental disability looks like. Together we can ensure that people have choice and control over the support they need to thrive on their own terms.

Donate Now

In The News

CBC Radio
Stanley Park Holiday Train Accessibility Concerns - Inclusion BC's Board President Hilary Thomson, comments on the concerns in this radio interview
CBC
$500M fund to protect, expand affordable housing in B.C. attracts dozens of applications
CBC
B.C. Transit is rolling out an easier pay system — but not for handyDART passengers
DailyHive
Liveable homes: BC government to require new buildings to not exceed 26°C for living space
SignMedia
B.C. transportation network sets accessibility signage milestone

Opportunities to Take Action

Participate in this Survey about Parents with Diverse Abilities. Inform the creation of best practices for supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to thrive as parents.

Take part in stopping the use of restraint and seclusion in our schools by writing to your Member of Parliament to repeal Section 43 of Bill C-273.

Join the Delta Poverty Reduction Action Table's Homes for All Campaign to help advocate for better rental supports for people with varying abilities across BC.

Be better financially prepared for the future. Learn about the Registered Disability Savings Plan with Plan Institute in their online webinars.

Explore the possibilities and opportunities of lifelong inclusion for your family member with a developmental disability. Families Supporting Regular Equitable Authentic Lives (R-EAL) hosts an online Imagine the Possibilities event each month. Read more and reserve your spot here.

Take the free online course, Behaviour in the Early Years, by the BC Early Years Professional Development Hub. This course aims to create a shared understanding of children’s behaviours to ensure you are equipped with strategies to work with diverse groups and support all children and behaviours.

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Inclusion BC is a non-profit federation working with partners to build community and enhance the lives of children, youth, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and their families. They do this by supporting people’s abilities, promoting positive action, and advocating for rights, responsibilities, and social justice. Inclusion BC is supported by a membership of individuals, families, and 65 member organizations that are working together to build inclusive communities across the province of British Columbia.

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