When Words Fail Me ...

This video speaks for itself.

But the saddest scariest thing is this woman is not alone. She may be the only one brave enough to actually type and deliver such a letter, but I can guarantee you she's not the only one who thinks such thoughts.




Perhaps most of those who do would never suggest that a child, any child, should be euthanized or his "non-retarded body parts" donated to science. But they wouldn't hesitate to express their belief that such children should not be going to their neighbourhood schools, should not be participating in the same extracuricular activities as their "normal" children do; perhaps, even should not be taking up scarce dollars in our healthcare system.

We would like to believe that human beings are inherently good. That, most of the time, if we just give them the chance, they will do the "right thing".  Maybe we're right - maybe most are.

But something like this has to make a parent wonder how many more monsters are hiding in the darkness or behind the annonimity of their keyboards. And shudder at the thought.

H/T to Krista Lettues for the video

Cross-posted at Free Falling

'To Fight the Unbeatable Foe'

UPDATE: Advocacy wins the day. Now, for heaven's sake, please let these ladies live in peace.

To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go 

These were the words that came to my mind today when I read that a ReMax real estate agent is appealing the Town of Bridgewater's decision to change its zoning bylaws to allow LaHave Manor Corp. to open a new group home.

You might recall last Spring when the LeHave Corporation attempted to purchase a property that was ideally-suited for use as a group home by three women that have lived together for over 18 years. It seemed like a great idea until neighbours started complaining and the Town decided that the property couldn't become a group home because it violated zoning bylaws -bylaws that allowed for "low density residential housing", also known as single family dwellings. Apparently, the Town viewed three people living together in the community as an "institution".

But just when we thought saner heads had prevailed and all was well (the Town changed its by-laws to allow the group home to be opened), we now come to find out that Ron Bullen, an agent with RE/MAX South Shore Realty, along with a merry group of fellow real estate agents, has filed an appeal of the Town`s decision with the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.

The reason? Apparently they are afraid that the group home will cause real estate values in the "upscale neighbourhood" to fall.

Seriously?

To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star

One of the better lines in the article has to belong to local resident Brian Tennyson, who stateed at a public meeting that he's not opposed to the zoning change because it's a "residential-care facility", but because "councillors and staff were manipulated, pressured and intimidated by LaHave Manor Corp".

Hey, you might just be on to something there, Mr. Tennyson. Town Council might just have been intimidated. And some things are, indeed, worthy of intimidation.

Such as the public statements recently made by the Minister of Community Services to the effect that persons with disabilities have the right to live in the community and if you disagree ... well, that's too bad.

Also worthy of intimidation? The fact that you might just be running afoul of the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

"Bridgewater prides itself on being an inclusive community and as such wants to incorporate the intent of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities," the release said. "We acknowledge that the rights of disabled persons are equal to the rights of any other person in our community."

This fight is not, cannot, be over.

Perhaps a few well-placed letters to ReMax letting them know what Nova Scotians think of the actions of their agent in this matter? Perhaps an online petition boycotting ReMax unless this matter is resolved?

And, if anyone knows the names of the other real estate agents involved, I would love to hear them.

What's Up Your Sleeve?

It looks like the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities might have been put to good use in Nova Scotia this past week.

I've said before that, in my opinion, the best use of that Convention might be in the moral suasion if offers advocates when dealing with government officials. At all levels of government, apparently.

At least that's the way I read the news that Bridgewater has agreed to change its zoning bylaws to allow LaHave Manor Corp. to open a new group home.

In case you're not familiar with the story, the LeHave Corporation intended to purchase a property that was felt to be ideally-suited for use as a group home (single level, wide hallways, open living room and wheelchair-adapted), particularly for three individuals that have lived together for over 18 years. The plan was for these individuals to move together to this home.

Well, that was the plan until neighbours started complaining and the town of Bridgewater decided that the property couldn't become a group home because it violated zoning bylaws. Zoning bylaws that allow for what's known as "low density residential housing". More commonly known as single family dwellings.

