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Accessibility categories include but are not limited to:
- Architectural/Building
- Attitude
- Communication
- Financial
- Transportation
- Environment
- Technology/Assistive technology
- Access to services
- Ethics
- Culture and Diversity
Access Awareness Day
Celebrated annually on the first Saturday in June, Access Awareness Day is a comprehensive campaign to raise awareness about disability, accessibility, and inclusion.
Access Awareness Day has been made possible because of dedicated and inspired individuals who understand the importance of inclusion; the recognition that both the right and the opportunity to participate in all aspects of human life enable individuals and communities to celebrate their diversity and recognize their responsibilities.
Access Awareness Day is ultimately about more than just one day a year. It is a call to respond creatively and purposefully to build a society where barriers to inclusion are removed, and to ensure the independence, self-esteem, dignity, and security of all citizens.
Our Community, Accessibility and the Pandemic
It is difficult to think of much else these days other than getting through the COVID19 pandemic. However, as busy as we have been following the rules to limit the spread of infection, for those of us who work with vulnerable families, it is clear that many members of our community were immediately struggling with new barriers the isolation restrictions placed before us. Below are a few examples of the barriers, the lessons learned and a glimpse into the future as we navigate this pandemic.
Cash on Hand
Families that are living in poverty, have limited resources and rely on community support systems such as Family Services, Transition Society, the Foodbank and the many other community resources, found themselves trying to isolate their families in difficult circumstances. This included suddenly having no essential items that were depleted due to early panic hoarding and unplanned closures. This left vulnerable families without food, sundries and necessities such as baby formula and other infant and toddler care items.
Infection Risk
Following both the federal and provincial’s notice to self-isolate, most families despite struggling were able to do so if they had a home. It is the homeless population that were left out of the plan, many who remained in close quarters
where the risk of infection remained high. The initial closures left little thought of this vulnerable group who now not only found themselves without supports but were now left without the most basic of needs such as being locked out of public
washroom facilities.
Technology
Families with children who rely on the routine of the public school system for the items many take for granted, struggled with putting in place the technology for remote connections. Many with either no or limited internet, computers or phones
quickly found themselves left out of all distance learning options and communications with teachers and counsellors.
Social Connections
A week or two in isolation may not have an effect on most people abiding by the rules but as more time passes, social isolation can become a significant issue. Many families that are living with trauma injuries may be vulnerable to experiencing set backs when support systems are removed and may be prone to an increase in mental health issues and in some cases an increase in substance use, violence and abuse.
The Response
The novelty of the virus not only left medical experts scrambling to contain it but whole communities were left with no tried protocol in place to follow. This created a day by day method of response and these issues arose quickly as everyone was left to navigate the unknown. For our community, as these issues came about, so too did the response from most social services societies, including our teams at CVFSA! Many organizations like ours, did not sit idle and quickly jumped into action as each new barrier was identified. Some help came quickly, while other support requests lagged under bureaucracy.
The key was quickly recognizing these barriers and then finding solutions equally as fast to eliminate them. Trial and error, creative solutions and adapting quickly to technology in order to remain safe while helping families became the new norm.
Although the hope is that we would never have to go through this again, the reality is, we need to be prepared: “Hope for the best, expect the worst”.
Surprisingly, there may be a silver lining in all this and even though the expectation is an eventual return to the old normal, it is becoming clear that we can take these lessons learned and realize the amazing opportunity before us to permanently reduce some of the societal, economical and environmental barriers with the push received via the arrival of COVID19.