Independent Living Centre Kingston Promoting a new perspective on disability Levelling the Landscape Newsletter for Independent Living Centre Kingston * Fall-Winter, 2008 ILCK celebrating 20 years of building an inclusive community for people with disabilities. Independent Living Centre Kingston’s AGM & 20th Anniversary Celebration was held on September 26, 2008. ILCK celebrated a successful history of working with people with disabilities, local businesses, service providers, partners and the community. Speakers from various levels of government attended and spoke about the new Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 . Two workshops were held in the afternoon. One for individuals accessing the Self Managed Attendant Serves Program. The other for local businesses and consumers discussing how to maximize their business potential through being inclusive. Participants celebrated Independents Living Centre Kingston’s 20 year history and it’s impact in the community. Guest speakers and a photographic slide show offered a look back at the people who have, and continue to support IL in Kingston and area. To read a brief history of ILCK and view our short video visit: www.ilckingston.com/about.html. Access to Employment This program supports people with disabilities in finding employment through individual skills building, and enhancing employer awareness through training and education. The Access to Employment program provides individual consultation and support throughout the entire process of planning, obtaining and maintaining employment. Personal Development Career Development Job Development The Access to Employment program provides a professional holistic approach to supporting employers in engaging people with disabilities in all aspects of their business. Disability Awareness Inclusive Human Resources Practices For further information contact David at ILCK. Membership note Is your membership up to date? Do we have your current email address? To update your membership, or join ILCK, call Laura at the centre. Notes from the Executive Director It has been a few years since we last published a newsletter. Levelling the Landscape will be published four times a year to ensure you are better informed about what is happening at the centre, in the community and on other disability issues impacting on full and equal citizenship. I will attempt to provide a perspective on varying disability Issues that will inform, challenge and educate. December 3rd is International Day of Persons with Disabilities as declared by the United Nations. This day is meant to raise awareness of issues affecting people with disabilities. Over the past several years Independent Living Canada and its member Independent Living Centres including ILC Kingston, have chosen to focus on celebrating the successes and progress that have been made for people with disabilities. We have also used it as an opportunity to identify, in as positive a way as possible, the many issues and barriers that remain for a fully accessible and inclusive community, province and Country. In our community we can celebrate the progress the City of Kingston has made towards a more accessible transportation system, but must remain committed to developing a more inclusive process developing accessible transportation and removing future barriers. Provincially, we can celebrate the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005(AODA). There is a concern that people with disabilities will not see much change as it doesn’t have strong compliance and enforcement built in. While we may see little immediate impact addressing the barriers in ones daily life, we must not underestimate the value of having legislation. It provides at the very least a starting point from which we can concretely measure improvement. At the national level we can celebrate Canada’s signing of the United Nation’s Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. As individuals we can use December 3rd to acknowledge and promote the successes and remaining barriers related to full participation. The more awareness we can create the sooner we can create change. You can make a difference, write an editorial, meet with a politician, or become part of the Council of Canadians with a disabilities and Independent Living Canada’s End Exclusion initiative and be a part of creating positive change for people with disabilities. Web sites worth exploring www.ilcanada.ca/ Independent Living Canada and its member IL Centres work with individuals with disabilities to have greater choices and control over how support is provided. To learn more about Independent Living Canada, the Independent Living movement, our programs, services and resources explore their website. www.accessibilitydirectory.ca/ The Directory for Accessibility is your one-stop resource of service-providers in Ontario that can help you make your place of business accessible. For a list of other sites surf over to the Disability Links page at: www.ilckingston.com Do You Know? About Investing in Futures A Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) is one of the best ways for family and/or friends to save towards a child’s post-secondary education. It offers tax-free savings and allows you to take advantage of FREE $$ from the Government of Canada through its special saving incentive programs which include the Canada Learning Bond (CLB) and Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG). Independent Living Centre Kingston is part of a national program: Investing in Futures. Developed for parents with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities, this is a comprehensive national initiative that will create greater awareness of the benefits of Registered Educational Savings Plans, Canada Educational Savings Grants, and Canada Learning Bonds. This project aims to ensure that interested individuals have access to financial institutional services and financial literacy programs that will enable long-term savings goals are met.  ILCK will be offering workshop and events on this initiative. For more information visit our website or call Ed at the Centre. Do You Know? If you are a property owner who has a home that has been modified to accommodate a disability, you may qualify for a 10% exemption on your property taxes. For more information, go to: http://www.mpac.ca/pages_english/procedures/procedure_senior_and_disabled_tax_relief.asp Handy Gadget One Touch Can Openers Do you need a new can opener? Are traditional style can openers not working? Try a "one touch" can opener. Just put it on top of the can, press the button, and watch it go! Available at Canadian Tire, Zellers, Wallmart. $20.00. Web Tip Finding it difficult to see the text on a web page? You can increase the size of text in Internet Explorer, or Firefox by pressing Ctrl and + on your keyboard. To make the text smaller press Ctrl and –. Direct Funding Tip Self-Managers have many responsibilities. One of the most important is hiring reliable and dedicated staff. Below are some tips that may help you when writing a job advertisement. Job Advertisement Tips: Select familiar job titles (i.e. Personal Attendant, PSW) Use keywords (describe industry, position, knowledge of position) Craft your opening (capture attention in the first 3 lines) Make it readable (short sentences, point form, punctuation and capitalization is important) Speak to the candidate (what are YOU looking for in an employee? i.e.. Quick learner, multi-tasker, reliability, etc) Give details (part-time, in home, lifting, personal care) Dates to Remember: December 3rd : International Day of Persons with Disabilities December 9th: Dinner Club, Denny’s Restaurant - Gardeners Road December 24th - to January 5th: Centre Closure January 13th: Pizza Party at ILCK - 298 Concession St. International day of Persons with Disabilities – December 3rd, 2008 "Dignity and Justice for All of Us" is the theme of this year's International Day for Persons with Disabilities, as well as for the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The annual observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, December 3rd, aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life. The theme of the Day is based on the goal of full and equal enjoyment of human rights and participation in society by persons with disabilities, established by the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, adopted by General Assembly in 1982. Independent Living Canada has produced four information sheets to supply more information on this years theme. They are available at ILCK and the ILCK web site. Winter Preparedness Tips Now is a good time to consider some simple and easy steps to prepare for winter storms. A major storm can sometimes cut off your electrical power for long periods. With a little planning, you can reduce the disruptions winter storms can create. To prepare for power outages: Have a battery-powered or crank radio, flashlight, and fresh batteries accessible. Set up a buddy system with someone who can check in with you to make sure you have everything you need and help with personal tasks, running errands, etc. Make sure you have a supply of bottled water and ready to eat canned or dry food and a manual can-opener. Remember to store water and food for pets or service animals. If you need assistance from a care provider, have a back up plan in the event your personal attendant or home health agency worker is unable to assist you. To keep warm during a power outage you will want to make sure you have extra blankets at home. If you use a motorized wheelchair or scooter, consider having an extra battery or manual wheelchair available. Keep extra mobility aids (i.e. canes, crutches, and walkers) for other emergencies. Keep in mind that a cordless phone will not work during a power outage. A corded phone will work in case of a power outage. For more information please visit/contact: Independent Living Centre Kingston 298 Concession St., Kingston, Ontario K&K 2C1 Ph: 613-542-8353 * TTY: 613-542-8371 * Fax: 613-542-4783 Email: info@ilckingston.com * Web: www.ilckingston.com