Apparently, the Town viewed three people living together in the community as an "institution". Which means that either the Town of Bridgewater has even less of a concept of what community living means than the Dept. of Community Services or they simply didn't want to upset the sensitivities of their good citizens who are more ... sensitive.

At any rate, what I found most interesting about today's new story was these comments from the Town's press release:

"Bridgewater prides itself on being an inclusive community and as such wants to incorporate the intent of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities," the release said. "We acknowledge that the rights of disabled persons are equal to the rights of any other person in our community."

Which makes me think that, in additional to the groundswell of public support from across the country, someone did some smart advocacy work by pointing out to the good Council that, like all levels of government in Canada, it, too, is bound by Article 9 and Article 28 of the UN Convention.

A handy little document to have up your sleeve, no?

BLOGGING On

We don't have a blogroll around these here parts (for anybody not in the know, that would be a list of blogs that I read and/or recommend posted on the sidebar) - the main reason for that being there are very few Canadian legal-disabilty blogs out there, or at least very few (read none) that I'm aware of.  Which is a large part of what led me to start this endeavour in the first place.

But I digress. 

I've just been introduced to a blog I would like to heartily recommend.  It's called Kilometres for Communication.

What's it all about you ask?

This blog is about communication. It’s about a special kind of communication called AAC. (I personally struggle with this term; it stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication, which is too much of a mouthful for me. AAC is simply an alternative way to communicate when someone has limited or no speech.) This blog is about disability, and navigation of disability in a society which orients itself towards people who are able-bodied. But this blog is also about ability, diversity, capability, possibility, hope. It is about our humanity, and about our connection–one person to another. It is about community and inclusion, and about how wrong it is for any of us to exclude and to make the decision that someone does not belong because he or she is different. So this blog is also about the importance of accessibility, because accessibility is a key to inclusion, belonging and community.

A family affair - the 17-year-old younger brother of "an artist, educator, social activist, writer, story teller, gardener, community facilitator [who] happens to travel in a wheelchair and communicate with AAC" proposes (family in tow) to cycle across Canada to ... well, how about if I let them tell you?

We would meet with people who speak in creative and diverse ways, and with the help of the media, introduce them to Canadians so that never again could they equate not being able to speak with not having anything to say. We would invite people to wheel, walk, run and cycle with us, and we would invite organizations, small groups of people and individuals to host events across Canada to raise public awareness and funds to empower voices and to make accessibility and inclusion a national priority for the more than 3 million Canadians with disabilities.

I don't know about you, but I think this is pretty nifty.

When my youngest daughter read this, she said it sounded a lot like the Terry Fox Run. 

I pointed out that although a lot of people have walked, ran, biked, etc. across Canada to raise money and awareness on issues like cancer and for other "good causes" and the man in motion is back at it (actually I'm not sure he ever really stopped), I've never heard of anybody doing quite this. I've never heard of anyone giving a voice to people who struggle to communicate in our world quite this way.

So. Company's coming. 

The plan is to leave BC on May 19th and head East.  Which, really, is the only way to go.  It seems to me  that we best be plumping the pillows and airing out the guest house.  Perhaps some fresh cut flowers on the table.  And to really show our Maritime hospitality maybe, just maybe, we could organize an event for Kerr and Skye when they get here?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As an aside (and with my apologies to Dave for making it an aside), as long as we're here there's probably one more blog I should throw out there.

Many Most of us have probably heard of Dave Hinsburger, actually he's one of the authors of my latest book reviewed (Sexuality - Your Sons and Daughters with Intellectual Disabilities - a most excellent book, by the way and yes, it's yet another opportunity for me to remind you of the Book Reviews tab at the top of the page) but I, for one, wasn't aware that not only is a Dave a most-excellent resource on many disability issues, he also faces his own challenges. Dave uses a wheelchair to navigate his way through life in Toronto (and the rest of the country) and if you would like to know more about that, he welcomes you to join him, Rolling Around in My Head.

