Good News From Metro Transit

You might recall some previous posts I've written, one about my own efforts to have our local bus company institute a policy to which would allow the accompanying support person of a person with a disability to ride the bus free of charge. Because, as I noted at the time, although they had a policy in conjunction with the CNIB, providing that a blind person could travel with a support person without paying or a second fare, no such policy existed for individuals with any other type of disability. Which efforts, I was pleased to note, were ultimately successful.

A year later, I wrote about the issue Metro Transit, the Halifax Regional Municipality's transit system, was facing when some complained about their long-time policy of offering free bus passes to people who were blind.  But not to anyone else.

At any rate, I am pleased to advise that Metro Transit will be launching major policy and operational changes to improve accessibility on all of its routes later this year. This was apparently motivated by a Human Rifghts Commission complaint by passengers Tammy Robertson and Michael Craig.

Both Ms. Robertson and Mr. Craig are wheelchair-users and were unable to use most of the routes on the transit system despite most of the bus fleet being accessible. We are told that "Their experience reflected widespread frustration among people in the disabled community". I imagine so.

At any rate, upcoming changes are to include:

• passengers using wheelchairs being able to use low-floor buses serving any route, providing the ramp can be lowered so they can board the bus. At the moment, low-floor buses only pick up passengers if the route is designated fully accessible.
• passengers, with proper identification, who require attendants having their attendant's fare included in their own. [ED. Thank you very much]
• snow clearing at the Mumford and Dartmouth terminals being improved and increased to a 24-hour priority.
• the Request a Stop program, which provides for disembarking between stops for safety at night, being extend to disabled passengers at any time of day if it becomes reasonably necessary to accommodate them, such as situations of adverse weather or for safety reasons.

Gerald Hashey, the Human Rights Commission's manager of dispute resolution, is quoted as stating that "this initiative has allowed the largest transit system in the Maritimes to provide leadership on our commitments under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities". He notes, quite rightly, that public transit is key to independence and participating fully in life for people with disabilities.

I can't find the press release (which I received in an email) anywhere online so I am going to reproduce it in its entirety here.

But before I do that, there's one other thing I would like to mention.  And that is how pleased I am to see the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities* being used in such a manner.

One of the (many) things I never got back to discussing after posting about the Values, Vision and Action Workshop I attended this past March was the discussion around the use of the Convention in our advocacy work.

I've written before about some of my hesitation reservations around the practical usefulness of the Convention from a legal point of view.  But one of the things discussed at the CACL workshop was taking a copy of the Convention along with us when we visit our MLAs or MPs on various issues and pointing out the relevant sections to them.

Now that I like because although I am hesitant as to how much teeth the Convention might actually have in a court of law, it's primary usefulness may well be to quote from it in our advocacy work with politicans and the media.  Which, apparently, is exactly how Ms. Robertson and Mr. Craig used the Convention when they filed their Human Rights complaint. Now that's what my mother would call "using your noggin".

Following is the text of the press release.

Public transit improvements will soon benefit riders with disabilities in Halifax Regional Municipality.

Late this fall, Metro Transit will launch major policy and operational changes to improve accessibility on all of its routes.

Metro Transit worked with the Human Rights Commission and passengers Tammy Robertson and Michael Craig to help create many of these changes.

Ms. Robertson and Mr. Craig, who both use wheelchairs, could not use most of the routes. Their experience reflected widespread frustration among people in the disabled community.

When the changes are introduced passengers using wheelchairs will be able to use low floor buses serving any route, passengers who require attendants will have the attendant's fare included in their own and snow clearing at the Mumford and Dartmouth terminals will be improved and increased to a 24 hour priority.

Media Contacts: Gerald Hashey
Human Rights Commission
902-424-3132
E-mail: hasheygj@gov.ns.ca

Lori Patterson
Metro Transit
902-490-6609

Michael Craig
902-454-6859 or 902-476-8288

Tammy Robertson
902-789-1530

Release Date: 07/31/11

Suvey Says

For your rainy summer day enjoyment (I'm sure we'll have another one before too long), I offer two online government surveys you might be interested in.

The first newest is from the Cyberbullying Task Force.

