Hi there! This is the January/February 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 eight 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 newsletter site and come back often!
You are all probably wondering why "Tone" has not been published in quite awhile. I took time off editing "Tone" to work on a resource guide. The VCP received a grant from the Law Foundation of BC to write a booklet entitled "The Rights and Responsibilities of People receiving Home Support Services". This resource guide applies to people who either hire their own home support workers or receive their care from agencies.
As the Project Co-ordinator, I oversaw a staff of four other people
namely Jonn Olldym, Gillian Lawrence, Karen Van Biesen, and Lori Kemp.
Our original intent was to write a booklet. However, the more research
we did, the more material we decided to include.
Thus, the booklet grew into a resource guide.
We decided to undertake this project because there are many people like yourselves who receive some type of home support. There is also a growing trend for you to leave agencies and go on the Choice in Supports for Independent Living (CSIL) Program whereby you hire your own home support workers. We received overwhelming support for the project when we proposed to a number of you the idea of writing this booklet.
The consumers we talked to really wanted to know what their rights and obligations are when they receive home support services. They consistently said that a resource book is very much needed.
In our research for this guide, we found that there are differences in the way programs are delivered from region to region. We recommend that you check the information in this guide with your agency (if you receive care from an agency) or from your CSIL Co-ordinator in your health region (if you hire your own staff through CSIL). We have concentrated on the four health regions in the Greater Vancouver Regional District which include: the Vancouver/Richmond Health Region; the Simon Fraser Health Region; the South Fraser Health Region; and the North Shore Health Region. However, we believe that the information within this resource guide can be applied throughout the province if you keep in mind that there may be variations from region to region.
If you would like a copy of the resource guide, there are a number of
ways to contact our office by:
We hope that the information in this resource guide will be helpful
to you.
A book of poetry entitled "Keep Off the Grass" by Rick Watson has just been published posthumously. It is a collection of his poetry which he wrote throughout his life. He also wrote articles periodically for the Province newspaper on a variety of topics of interest to people with disabilities. Some of you may also remember Rick as the Chairman and one of the founding members of the Voice of the Cerebral Palsied of Greater Vancouver. As such, both he and Yoshi Tanabe played a major role in making the apartment building on East 8th Avenue a reality. He also was instrumental in starting up this newsletter. We were all greatly saddened when he died in April 1994.
If you want to receive a copy of Rick's book, you can phone Trueman
at 688-6464 Extension 111. The book costs $10.
January 10, 2001
Dear Member:
Last year the Voice of the Cerebral Palsied of Greater Vancouver received a grant from the Law Foundation of BC to write our resource guide entitled "The Rights and Responsibilities of People Receiving Home Support Services". This guide is for people who either hire their own home support workers or receive care from an agency. We decided to undertake this project because there is no single, comprehensive source of information for people who receive home support services.
The VCP cordially invites you to our book launch:
Monday February 5th at 1:30 p.m.
The Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House
800 East Broadway
We are taking this opportunity to both thank everyone who contributed their knowledge and expertise to this resource guide and to advertise this guide. If you would like to receive a copy free of charge and learn more about the resource guide, we encourage you to attend.
If you are planning to attend the book launch, please phone the office at 874-1741 by Monday January 29th so that the appropriate amount of refreshments can be ordered.
Sincerely,
Yoshinori Tanabe
Executive Director
Webmaster's note: This letter was the centre page of this issue. Because of this, article order will not be the same as in the hard copy version. If you clicked on the link from the VCP's home page, please click here to go back to the home page.
The outcome of the case centres on whether Robert Latimer is guilty of murder in the death of his daughter Tracy or whether it was a mercy killing as he claims it was. There is an ongoing debate as to whether Latimer should be treated like anyone else convicted of second degree murder or whether he should be treated leniently because he acted out of compassion for his daughter. Many people who are disabled fear that a lenient sentence will mean that those who are weak and vulnerable will be at risk.
After nearly eight years of winding its way through the courts this case is once again before the Supreme Court of Canada. On October 24, 1993 Latimer kills Tracy on the family farm near Wilkie, Sask. by carbon monoxide poisoning. Latimer was convicted of second degree murder on November 16, 1994. The Supreme Court orders a new trial because potential jurors were questioned about their views on mercy killing. Latimer was again convicted of second degree murder on November 5, 1997. The second trial judge sentences him to two years less a day, thus exempting him from the mandatory life sentence. On November 23, 1998 the Sask. Court of Appeal imposes the mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole for ten years. Latimer's lawyers argue that this sentence amounts to cruel and unusual punishment under the Charter of Rights.
A ruling is not expected until early next year.
Vancouver Taxi started out in the early 1980's as one of the first companies to have wheelchair equipped cabs. In the beginning the service was well run with few delays, but this has changed. There have been several times when I have waited up to two hours for a ride that usually takes half an hour to arrive.
A month ago I was returning from a hockey game at GM Place. I had phoned
shortly after 10:00 p.m. to request a cab. Then the waiting game began.
The weather was awful so I realized there would be a bit of a wait, but
never did I believe I would be stuck waiting at least two hours. The dispatch
took my information and said the cab would be twenty minutes, so I waited
with two other people who also required wheelchair taxis. Every half hour
I called on my cell phone asking when my ride would be coming.
The dispatch told me that I was first on the list, but they could not
tell me why a taxi was not there yet. The worst part was the fact that
the staff at GM Place wanted to close up, but that was not possible as
long as people still needed rides home. I had seen taxis, but they had
fares or would not respond to a flag.
There are a number of reasons why it is difficult to get a wheelchair
taxi through dispatch. The truth is, many drivers do not want to take wheelchair
fares because they are not able to handle wheelchairs due to back problems,
or they do not want to spend the few extra minutes loading and securing
the wheelchair. As well, many drivers have cell phones. Thus, passengers
can call a driver and bypass dispatch all together. This practice is becoming
more common place because the disabled customers have to do
whatever is needed to get a ride. Sometimes customers offer drivers
a flat rate for a ride which means the fare metre is not used. A flat rate
is usually cheaper for a customer. The driver can pocket the fare because
it has not been registered on the driver's metre.
If you go out in bad weather, either ask the driver who picks you up to take you home at a certain time or try calling a cab well before you need one to see how long the waiting time is. I have found the daytime rides are much easier to get than the night time ones.
Vancouver Taxi is the only readily available cab company that can take customers in wheelchairs in Vancouver. Thus, it is hard to complain about the service without an alternative. However, if you have a problem with a taxi that HandyDart has ordered for you, you call HandyDart and they will speak to the company and try to correct the problem.
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
<<<<< all volunteer >>>>>