Hi there! This is the August/September, 2001 edition of Tone newsletter. This issue contains a variety of articles. The newsletter's page is planned to be updated regularly. So come back and see what's new.
There are 14 sections in this issue. You can go to the articles by "clicking" on the coloured "contents" text or using your browser's scroll bar. If you want to give us some feedback, or submit an article for "Tone" please click on the "contacts..." text. Our newsletter addresses are located there. You can also go back to the VCP home Page and locate our E-mail addresses. We hope you enjoy our site and come back often!
Ever since our book launch of the resource guide entitled "The Rights and Responsibilities of People Receiving Home Support Services" on Monday February 5th, we have had a steady stream of requests not only from throughout the province but right across Canada! Our resource guide has been extraordinarily well received! We initially printed 500 copies. As of July 9th we have distributed approximately 289 copies. A break down of this total shows that 11 went to parents, 47 went to consumers, and 204 went to organizations which includes care agencies, non-profit groups, libraries, and people working in the health care field.
I would like to see more consumers requesting the guide because we wrote it specifically for consumers. If you are a consumer of home support services who either hire your own staff through CSIL or receive care from an agency, I strongly recommend that you get a copy of this guide. To request a free copy you can contact us in a number of ways: by phone: 874-1741; by fax: 737-9946; and by e-mail: vcpgv@vcn.bc.ca If you have any questions about the resource guide, you can phone me, the Project Co-ordinator, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from noon to 4:00 pm.
Webmaster's note: You may also access a copy of the Home Support Resource Guide by clicking here.
by Laurette Yelle
Everyone who is totally fed up with this public transit strike shout "I". Chances are I would hear a deafening roar. As the strike drags on for its umpteenth day patience is wearing thin and frustration is mounting higher. As many other people who are disabled, I use HandyDart for much of my transit needs. This strike has had a major impact on HandyDart. It seems that every time I call the booking line I get numerous busy signals. Nothing is more aggravating than that infernal beeping sound! When I finally do get through then I get to grow old waiting on hold. Chances are that at the end of this marathon session when I finally do speak to a booker, I can not get the ride I want because it is all booked up. I think I am wearing out both my patience and the redial button on my phone. The reason for this sad state of affairs is that a number of people who formerly used public transit are now using HandyDart.
I believe that the strike has dragged on far too long! A serious, concerted effort must be made to bring the parties together to resolve the impasse they are at. The people who have little or no transit options have suffered long enough!
People with disabilities face many obstacles to moving wherever
and whenever they wish. The biggest obstacle is lack of portability of
services and programs. Currently, people who are disabled have no guarantee
that the services that they qualify for where they presently reside will
be supplied to them when they move to another location. The VCP has long
advocated for portability of services and programs. After all the Charter
of Rights and Freedom guarantees freedom of movement to all Canadians within
Canada. What good is this freedom to people with disabilities if they are
not guaranteed to qualify for programs and services which they require
to live independently in a new place of residence? The following article
shows the stress and anxiety which this situation causes.
When Annette Gerein decided to move to Victoria, she didn't think to ask permission from health board bureaucrats.
Now the disabled Vancouver resident is frantic because Victoria's Health region refuses to follow the BC government's own rules.
"I'm really anxious and nervous," said Gerein, 51 who has already packed her apartment of 20 years "I want to move - everybody has a choice where to live and I made my choice I wasn't expecting any problems "
She has lived independently with the help of home-support services her entire life. Since 1994 the Vancouver health region has given her money to cover eight hours a day of home support. With careful spending, she uses the money to hire her own aides for the 24-hour care she needs.
Gerein, who has cerebral palsy, assumed Victoria's health region would give the same eight hours a day.
She was wrong. Without any assessment of Gerein's disability or her care needs, the region told her it will pay for a maximum of four hours a day
"The timing for your move may not be ideal at the moment, if you require more hours of funding than we can authorize," a Victoria home support program manager wrote June 21.
Meanwhile, Gerein's apartment has already been rented and the movers arrive next Thursday. "My home is now Victoria - I have no choice, but I don't know what's going to happen,"
Gerein said. "I need 24-hour care to live independently. It's much cheaper than an institution. I don't know what's wrong with them."