The survey itself can be found here and you can learn more about both it and the Task Force here. The voices of young people with disabilities need to be heard on this topic and I was pleased to note that it was very teen-friendly when my youngest daughter filled it out.

The second one has been around for a while but closes for responses the end of July.

You might recall Ben Levin's report to the Minister of Education back in May and the op-ed I wrote at the time. An online questionnaire/survey had been created to get public response to the report and, apparently, the time for public response has been extended a few times, the most recent being until the end of July.

Admittedly, I was not too impressed when I first looked at this survey, seeing how it kept asking for the most "promising ideas" from Dr. Levin's on various topics.  Not when I hadn't come across many "promising" ideas when it came to the topic of special education.  But, having giving it some thought, I'm thinking that since the format does allow for written responses you can say pretty much whatever you want.  No matter what they appear to be looking for.

So might I suggest you review Dr. Levin's report and then try your hand at the survey.

In a very recent conversation with the Minister I was led to believe that it might just be worth it to get our responses/thoughts in and tabulated.

So there you go.

Well Said

I've mentioned fellow blogger, Ashley's Mom at Pipecleaner Dreams on a few occasions before.

Today I popped over to catch up on a few older posts and thought this post about inclusion was simply beautiful.

But, no, she speaks not of our children or others with disabilities being included, she speaks of true inclusion - among parents.

Some snippets:

. . .  .

There grows in communities groups of parents who have children with disabilities. These groups may grow out of shared hospital experiences or shared school experiences or maybe just through word of mouth from one family to another. And the adults in the groups come together for support and to share their stories that usually only others in similar situations will understand. More often than not, the children represented by these groups have very similar disabilities – parents of children with deafblindness, parents of children with Down Syndrome, or parents of children with trachs, for example. But what if you are the parent of a child that just doesn’t quite fit the same description of other children in one of the groups? What do you do and where do you find your support?

. . .  .

I know it’s difficult for true inclusion to work, and I know that there are many, many facets to inclusion. I know I may never see it fully bloom in my lifetime, but that doesn’t stop me from dreaming about it. I suggest we try to envision the inclusive world we all desire while at the same time finding the support we need. I fully realize that it is much easier to bond with another parent whose child is on a trach if my child is on a trach. But let’s try setting aside the specifics of disability and concentrate on the specifics of humanity – regardless of ability.

Head on over and read the rest of it. Please.

Ahem

Just a reminder that tomorrow (Friday, July 22nd) is the day that Skye and his Mom will be in Halifax for the Kilometres for Communication event.

Yes, I confess, right from the beginning I have been totally impressed by this young man and what he has been doing. 

If you follow his blog, particularly some of the more recent posts, you will see how challenging the trip has become for both Skye and his mother.

 

The least we could do is show up and offer our support tomorrow, eh?

Call To Action

Plucked from the comments on the recent post about Jordan's Principle:

Thanks so much for caring the story about Jordan's Principle and the child welfare tribunal which includes Jordan's Principle. Please encourage your readers to sign up to support Jordan's Principle at www.jordansprinciple.ca and write a letter to PM Harper demanding its full implementation across all government services.

So what say you?

It seems like such a small thing to do, doesn't it?

So why are you still here?

Subject to Change Without Notice??

The Nova Scotia Department of Community Services (DCS) backed off a clandestine plan to cut medical services for disabled Nova Scotians living in special care homes late Friday Thursday afternoon, hours before it was to take effect.

The province had planned to implement the unannounced cuts over the Canada Day long weekend, but shelved the plan hours after the Canadian Press News Agency sought comment from DCS Minister Denise Peterson-Rafuse. Operators of special care homes were told the policy was “on hold” in late afternoon emails from frontline care coordinators.

The policy would have curtailed coverage for a wide range of medical benefits including dental care, drugs, and medical supplies.

In one case, workers caring for an elderly diabetic who receives a living allowance of just $125 per month were told his daily insulin injections would no longer be covered, because the type of insulin prescribed for his hard-to-control blood-sugar levels is not on a list of approved drugs. The man, who has a developmental handicap, leads an active life and is beloved by his community.

Another agency was told the province would no longer pay for an anti-seizure medication required by one of its residents.