So there you have it, my little (blogging) community post - just trying to do my part to brighten up said community.  Because, despite it's many, many challenges, most days it's a pretty good place to live.

Home for the Holidays ~ Practical Applications

Home sweet home.

There's no place like home.

Home is where the heart is.

Home is where you go when you have nowhere else to go.

Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in. ~ Robert Frost

Love begins by taking care of the closest ones - the ones at home. ~ Mother Teresa

The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned. ~ Maya Angelou

A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Very wise words, indeed.

Because no matter how you choose to slice it (or quote it), no matter who we are, no matter what our gifts or challenges may be, to truly function to our full potential in the world, we all need a home.  Not just a house, but a home.  A place that's ours and ours alone (or ours to share with loved ones), a place that gives us that sense of peace, belonging and security.

As the parent (or other family member) of a person with a disability, it might well be something you often think about.  What will happen to our loved one when we are no longer able to provide them with a home (or if, for some unforeseen reason, they should lose the home they now have)?  Where will they make their home?  Will it truly feel like a home or will it just be some place to lay their head?

And so it was that a nice article by PLAN entitled "Home Ownership and Taxes" landed in my inbox this evening. The different types of home ownership (direct ownership versus principal residence trusts) are discussed and compared from both a legal and a practical point of view, as are the tax implications involved in a trust situation.

And I'm pleased to note that although PLAN is BC-based, 95% of the article appears applicable to Nova Scotia, thanks to income tax being a federal issue. 

The only caveat I would note would be under the heading "Property Transfer Tax" near the end of the article as the issue of how much (or whether or not you will even pay) what we in Nova Scotia call a deed transfer tax varies not just by the Province but, in our case, by the municipality in which you reside.

And, on a little less legal, but no less necessary note, I leave you with the story of Greg and his family's fight to find him a true home (again courtesy of PLAN).  To remind us all to never, ever give up.

Litigation v. Education

The Americans with Disabilities Act is somewhat similar to Canadian human rights legislation in that it prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies, labor unions and other public entities from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities with respect to employment matters and access to services.  Although, unlike our human rights legislation, this particular piece of legislation applies only to individuals with disabilities (defined as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity").

But it's a nice piece of legislation in that it allows individuals with disabilities who believe that they have been discriminated against direct access to the courts (as opposed to a human rights bureaucracy as is the case with our own human rights legislation).

And yet an interesting situation is developing in Florida where many small business owners feel that they are being faced with the prospect of financial ruin by certain litigants who are using the legislation in a less than honest manner.

Unaware they had any violations and insisting they don't want to discriminate, the business owners say they are served with lawsuits and pressured into settling for thousands of dollars without being given a chance to fix problems.

Vince Pardo, manager of the Ybor City Development Corp., said the plaintiffs tell business owners the same thing: Pay me $15,000 and we're out of your hair.

"That's a settlement," Pardo said

Even some in the disability community are unsure of  these so-called "drive by lawsuits",

"We call them drive-by lawsuits, quite honestly, because we're not convinced they're making the community more inclusive regarding the ADA," said Brenda Ruehl, executive director of Self Reliance Inc., a Tampa-based, nonprofit center for independent living.

Self Reliance refers businesses to certified experts for help complying with the law.

"If it comes to our attention a business is not complying with ADA, we work with that business," Ruehl said. "We have found that is much more productive and encourages people to want to buy into the ADA."

In cases when a business refuses to make changes, she said, the center works with the U.S. Department of Justice to pursue legal remedies.

The flip side of the argument, of course, is that given that this legislation came into force over 20 years ago, can business owners really legitimately argue that they didn't know what is required of them or that they were "caught off-guard" by the lawsuits?  And in a situation where Justice Department and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuits are scarce, some see private lawsuits as vital to enforcing the legislation.

