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The Black Spruce
Volume 23 Issue 4
January – March 2020
Empower is your Disability Resource
Centre and The Black Spruce is your
newsletter. We offer a variety of
resources, supports and opportunities
for people living with disabilities. Our
programs include: Advocacy Skills, Peer
Support, Volunteer Opportunities,
Career Development, Adaptive
Technology, Independent Living
Internships, Free Computer Access,
Employer Supports and Services, and
Research and Development. Empower
actively promotes all aspects of
Independent Living.
Alternate Formats: The Black Spruce is
also available in Braille, Large Print, and
Audio CD, as well as online at
www.empowernl.ca.
Contact Information for Staff Newsletter
Coordinator
Stephen Quinn
Tel: (709) 722-4031 ext. 214
Toll Free: 1-866-722-4031
Email: [email protected]
Empower
The Disability Resource Centre
4 Escasoni Place, St. John’s, NL
A1A 3R6
www.empowernl.ca
Empower encourages future
submissions from its consumers. Direct
enquiries to [email protected].
Submissions should be a maximum of
one page or 750 words in length.
The Black Spruce provides a way for
people to share opinions, thoughts and
ideas. The articles may not always
reflect the goals, values and mission of
Empower. Empower does not endorse
any products, services, ads or
businesses in any way. It is the
responsibility of the consumer to make
an informed decision.
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Inside this edition:
EMPOWER NEWS ..................................... 3
RECIPIENTS OF INDEPENDENT LIVING AWARDS
ANNOUNCED ............................................. 3
CHANGE OF ADVOCACY ASSISTANT .................. 5
NEED HELP WITH YOUR TAXES? ..................... 5
MENTAL HEALTH OUTREACH NURSE SERVICES ... 6
SOCIAL WORKER OUTREACH SERVICES ............. 6
EXPERIENCE AT THE MOUNT PEARL HACKATHON 6
EMPOWER VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION EVENT ... 8
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT .......................... 9
ON-LINE MENTAL HEALTH TOOL LAUNCHED –
BRIDGE THE GAP ........................................ 9
REMEMBERING A STUDENT PIONEER: GLENN ROY
BLUNDON ................................................10
BY MATT BARTER, ST. JOHN’S ......................10
ACCESSIBLE CANADA ACT .............................11
WRITTEN BY MANDY PENNEY AND MEGAN
PENNEY ...................................................11
CONSUMER CONTRIBUTIONS ................. 12
GOINGS ON IN SARNIA ONTARIO ....................12
BY PAT DAY ..............................................12
CREATIVE CORNER .................................. 13
“BLUE JAY” DRAWING BY EUGENE BARRETT .....13
UP-COMING PEER SUPPORT EVENTS ...... 14
PEER SUPPORT GROUPS ..............................14
CRAFT GROUP ...........................................14
WOMEN’S GROUP .................................... 14
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S GROUP .................... 14
MEN’S GROUP ......................................... 15
DINNER CLUB ........................................... 15
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EMPOWER NEWS
Recipients of Independent Living
Awards Announced
The 2019 recipient of The Cecilia Carroll Award for Independent Living is Carole Barron in recognition of her long term and extraordinary commitment to the full inclusion of people with disabilities.
Carole brings with her over 30 years of work and volunteering in the disability community. Carole was the CEO of Canadian Council of Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW) and set the stage in Canada for inclusive employment for people with disabilities. In her capacity at CCRW she was responsible for advocating for others with disabilities and developed precedence in ways that businesses invested in employment opportunities in Canada for people with disabilities. Her commitment and passion was evident well beyond her professional responsibilities.
Since her return to Newfoundland, Carole's passion and commitment to the disability community continues through her volunteer work. As Chairperson of the InclusionNL Program Steering Committee, former volunteer Chair of Empower's Board and now as current Chair of Independent Living Canada - she is advancing the rights of persons with disabilities nationally. Through her volunteer work, Carole has provided leadership, guidance and expertise in building a more inclusive Canada. I cannot think of another person in our province who has worked with such passion - locally, provincially, and nationally - for Canadians with disabilities. The Independent Living Young Leader Award is for a young person with a disability, who has raised awareness and shown outstanding leadership in promoting full inclusion of people with disabilities in NL. The recipient of the 2019 Independent Living Young Leader Award is Kristyn Collins
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Kristyn is a Boccia Ball Player: Provincially, Nationally and Internationally. She is a Member of Team Canada’s Boccia Ball Team that attended the 2019 CPIRSA world Games in Sant Cugot Spain in August 2018.