The above is from Parker Barss Donham's blog, Contrarian.

And, if true, it's extremely disturbing. 

Parker's name should be well-known to most Nova Scotians, or at least to those with any interest in politics. Which leads me to the one caveat I offer here; namely that, politics being what it is, I tend to be a mite bit cynical, not just of the party in power, but equally of those associated with the opposition.  Because even those not holding the reins of power have a certain power, colloquially known as the power of "spin".  Meaning that, fair or not, I tend to take anything I come across originating from anyone with a strong connection to any political party with at least a few grains of salt.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this - although on its face deeply disturbing, I have to at least allow for the possibility that there may be a more innocent explanation at play here, one that some would rather not be made public. 

Then again, that being said, my true cynicism, based on years of hard fought experience, lies with government departments, particularly those of Education and Community Services, meaning I have trying real hard not to jump to the conclusion that I would be oh so happy to reach and at least allow for the possibility that all might not be exactly as it seems. I'm trying - it's just not that easy.

On another note, I see that Mr. Dunham has posted various DCS policy documents, which tend to be extremely difficult to access.  The links will be up shortly in the sidebar under the heading "Services for Persons with Disabilities ... Policy Documents".

Just remember, though, that as so aptly pointed out by Mr. Dunham's post, government policies are often subject to change. Without. Any. Notice.

* When researching yesteray's post, I noted that the Department of Health and Wellness' (the new name for the Department of Health) Home Care Policy Manual is dated June 1, 2011.  In a similar vein, I see that both the Services for Persons With Disabilities - Special Needs Policy and the Financial Eligibilty Policy are dated July 1, 2011 (yes, that's two days ago aka Canada Day). It would appear that, perhaps, our NDP government is on some sort of policy revision roll, to an extent that might not quite be accounted for by the various departmental changes made in the recent Government Administration Amendment (2011) Act(ch. 11 of the 2011 Statutes).

Uncaring, Unprincipled, Unacceptable

That I wrote about this very issue two years ago is a very sad commentary:

That a funding kerfuffle, that the federal and provincial governments cannot agree on who, exactly, is responsible to provide the funding necessary for aboriginal children with special needs to stay at home, with their families, where they belong is sadly, perhaps, not surprising.

But that this bit of 'government infighting' as it is so colloquially called has resulted in families being told that they may be forced to give up their children because the First Nation can no longer pay for their care and federal and provincial governments can't agree on who should pay is beyond despicable.

And if it was unacceptable then, what is it now?

Two years ago, I questioned where the  Nova Scotia government stood when it comes to Jordan's Principle.  I guess now we have our answer.

Jeremy Meawasige loves music, sunny days at the beach and his mother.

But Jeremy has extensive physical and mental disabilities. And the failure to resolve a dispute between the Pictou Landing First Nation and the federal government over how his care is paid for may result in his institutionalization.

"It’ll be over my dead body," said Maurina Beadle of the possibility her 16-year-old son might be institutionalized.

Jeremy is diagnosed with autism, hydrocephalus, cerebral palsy and spinal curvature.

For 15 years, Beadle provided 24-hour care for her son. She spoon fed him pureed foods, carried him, prevented his self-destructive tendencies and changed his diapers.

That, in itself, by itself, is unacceptable in my mind. That a parent should single-handedly have to provide 24-hour care for their child for all those years anywhere in Canada is quite simply unacceptable. 

Home care? In home support?  Direct Family Support? Hello, is anybody home out there?

But as if that wasn't bad enough, last year Jeremy's mother had a stroke.  Fortunately, the Pictou Landing First Nation stepped up to the plate, providing three hours of home care every day.  Last year that cost the First Nation $82,000.

But now, even as the cost decreases due to his mother being out of a wheelchair and now able to walk with the assistance of a cane, she is being told that her son might have to be institutionalized because no level of government is willing to pick up the cost of a small amount of home care. Home care to which Jeremy would be more than entitled to were he to live off-reserve in this Province.*

The Perfect Summer Day

You might remember my previous post about Kilometers for Communication and 17-year-old's Skye's journey across Canada to raise awareness and funds around issues of augmentative and alternate communication.

