Celebrating Community Inclusion Month 2021
Every year Community Inclusion Month is celebrated in October in communities across B.C. This is the second year where we have had to celebrate with an ongoing pandemic. After months of isolation, we understand more deeply than ever the importance of being connected and being part of a community of friends and neighbours.
CLBC celebrates self advocates who are showing us their strength and leadership, resilient family caregivers, creative support workers and communities that have taken steps to support everyone.
During Community Inclusion Month, CLBC’s Widening Our World (WOW) awards have recognized the important contributions of those who have helped people with diverse abilities to stay positive, connected and healthy during a challenging time. Read about the winners on the CLBC website here.
This year, CLBC has also joined Inclusion BC to raise awareness about inclusive housing and its importance in making sure our communities are open and welcoming to people with disabilities. You can find a short, informative video about the need for inclusive housing, as well as resources to help build awareness, by visiting www.KeyToHomeBC.ca.
Welcoming CLBC’s newest board member
Amber Rainshadow and Glimmer.
CLBC welcomes Amber Rainshadow of Victoria as the newest member of our Board of Directors. Amber has many years of experience as a self advocate with a commitment to improve support and inclusion for people with disabilities.
Among her many roles, she recently served as a volunteer member of CLBC’s Editorial Board and as a CLBC Welcome Workshop presenter. She brings a desire to use her lived experience to help others in the community and teach them how to advocate for themselves.
Amber describes herself as someone who has been presented with many challenges in life from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder to Cerebral Palsy and other disabilities. However, she says they have allowed her to help others both in the disability community and the able-bodied community. Amber has a particular passion for helping advocate for children in care who transition to adulthood.
“We are thrilled to have Amber join us,” says Board Chair Michael J. Prince. “I know we will all have something to learn from her experience and perspective. She brings many skills that have helped people with disabilities who deal with multiple, complex challenges.”
Strengthening relationships with Indigenous communities
This Every Child Matters artwork by Indigenous artist Wyatt Collins is displayed on posters in CLBC’s local offices and on orange shirts worn by CLBC staff to recognize September 30.
As part of our work to strengthen relationships with Indigenous people we serve and their communities, CLBC is inviting Elders in B.C. to join a new Indigenous Elder Advisory group. Elder Advisory Members will play an important role in helping CLBC understand what’s important to Indigenous people living with diverse abilities and guiding CLBC’s work to develop Indigenous strategies. You can find the invitation on the CLBC website here.
CLBC’s new Indigenous team led by Joanne Mills, Executive Director of Indigenous Relations, is also working to help advance CLBC’s goals to build trusting relationships with Indigenous communities.
They are improving awareness of CLBC and available supports and services among Indigenous Peoples and communities and increasing CLBC staff understanding about Indigenous Peoples’ history and culture. Indigenous Elder Advisors will provide valuable contributions to this work.
On September 30, CLBC staff recognized Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to commemorate the Residential School experience, to witness and honour the healing journey of the survivors and their families, and to commit to the ongoing process of reconciliation. The artwork on CLBC’s Orange Shirt Day t-shirts featured a painting by Wyatt Collins who is Nlaka’pamux from the Nicola Valley.
CLBC plans key priorities for coming years
The Strategic Plan helps guide CLBC’s work. Guided by our Board of Directors, CLBC is now in the process of creating our next plan.
To create a new strategic plan that will make a difference and focus on things that are most important, CLBC held twenty consultations across the province during the summer to collect valuable input from individuals, families, staff, service providers and other partners. Results will be tested in the coming months with a goal to finalize the plan in the new year.
Additionally, the Re-imagining Community Inclusion (RCI) initiative, launched by the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction in 2018 to improve support systems for people who are experiencing barriers to inclusion, has identified key areas to work on. These areas are: Housing; Employment; Indigenous strategies for Community Inclusion; and Health/Wellness. Cross-stakeholder working groups are developing action plans for each of the four areas that are being tested with stakeholders in October 2021 before being implemented during the winter.