Still, this story does raise what I see as a very valid issue - when is it in the best interests of the disability community to focus more on education than on litigation? 

Mark Your Calenders

Big News ~ The 2008 version of the annual Tools For Life Conference and Exhibit has expanded to a two day event.

A "pre-conference" will be held on Thursday, October 23, 2008, at the Old Orchard Inn with the regular Conference and Exhibit day to be held on Friday, October 24, 2008.

The pre-conference theme is Working Beyond the Diagnosis: Interventions and Transition. Dr. Susan Bryson, a leading researcher in Autism Spectrum Disorders with the IWK, will deliver the keynote address with sessions focusing on research, strategies and tools for individuals with a lifelong developmental disability.

Although there is no charge to attend Friday's presentations or to view the exhibits, there is a fee to attend the pre-conference. However, I am happy to note that the $75 fee for professionals has been lowered to a special rate of $25 for family members and students. Registration for the pre-conference closes on October 21, 2008.

On Friday, October 24, 2008, Tools for Life returns to Horton High School between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. with free sessions and exhibits. Millie Colbourne, Director of Services for Persons with Disabilities, Department of Community Services, [does the name of that program sound familiar to anybody?] will deliver the keynote address. Seventy-five presentations on a variety of topics are scheduled on Friday, with more than 115 informative exhibits on display.

I have to tell you, I am a big fan of Tools For Life. With information and material on everything from physical to mental challenges, learning disabilities, aging, education, transportation, advocacy (legal and otherwise), assistive technology, speech and language therapy, home care and nursing services, medication needs, residential living ... from infancy, through childhood, adulthood to our golden years, it's all there.

Hey, I warned you that I was a big fan, right?

Unfortunately, last year, I was struck by a migraine on the scheduled day and only it made it late in the afternoon to attempt a mad dash through the numerous exhibits. I was very disappointed, I didn't even have get the chance to see all exhibits, let alone attend some sessions I was really looking forward to. This year will be different.

More information, on both the pre-conference and a complete list of the sessions available on Friday, October 24th can be found here. And the registration form can be found here.

See you there!

'Sorry, You're A Liability' ... Important Human Rights Issue

Apparently some businesses in this great Province of ours are advising individuals with special needs and their families that their services as employees are not welcome. Wait, let me rephrase that, of course they would be welcome as employees ... provided they provide their own insurance coverage.

Sound strange?

A family in Pictou County has brought a complaint to the Human Rights Commission concerning the actions of two business, Sobeys and Blockbusters. According to the family they were advised by both of these fine corporate citizens that their son would have to provide his own insurance coverage if he wished to work in one of their stores. Without such additional insurance, he was considered a 'liability'. And as a side note, according to the family who, in good faith, made their best efforts to secure such coverage, such insurance doesn't even exist.

The Nova Scotia Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in respect of employment on the basis of, among other things, physical or mental disability. The Commission will first work to see if some sort of mediated agreement or settlement can be reached between the parties. Failing that, a decision will be made as to whether to forward the complaint to a Board of Inquiry for a hearing.

I must admit that part of me fervently hopes that somehow this family was mistaken, that, as unlikely as it is, they misunderstood the comments of store employees to their enquiries. Not that I really believe that; it's just something I would like to wish to be true. As a lawyer, its very disquieting to think that such practices may be going on in Nova Scotia and, as a parent, it is sickening to consider the possibility.

At any rate, it's certainly an issue to keep an eye on.

I will update you on the complaint as more information becomes available. And if, by chance, your family or someone you know has experienced a similar situation, whether with these employers or others, I would strongly urge you to bring that information forward to the Human Rights Commission. If, indeed, this type of discrimination is being practiced in the Province, it's time to bring it to the light of day and put an immediate end to it.

Such discrimination, if it is occurring, might help to explain statistics like these. (Found on p. 8 of the link)