Christine Gordon, a co-ordinator for the BC Coalition for People with Disabilities, has been fighting regional health boards for years to get home-support services for her clients.
"I am in a state of absolute frustration over this shell game being played with people's lives. It is a terribly dangerous thing," Gordon said. "The ministry policy is clear, but regions just do what they want."
Health Ministry policy states that health regions must provide home
support based on assessed need and that people with the highest care requirements
should be the priority.
It also states that the home-support services cannot be denied because
of the cost or because a person is transferring from another health region.
Rick Roger, chief executive officer of the Capital Health Region, told The Province yesterday that despite the letter from his office, Gerein will be assessed for her needs and not be restricted to four hours of care a day.
Reprinted from the Friday, July 6, 2001 edition of the Province
The Saskatchewan farmer's prison term of ten years without full parole for the 1993 killing of his severely disabled daughter, Tracy, was upheld by Canada's top court. But a vigorous clemency campaign aims to free him early. Susan Beayni of Scarborough, Ontario, joined other families on Parliament Hill yesterday to oppose any clemency.
Reprinted from the Friday, June 1, 2001 edition of the Province
Reprinted from the May 7, 2001 edition of Maclean's
No! I must disagree with Senator Poy's proposal.
Such militant feminism has put Canadian women into the same category as the handicapped, people of colour, and native populations.
No sooner do we develop a small resurgence of national pride leading up to Canada Day, and some nut-case proposes this change.
My bet is that she does not represent her constituents - if senators have any.
We must stop catering to minority self-interest groups if we are to survive and prosper as a country. The news media should not provide any coverage of such unsupported nut-case statements.
The national anthem has changed so many times to appease special-interest minority viewpoints that myself and most people about my age (58) no longer know the words, but merely hum along when called to sing O Canada.
Enough already!
Jim Miller, Richmond
Reprinted from the July 4, 2001 edition of the Province
The author of this letter expressed an opinion that I feel puts the disabled in a negative light when he stated that we had to stop listening to minority and self interest groups. It is true that the media does at times talk a great deal about different groups of people, but there should not be a label on any group of people.
I was born and raised in Vancouver and I am proud of the fact that for the most part we accept people of all ethnic backgrounds. All people have the right to be treated equally no matter who they are without being labelled as "special interest."
Using labels only puts people in boxes, which does nothing to encourage the acceptance of all Canadians.
by Paul-Mark Rendon
When the first bank machine appeared on the scene in 1970, it was touted as a way to make banking more accessible. Yet for a bank's disabled customers, a regular ATM dispensed nothing but difficulty - reaching, seeing, hearing. Now, an arm of Dayton, Ohio-based ATM-maker NCR Corp., along with the Royal Bank of Canada, has come up with a machine to help less-able-bodied customers gain better access. For the visually and hearing impaired, the new ATM's high-contrast touch-screen with large buttons and text enables users to navigate through the transaction much more easily, says Mark Grossi, chief technology officer for NCR's self-service division." Accessibility has always been part of the design, but what we're trying to do is increase that accessibility.
The prototype has a headphone jack that provides audio prompts as well as privacy. Moulded icons and grooves enable blind customers to feel for where to insert their specially programmed bank cards and retrieve cash, and an ergonomically placed keypad helps those in wheelchairs reach buttons. That model is currently undergoing user tests NCR and Royal Bank plan to install 250 simpler machines, featuring audio prompts, across Canada by the end of next year.
Reprinted from the July 16, 2001 issue of Maclean's
If you think you are beaten you are, If you
think you dare not, you don't, If you want to win but you think you can't;
It's almost a cinch you won't.
If you think you'll lose you're lost; For out of the world we find Success begins with a fellow's will; It's all in a state of mind.
Life's battles don't always go To the stronger
and faster man, But sooner or later the man who wins Is the man who thinks
he can.
The Voice of the Cerebral Palsied of Greater
Vancouver
NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE
Suite 103, 577 East 8th Avenue,
Vancouver, B. C.
V5T 1S9
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