She is a member of Boccia Ball Canada’s team that competed in Sao Paulo Brazil the end of September 2019. Kristyn was the only Newfoundlander on this Boccia Ball team. Kristyn has won bronze, silver and gold as an individual and as part of a team In 2019, Kristyn was also recipient for the Premier’s Athlete Award for boccia ball. The Business Award for Independent Living is for a business who has displayed an innovative approach and achieved substantial outcomes, in supporting the full inclusion of people with disabilities. The recipient of the 2019 Business Award for Independent Living is The Arts Council of NL
Since moving to their new location at 275 Duckworth St., The Craft Council Of Newfoundland and Labrador, have worked diligently to increase their accessibility confidence and create a barrier free environment for both customers and employees. To date they have been working on a number of features including: a fully alternative accessible entrance, Inclusion Awareness training for volunteers, staff, artists and exhibitioners and research on automated description devices of exhibits. The Craft Council Of Newfoundland and Labrador provide alternate formats of exhibit descriptions for each Art Exhibit, accessible layouts of the shop and gallery and promotion of accessible art shows throughout the community The Social Inclusion Award for Independent Living is for a person/s who have worked towards a more inclusive environment by creating opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in areas such as education, sports, the arts, government services and the wider community. The recipient of the 2019 Social Inclusion Award is The City of St. John's Inclusive Services Team One of the City of St. John’s strategic directions is to foster “a city where people feel connected, have a sense of belonging, and are actively engaged in community life.” The Inclusive Services
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team, housed within the Community Services Department spearheads many
programs, services and initiatives aimed at creating inclusive environments that connect citizens to each other and their City. For over 25 years the City of St. John's, Community Services department has supported persons with a disability and/or individuals requiring support to participate in recreation and leisure programs. The team also coordinates the City’s Inclusion Advisory Committee and associated working groups, provides inclusion training to city staff and partners with various sectors to further inclusion in the community. The City of St. John’s is committed to providing inclusive and accessible recreation and leisure services for residents through the following: accessible built environment, adaptive recreation equipment, alternate formats, accessible playgrounds, attendant passes, financial support, therapeutic recreation referrals, inclusive programming and a holistic approach with government and community
working together through the City's Inclusion & Accessibility Advisory Committee.
Change of Advocacy Assistant
Catherine Burgess has finished her
Social Work placement at Empower. We
would like to thanks Catherine for all her
support. Kellie Beck will be the
Advocacy Assistant/Social Work
student.
A Picture of Kellie Beck
Need Help with Your Taxes?
The Empower Tax Clinic for your 2019 taxes will take place on March 13, 2020 from 12 PM to 2 PM at Empower. Please bring with you any tax documents you have. Registration
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for the tax clinic will open on February 3, 2020. Please call Nina to register at 722-4031 ext. 200 or by email at [email protected].
Mental Health Outreach Nurse Services
Chandi McKenna and Amy McNeill,
Community Mental Health and
Addictions Outreach Nurses with
Eastern Health are are offering drop-in
services on Tuesdays from 1:00 pm to
1:30 pm. All appointments after this time
will need to be booked by Joby Fleming,
our Advocacy Coordinator.
Phone: (709) 722– 4031 ext 213
Email: [email protected]
Social Worker Outreach Services
Empower now has a Social Worker on
Wednesday Afternoons.
Do you need support from a social
worker?
Do you need someone to help
figure things out?
Do you want help navigating
services?
Brenda, Our Community Mental Health
and Addictions Social Worker with
Eastern Health will be here Wednesday
from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. To book you
next appointment, please call Joby.
Phone: (709) 722– 4031 ext 213
Email: [email protected]
Experience at the Mount Pearl
Hackathon
By Jordan Bragg
At the start of November, a group from Empower was provided with the opportunity to take part in the Mount Pearl Hackathon. The event took place over the course of a weekend, and ran from the 1st to the 3rd. The main goal of the hackathon was to form a team, work to propose a solution to one of the environmental problems that the city of Mount Pearl is currently facing, and then present our solution to a panel of judges. As a group, we were tasked with deciding which of the available problems
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we would like to work on, and then coming up with a product or service that could act as a potential solution to the problem at hand. Because of the time limitations, working quickly was very important to finding success. We decided to work on a solution to help simplify the difficulty often found in notifying city residents about public issues and concerns.
Because not everyone uses the same social media platforms, or watches the same news sources, finding a way to make sure all residents are up to date on local issues such as road closures has been a struggle. It is for this reason that we thought creating an app which could combine all social media platforms in to one central app would be a good idea. This way, residents could get updates from all sources through a single application on their phone or other device. With this in mind, it was time to begin work on the project. The working period started on Saturday morning, and continued until Sunday at noon. As part of the event, it was allowed to stay overnight to continue working if you chose to do so. While no other groups decided to stay, ours did. Two people from our group stayed in the building for over 24 hours in order to finish our project. They went above and beyond what was required to insure our idea could be brought to life.
