Hi there! This is our December 1997/January 1998 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.
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Jack Barkley
was born in Pembrook, Ontario. His one brother, Terry is four years older
than he is. Their father was an instructor who taught engineering in the
army Consequently, Jack's family moved every three or four years on average.
During his childhood they lived in various towns through out the prairies
including Regina, Winnipeg and Flin Flon. He remembers the cold prairie
winters and the fun the kids had sledding. He tells how one winter in Flin
Flon it reached -60, and, not knowing any better, he and Terry went to
school as usual even though it was so cold the radio transmitter froze.
During the summers the family would come out to camp Chilliwack for a month
and a half while his father taught training courses. Jack remembers driving
for four or five days with his mother and brother out to the camp from
whatever prairie town they were living in at the time. Once they arrived
the boys really enjoyed themselves, especially in the camp's theatre.
In
1958 or 1959, prior to his father's retirement in 1962, his father requested
to be posted in Vancouver because Terry wanted to go to engineering school
at UBC. Over the years they lived in three
houses in the Kitsilano area. In fact, Jack still
resides in that area.
Jack attended Kitsilano High School from grades
nine to twelve. After graduation he went on to UBC where
he received a BA in English. He then worked
as a clerk in the registrar's office. Realizing that his job prospects
were not good with a BA in English, he then enrolled in a diploma program
in accounting which was open to UBC graduates. After receiving his diploma
he had a few accounting jobs. He tried to do accounting work on his own,
but his business faltered.
The Cerebral
Palsy Association (CPA) was looking for an administrative assistant at
the time. Jack applied for the job and was hired. As it happened, Yoshinori
Tanabe had received a Local Initiative Project grant to establish the VCP,
and had an office at the CPA. Over time he got Jack more and more involved
in the activities of the VCP and even got him elected to the Board of Directors
of the BC Coalition of the Disabled.
After
working as administrative assistant for about three years, Jack then worked
briefly, for a retail firm. The day he got laid off, which was just before
Christmas, he went to work for Yoshi selling lottery tickets. He sold tickets
for a few months.
That spring
the VCP received its first Manpower grant. Jack was hired as project co-ordinator
of One-Step which was a project to teach life skills to the people from
the, False Creek Residence before they moved into the apartment building
at East 8th. Avenue. The next VCP project he worked on was one which collected
and catalogued information on aids and equipment. It was here that he was
introduced to computers. Patrick Clark set up the computer program to organize
all the information because it was too big a task to write it all down
manually. The next VCP project involved doing a survey on the lifestyles
and needs of adults with CP. This project incorporated and built on the
computer skills developed in the previous project.
Around
this time, about ten years ago, Rick Watson left the VCP. He was Secretary
to the Board. Jack then took on this job for both the VCP and Voice of
the Cerebral Palsied Housing Society (VHS) boards. He has been doing it
ever since.
For four
of five years Jack did not have a steady job. He came into the office as
a volunteer once or twice a week to do various tasks. Then about four years
ago he took over as building manager after George Lee got severe whiplash
from a car accident. He received a "baptism by fire" so to speak. Being
as green as grass in his new job, he had to go through a nasty eviction
of a couple who had totally thrashed their unit. As building manager he
screens perspective tenants, deals with tenants' requests and complaints,
does the accounting, pays bills,
oversees the maintenance of the building, and deals with Canada Mortgage
and Housing Corporation.
Jack would
like to see the VCP continue and grow because he sees a real need for its
services. He believes the income and services provided by the government
are inadequate largely because these people do not understand what it's
like to be disabled. "The Voice at least provides something of substance
to the community, and something of hope to the people who come here", he
says.
Therapeutic
Recreation is made up of many activities such as cycling, swimming, fitness,
horseback riding, track and field events as well as handicrafts such as
knitting and needlework to name a few. In these pictures that you see,
I am trying to convey that the disabled community are able to do anything
they want to if they put their minds to it.
I believe that you must keep active, especially physically, to maintain,
and even build up, your whole physical well- being.
Therapeutic Recreation must take into account the movement of people
who are disabled. If you are 
working
with a person with a disability, it is very important that s/he have an
assessment before s/he does the activity to make sure the person can safely
do the activity without injuring him/herself. For example, before a person
starts to ride they MUST get a form signed by their doctor. This is to
say that the disabled person is allowed to ride. The form is very crucial
so that if something happens, then the Centre
is not liable if the rider gets hurt.
I believe that Therapeutic Recreation is very important in a disabled
person's life. It will help him or her to live their lives to the fullest.
When people with disabilities are not active, then their muscles get weak
and it is very difficult to move around. Exercise is very crucial to a
disabled person. There are many people with different disabilities so the
exercises would be different for each person. Disabled people can walk,
run, and jump, but there are also some limitations. For instance; they
might be in a wheelchairs, or on crutches, or
be unable to speak, hear, see, all of which may prevent them from doing
enjoyable things outside.
There is a sense of good feelings to see a
disabled person ride, cycle, or drive a horse and cart: especially for
children who are in wheelchairs. There is a sense of freedom when a person
can, accomplish a task on their own. They can feel free as a bird. Children
need this freedom to enjoy all the pleasant things in life.
When they get on a horse, or drive a horse and cart, the nicest thing,
to see is their great big smiles on their faces as they fling their hands
up in the air and vocalize their feelings of freedom.
There
are some disabilities that are unbelievable, for example; Thalidomide people,
who may have a stump for feet, and others have no arms. A person with no
arms would do all their tasks with their feet. The disabled community needs
to build up their stamina so that they can accomplish things in life.
When they
learn to ride a horse it gives strength in their legs and back, because
the movement of the horse will relax their backs. The exercise that is
beneficial to them is to learn to stretch. This will help to loosen their
muscles. Over time their muscles will strengthen. It will take a lot of
work.
The most
important thing to remember when working with a disabled person is to be
very patient. Do not rush the movements because the person might get frightened.
If
the person is planning on horse back riding, for example, then s/he should
be introduced to the animal and interact with it. The horse will then get
used to any equipment the person uses. Then, you can teach the person to
tack up the horse.
Now that
the rider is aquainted with the horse, then you must aquaint him/her with
the equipment that s/he will be using for mounting the horse. A mounting
block is used for people in wheelchairs and people who are unable to climb
stairs. Once the rider has been mounted, then the horse can be moved out
of the ramp area very slowly so that the next rider can get mounted. The
reason for moving slowly, is so that the rider will not get frightened
for the first time. As soon as the horse starts moving, then the riders
back will move slightly back and forward which will loosen their muscles.
I find
horse back riding very enjoyable and relaxing as I'm sure many other people
would if they gave it a try.
The Voice of the Cerebral Palsied of Greater Vancouver
NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE
Suite 103, 577 East 8th Avenue,
Vancouver, B. C.
V5T 1S9
Production:
Chairperson of the Board of Directors - Ted Nelson
Executive Director - Yoshinori Tanabe
Chairperson of the Newsletter Committee - Laurette Yelle
Webmaster - Derek Isobe
Editorship - Newsletter Committee
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