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Measures introduced at the start of the pandemic to reduce the spread of COVID-19 made parts of society more accessible for people in Australia. But as we emerge, theres concern that accessibility could be taken away again. Carla Cram lives with EDS and ME/CFS
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the lives of billions of people across the world changed dramatically.
Lockdowns forced us to stay at home for extended periods of time, and events and appointments traditionally held in-person moved online.
While the sudden change was a shock to many, the move brought an element of accessibility into the lives of people with disability and chronic illnesses like never before.
COVID-19 Made Life More Accessible for People With Disability. Will it Stay That Way? full article
Jonathan MacInnis
CTV News Atlantic Reporter
Published Oct. 18, 2021
PEGGY’S COVE, N.S. – About 100 people gathered near the postcard-perfect lighthouse at Nova Scotia’s Peggy’s Cove on Monday to mark the official opening of a viewing platform that had initially rankled some local residents.
The 1,300-square-metre deck was designed to improve access to the site and discourage sightseers from venturing onto the wave-washed rocks when storms roll in.
“This celebration recognizes the efforts of the community … and provides a new and inclusive way to experience Peggy’s Cove,” Susan Corkum-Greek, the province’s economic development minister, said in a statement.
Viewing Platform Opens at Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia With Eye to Improving Safety full article
BY KAYLEE POCHE
NOLA.com, Oct. 11, 2021
The American Council of the Blind is urging taxpayer-funded state agencies to halt sending blind and low-vision people to any blindness training centers where allegations of sexual abuse have taken place, specifically citing recent allegations at the Louisiana Center for the Blind.
The Board of Directors, which passed the resolution at its Sept. 29 meeting, also asked the federal Rehabilitation Services Administration to take a series of actions aimed at preventing sexual assault and other inappropriate behavior at blindness training centers across the country.
Blindness Group Asks States to Stop Sending People to Training Centers With Abuse Allegations full article
By Simon Little & Aaron McArthur Global News
Posted October 8, 2021
As businesses across British Columbia struggle with a labour shortage, one Vancouver-based charity thinks it has part of the solution.
Mission Possible says many employers are depriving themselves of good workers through unconscious bias and stigma around poverty, mental illness, disability and neurodiversity.
The organization, which helps people who have experienced homelessness or other major life challenges get back into the workforce, has now produced a hiring guidebook to help employers make use of a relatively untapped labour pool.
B.C. Charity Touts Diverse Hiring as Partial Solution to Labour Shortage full article
Success Beyond Sight, (SBS), a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization, has created a FREE National Registry (NRTSVI) for Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TSVIs/TVIs) to empower a national voice for TSVIs/TVIs and to provide a means to reach, on a national level, TSVIs/TVIs with free resources and important professional information.
Success Beyond Sight recognizes the crucial role that TSVIs/TVIs play in the long-term success of their students. Strong instruction and mentorship by TSVIs/TVIs are common denominators for many highly accomplished adults who were born without vision or who lost their vision as children.
National Registry for Teachers of Students With Visual Impairments Launches full article
by Inclusion Canada
Wednesday, October 6, 2021
HALIFAX, NS: Today, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal has paved the road to addressing the human rights of thousands of Nova Scotians with disabilities who continue to languish in institutions or in community without support.
This ruling sent a powerful message that there are fundamental systemic barriers in Nova Scotia that deny equality of opportunity for persons with disabilities.
The Council of Canadians with Disabilities, Inclusion Canada and People First Canada, a coalition granted permission to participate in this Appeal, are now urging the government of Nova Scotia to stop fighting persons with disabilities in courts, to acknowledge to systemic discrimination and to remove barriers to inclusion for all Nova Scotians with intellectual disabilities.
Significant Victory for Nova Scotians With Intellectual Disabilities full article
October 01, 2021 04:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time
TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AbleDocs Inc. is excited to announce that accessibility pioneer Mike Paciello is joining their ranks as their new Vice President for the United States.
“This is an incredible moment in AbleDocs’ history when we are able to bring Mike Paciello into our team and help us continue our unparalleled growth into the United States,” said Adam Spencer, AbleDocs CEO. “It’s an honour and a privilege to work directly with Mike after working alongside each other for over a decade.”
Mike Paciello Joins AbleDocs as Vice President, United States full article
By Emily Langer
Yesterday at 7:24 p.m. EDT
Sept. 29, 2021
Marilyn Golden, a nationally known disability rights advocate who spent nearly her entire adult life – ever since she was paralyzed in an accident during college – working on behalf of laws and public policy that made it easier for disabled people to ride buses, enter buildings and otherwise navigate the world, died Sept. 21 at her home in Berkeley, Calif. She was 67.
Her death was announced by the Berkeley-based Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), where Ms. Golden was a senior policy analyst. The cause was melanoma, according to her companion, Rabbi David J. Cooper.
Marilyn Golden, Champion for Disability Rights, Dies at 67 full article
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OTTAWA-September 29, 2021-The Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health is proud to launch the 2021 Mental Illness Awareness Week on October 3, 2021.
This annual national public education campaign is designed to help open the eyes of Canadians to the reality of mental illness. The week was established by the Canadian Psychiatric Association in 1992, and is now coordinated by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) in cooperation with all its member organizations and many other supporters across Canada.
Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health Launches 2021 Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) full article
New infrastructure funding should be tied to accessibility standards. Canada should be a leader in accessibility. September 28, 2021 by QUOI Media Group
By Luca Patuelli
People with disabilities have to fight for basic accessibility every day – and it’s exhausting! I live with a disability that requires me to use crutches to get around. I work as a dance educator with students that have various disabilities. I’ve learned first-hand that ‘accessibility’ is a word that is thrown around plenty but largely ignored in practice. It’s time this changed.
Why Do We Still Have To Fight for Basic Accessibility? full article