After working for over 24 hours straight, our team reunited on Sunday morning to finalize our presentation. In total, 15 different groups were there to present
their work, spread across over 4 different environmental problems. At the end of the presentations, there was a break for the judges to award prizes based on which groups had the most realistic and possible to achieve solutions. There were cash prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, as well as a community spirit award. While we did not win any of the main prizes, our Empower group was awarded with the community spirit award, in part due to our members being the only to stay up for over 24 hours. But also due to our noticeable enthusiasm and work ethic. Overall the hackathon was a wonderful experience, and exercise in working with a team. It was also great to see all of the other ideas that members of our community have come up with in the spirit of bettering our quality of living. I would highly recommend further looking into the event for anyone else who may be interested in attending next year.
The Empower Team at the Mt. Pearl
Hackathon Event
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Empower Volunteer Appreciation Event
What better way to show our appreciation for all the hard work our volunteers do than having a celebration. The theme for this year’s volunteer week is “It's time to applaud this country's volunteers”. We want to do just that by inviting our volunteers to a reception and dance in your honor. This event is open to all consumers. We invite everyone to join us in thanking our volunteers.
April 18, 2020
7:00pm – 12:00am The CLB Armoury 82 Harvey Road
Tickets will be available Feb 3rd. Volunteers get in for free, and everyone else pays
$10.00. Everyone needs a ticket to get in!
Please contact Amanda for Tickets By phone: 722-4031 ext. 215 Email: [email protected]
Everyone will be responsible for their own transportation.
Ticket $10.00
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Community Spotlight
On-line Mental Health Tool Launched – Bridge The Gap
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Remembering a Student Pioneer: Glenn
Roy Blundon
By Matt Barter, St. John’s
A Picture of Glenn Roy Blundon and a
MODII T-Shirt
Glenn Roy Blundon was a student at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN), majoring in Economic Geography. He lived in the Doyle House residence on campus. He grew up in Bay de Verde, Conception Bay. Glenn passed away in 1984 in his 26th year but left an impact that is still felt today. There was little to no support for students with disabilities on campus. As a result, Memorial’s Organization for the Disabled (MOD) was formed, but unfortunately was not successful in maintaining membership. In 1982, the society was renamed to Memorial’s Organization for the Disabled II (MOD II) and Glenn became the president and was the spark and
driving force behind kickstarting the society again. Under Glenn’s leadership, MOD II was successful in raising funds, attaining much needed office space, and recruiting new members. According to The Muse in March of 1983, MOD II, “enlisted 30-35 members and appointed an executive and held 15 meetings.” The campus was inaccessible and some professors were said to believe students with disabilities should not be in university; this was a common attitude at the time. Students in wheelchairs had difficulty opening doors, and water fountains were too high for them to reach. Addressing the issues of students with disabilities was not a priority for MUN officials. Getting the administration to take their concerns seriously was one of the biggest challenges and the administration was reluctant to meet with MOD II. There was one incident when the administration agreed to meet but, upon their arrival, asked where the students with disabilities were. This was a time when not all disabilities were recognized and only physical disabilities were valid. This made it difficult to improve conditions on campus — but not impossible. The MOD II group was eventually able to make tangible progress. Glenn said in a Muse article that, with the efforts of MOD II, “conditions are a lot better than when I first came here in 1977.”
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The Muse stated in 1983 that MOD II members were consulted regarding renovations and new construction projects. Some of the group’s biggest successes, according to The Muse was getting, “a spiral cement ramp at the Henrietta Harvey Building entrance; ‘key’ elevators for the disabled in several main buildings on campus; a lift inside the front door of the science building; sidewalk ramps around campus.” MOD II also played a role in making residences accessible. Through their efforts, an elevator was installed to connect the tunnel system with two floors of Doyle House and also to give students with mobility issues access to the Hatcher House dining hall. Along with MOD II’s efforts to make the campus physically more accessible, they also helped with academics; for example, they volunteered to read aloud exams to students unable to do so independently. In 1992, MUN opened a centre for students with disabilities dedicated in memory of Glenn. The Blundon Centre provides services such as test and exam accommodations, assistive learning software, alternate textbook formats, help with mobility, etc. MUN is leaps and bounds more accessible than it was decades ago although there is still much more improvement needed.
Let us thank Glenn for his dedication to equality in leading the way so that we can continue to fight for a more accessible and caring campus.