Yeah, I'm a bit of a fan. I admit it.

Which is why I was thrilled to learn that Friday July 22nd, 2011 is the big day!

From 11:30am—1:30pm on the Halifax waterfront, outside the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. BE. THERE.

I'm not too pushy, am I?

Hope not, but then again, you were warned that we really need to give Skye and his family a warm Maritime welcome, weren't you?

To top off the perfect day, apparently Q104 will be on hand for some fun and free food! But as much as I love the words fun, sun and food in the same sentence, that's not the real reason to be there, is it?

For more details, contact: reneajoy@eastlink.ca

And be sure to check out Skye’s blog or, better yet, follow it and his journey as I'be been doing.

If Only ...

I came across this story a few days ago and it made me really, really wish the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms contained wording similar that found in the Americans with Disabilities Act, requiring that people with disabilities be allowed to live in the "most integrated setting" within their communities.

Because if it did, then maybe, just maybe, we could just as easily settle our own class action law suit and rather than assigning dollars to “institutions,” the money would follow the individual to the housing of their choice.

A federal judge on Wednesday approved a settlement to a long-running civil case that will force Illinois to begin moving hundreds of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities into more community-based homes and apartments of their choice.

“I firmly believe that the state of Illinois, the citizens, have been well-served by these efforts,” said U.S. District Judge James Holderman, who congratulated lawyers who have spent months negotiating terms of controversial case.

“I will issue an order promptly,” he said, noting that he had received only two objections out of 21Ö responses filed with the court. “I will announce informally today that my position is that the consent decree should be approved and this should be the law that is followed.”

The settlement in the case filed in 2005 by Stanley Ligasd and other plaintiffs will change the way the state now pays for their care. Rather than assigning dollars to “institutions,” the money would follow the individual to the housing of their of their choice. Institutions are defined in the lawsuit as any private, state-funded facility with nine or more residents.

Unfortunately, though, that's not the case

Leaving us to rely on sec. 15 of the Charter.

Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

And although there are numerous examples of people attempting (unfortunately, not all that successfully) to use the equality provisions of the Charter to fund adequate social assistance rates and sec. 7 guarantees to "life, liberty and security of the person" to argue a right to subsidized housing for Canadians, I'm not sure that anyone has yet tried to pair sec. 15 rights with a right for the physically and mentally challenged to live within their own communities, in the homes they would choose.  As opposed to those that are imposed on chosen for them.

Although I'm thinking the wording of sec. 15 will never be found to support such a right; that we would need much more explicit wording, such as that found in the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Still, anyone there aware of any Canadian case law in this regard?

Yet Another Issue

Still heady with our recent success over the gap year issue, my mind recently turned to another, related topic.

Hopefully, everyone whose child is enrolled in the Province's Direct Family Support Program for Children (formerly known as In Home Support for Children) is aware of the extra respite funding (up to $1,000) available over the summer months. No complaints there, it's a lifesaver for this family.

But it occurred to me recently that our family won't have access to that additional summer respite funding next summer, given that our oldest child recently turned 18 (let's not even go there!) and next year will have (supposedly) transitioned to the Direct Family Support for Adults program.  The Direct Family Support for Adults program,while it may have much to recommend it does not offer additional summer respite funding. 

And that would make  sense I suppose as long as the "adult" in question is not still enrolled in high school and, thus, still faced with two long summer months without a whole lot to do.  I mean it's not like she's going to be able to get a summer job, is it?  Or even summer work in some short of sheltered workshop environment? No, no she's not.

So it only make sense to me that as long as these kids young adults are still in school, the summer respite funding should continue.

Yes, I am well aware that there are many, many other issues to be dealt with.  But for us, like most families, I imagine, those issues that face us in the immediate future tend to stand out in stark contrast. Right now, there are a few staring me in the face, the most immediate being school and behaviour-related but as I determine our needs for summer respite for this year, I can see far enough down the road to be cognizant of the problem we will face next summer.

My. Daughter. Simply. Does. Not. Do. Down. Time. No way. No how. 

