Message from the CEO
By Rick Mowles
During Community Living Month every October, we take time to celebrate the important role that community plays in all of our lives and recognize the right of everyone to feel welcome and safe in their community.
Through the Start with Hi initiative, CLBC has encouraged people to help build safer and more inclusive communities for adults with developmental disabilities through small actions such as saying “Hi”. This year, we acknowledge the growing role that the internet and social networks play in the way many individuals connect with their peers and their community.
CLBC kicked off Community Living Month on October 1 with events promoting our new website, www.icanbesafeonline.com, in Kamloops, Kelowna, Richmond, Vancouver and Victoria. This is the first website in Canada dedicated to educating adults with developmental disabilities about how to stay safe online. Icanbesafeonline.com provides important information that staff, individuals and families can use to ensure they are using the internet and social networking safely. The site helps them expand their social connections and connect with community in a new way while still being safe.
In addition to these events, there are many other celebrations taking place across the province, including One Day Together in Victoria and the Friendship Zone event in the Fraser Region.
Municipalities across BC, including Duncan, Campbell River, Kelowna, Kamloops, Victoria, Comox, Cumberland, Parksville, Fort St. John, Vancouver, Port Hardy, Prince Rupert, Dawson Creek, Richmond, New Westminster, Burnaby, Quesnel, Surrey, Port Moody, Port Alice and Port McNeill, have officially proclaimed October as Community Living Month. CLBC had the opportunity to connect with these and many other municipalities at the annual Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) meeting in late September. We shared information about Icanbesafeonline.com and talked about how we can work together to build more inclusive communities with more opportunities for individuals.
In this edition, we also feature stories of two young men who, through their own supports networks, have come to feel safe with a sense of belonging in their respective communities of Richmond and Powell River.
This Community Living Month, I invite each of you to recognize the important role we can all play in building welcoming, inclusive and safe communities for adults with developmental disabilities.