Accessible Canada Act
Written by Mandy Penney and Megan
Penney
The Government of Canada has made its commitment to the 22% of Canadians who identify as having disabilities to create a barrier-free Canada by officially introducing the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) on June 21, 2019. This act will involve “proactive identification, removal, and prevention of barriers to accessibility wherever Canadians interact with areas under federal jurisdiction.”
Additionally, the Government of Canada, stakeholders, and people with disabilities will work together to develop standards and regulations that will apply to the federal government and its departments, such as banking, telecommunications, and transportation industries. During consultations held for the development of the ACA, programs and service delivery, employment, the built environment, information and communications technology, procurement, and transportation were highlighted as areas to focus on.
Although, we are several years away from seeing the implementation of the Act, and thus, the full benefits to Canadians with disabilities, it is
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promising to think of the steps we are making to become an accessible nation.
Consumer Contributions
Goings on in Sarnia Ontario
By Pat Day
This evening Lorraine and I made our little trip down to the river. The St. Clair River is the boundary between Michigan and Ontario. For those of you who watch Border Security you will be familiar with the Blue Water Bridge. Many people go there for a feed of chips. The river has it beginnings at Lake Huron. Sarnia and area are famous for their beaches, which most days are blue or aqua in colour.
We have lived in Sarnia for three years now. Seeing the bridge, river, and a gorgeous sunset was especially relaxing for me. I thought about you people at the centre. Knowing of your dedication to attend art classes and plenty more was an inspiration for me. I recently attended a short workshop on good sleep habits. I just might learn more about computers.
The big, most important happening in my life now is attending a monthly prostate cancer survivor group. The men and their wives seem to be cheering me
on. They are my support as I go through different medical procedures. Last week I was a day patient at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London. The reconstructive surgeon is trying to find out how best to put my urethra back together with my bladder. So far from what was to take 3 to 5 days has now gone beyond eighteen months. Most people here seem to want pharmacare. There are many seniors who need to buy medications and more and only have limited income. Personally, I could use financial help to buy my catheters and depends.
One recent achievement here was the establishment of a mental health team. This unit works with the police to effectively deal with violators, who are in need of mental health services.
St. Joseph’s have a statement of patient and resident values. Patients are people, not a diagnosis, case or number. As a patient you are part of your own care team. Somewhere I read for good health get sleep, eat well as instructed, and relax.
Thank you all for the years I dropped in at the centre and was treated with respect.
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Creative Corner
“Blue Jay” Drawing by Eugene Barrett
Drawing of a Blue Jay, with wings spread in full flight.
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Up-Coming Peer Support Events
Peer Support Groups
We come together to socialize and have fun in a safe and comfortable place for all persons with disabilities. We plan our groups around consumer’s interests, ideas, needs, and wants. Have an idea for a future topic for a group? Let Amanda know, at 722-4031.
Craft Group
Members meet on Thursday afternoons from 2:00pm – 4:00pm at Empower and in different community settings. Do you have skills to share or would you like to work together with us on a project? Help us show that art can be created and shared across disabilities. Not accepting new members at this time.
Women’s Group
Women are now meeting once a month at Empower or at a location in the community. Would you like to do workshops or share an interest? Join us in supporting and learning from each other.
Scheduled Meeting Date: Monday, Jan 13th, 2020 Topic: To be Determined Location: Empower Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm Topic: To be determined Future Date: Monday, Feb 3th, 2020
Men’s and Women’s Group
Men and Women with disabilities get together once every two months at Empower or at a location in the community to share and support each other. Would you like to join them in sharing your ideas?
Scheduled Meeting Date: Monday, Feb 10, 2020 Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm Location: Empower Topic: Bingo Future Date: Monday, April 13, 2020
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Men’s Group
Members of the Men’s Group get together once a month at Empower or at a location in the community to share and support each other. The possibilities are endless in what activities, presentations, events, and topics we will explore. Would you like to join them in sharing your ideas?
Scheduled Meeting Date: Monday, Jan 27, 2020
Topic: To be determined
Location: Empower
Time: 6.30-8.30
Future Date: Monday, Feb 24, 2020
Dinner Club
Join us for a night filled with food and good company. We like to go out to eat as a group to different accessible restaurants in the city. Let us know your favorite accessible restaurants in the St. John’s area. Not accepting new members at this time.
Scheduled Meeting Date: Monday, March 16, 2020, or Wednesday, March 25, 2020 Time: 6:30pm – 9:00pm Location: To be determined Future Date: Monday, May 11, 2020, or Wednesday, May 13, 2020
If you would like to attend any of these sessions or have any questions, please contact Amanda at [email protected], or 722-4031. Please make sure you confirm your attendance.