She just doesn't know how, which tends to make summer challenging even when I have access to a pot of extra respite funding.  Because then I only have to find respite workers and appropriate activities. (Yes, there was just a touch of sarcasm there.)  But without that money?  No, it's probably best I don't think too much about that at the moment.

So let's just consider this a heads up.  It's an issue that many, many families face and one I'm hoping we will be able to do something about in the near future.

So. Any future takers out there?

Press Release - 2011 Federal Budget Recognizes More Needed for People with Disabilities and Families

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 6, 2011, Toronto – ON. The Federal Budget tabled today before the House of Commons recognizes that more needs to be done to support people with disabilities and their families. CACL’s President Bendina Miller welcomed the budget measures and expressed: “Today’s budget takes modest steps to address the needs of people with disabilities and their families. It recognizes that: families and caregivers are at the core of supports to persons with disabilities and that more needs to be done to support them in this role; improvements are needed to the RDSP to ensure people with intellectual disabilities are able to enjoy equal benefit of the savings mechanism without jeopardizing their legal capacity; and, that new investments are needed to address the long-standing exclusion of people with intellectual disabilities from the labour market.”

CACL is encouraged by the inclusion of disability issues in this Federal Budget and is hopeful these new investments are first steps in developing a more comprehensive national disability strategy. In particular, the Federal Budget commits to:

• Enhanced support for families and caregivers through:

o a new Family Caregiver Tax Credit, a 15-per-cent non-refundable credit on  an amount of $2,000
o removing the limit on the amount of eligible expenses that caregivers can claim under the MedicalExpense Tax Credit
o a Children’s Arts Tax credit – with an enhanced component for children eligible for the Disability Tax Credit.

• Improving Labour Market Outcomes

o A $3billion investment over 6 years for new Labour Market Agreements to address gaps and improve labour market outcomes for under-represented groups.

• Improving the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) by:

o Increasing withdrawal flexibility for those with shortened life expectancies.
o Conducting a 3-year review to address issues raised by Canadians with disabilities and their families including a specific recognition of contract/legal capacity issues some adults with disabilities have encountered in trying to open and manage a RDSP.

“Employment is a major issue for people with intellectual disabilities. Something isn’t right when employment rates for working-age adults with intellectual disabilities are one-third of the employment rate of people without disabilities and when the average income for working age adults with intellectual disabilities who are working is less than half of that of Canadians without a disability. Canada needs to take a serious look at how to improve inclusive labour market outcomes for people with intellectual disabilities. This Budget is one step in that direction.” said CACL Executive Vice President, Michael Bach. “CACL looks forward to working in partnership with the Government of Canada in realizing these new investments and identifying the next steps to build strategically on these investments.”

About the Canadian Association for Community Living

The Canadian Association for Community Living is a Canada-wide association of family members and others working to advance the human rights and inclusion of persons of all ages who have an intellectual disability. CACL’s federation is comprised of 10 provincial and three territorial associations, 420 local associations and over 40,000 members.

For more information, please contact:
Michael Bach, Executive Vice-President, 416.209.7942, mbach@cacl.ca

Anna MacQuarrie
Director, Policy and Programs
Canadian Association for Community Living
Kinsmen Building, York University
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, ON M3J 1P3

Tel: 416-661-9611 ext 204
Fax: 416-661-5701
amacquarrie@cacl.ca
www.cacl.ca

Curious

I have a question that I am am wondering if some of my readers might be able to help with.

I am wondering how many (if any) of your kids have been turned away from your local mental health service (most likely known as Child and Adolescent Services) due to the fact that they have "special needs" - or, more accurately, because they are mentally challenged.

I know many of these Services work with children and adolescents on the autistic spectrum, but has anyone been turned away because their child is mentally challenged?

I am really hoping I might get some responses here, whether they be yes or no. Thanks.

'Day 4- West Vancouver to Mission, BC - 83 km'

We all need to be explored. It’s a tragedy that there are people on this planet whose speechlessly brilliant summit will never be discovered because the people around them don’t realize that the hike is worth it. Remember this: the hike is always worth it. Always assume ability, and listen with the patience, care, and effort that you would want anyone to listen to you. Often, the hike is the best part.

* A quote from Skye's blog that I thought was simply too beautiful not to pass on.