Editorial Board Members at their last in-person meeting before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic:
left to right: Amber Rainshadow and Glimmer (Victoria), Carrie Derickson (Richmond), Bryce Schaufelberger (Mission), Vanessa Mendoza (Vancouver), Erin Murphy (Vernon), Jessica Humphrey (CLBC Self Advocate Advisor), Katie Moore (Vernon), Sam Milton (Gitsegukla) and Lee Kissinger (Victoria).
Welcome to the Summer 2020 Edition of Celebrate Diverse ABILITIES magazine.
We are the CLBC Editorial Board made up of self advocate and community living leaders from across the province. Our role is to work with CLBC to improve communication with the people they serve and to find ways to share the stories and contributions of people with diverse abilities in B.C. Working together on this magazine has been one way to let CLBC and the broader community know what we think is important.
The theme for this edition is “Stories of Hope and Connection.” We have collected stories from around the province about the different ways people and communities have come together to support and encourage one another during the very unknown and sometimes scary times of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For us on the Editorial Board, hope and connection has kept us strong and focused on the positive. This time encourages us to know and believe in ourselves and our communities that we can change and work together in uncertain times. We recognize and want to say thank you for the innovation and support from service providers, our communities and our neighbourhoods. We also want to recognize and stand by other movements like Black Lives Matter. This pandemic and all the challenges over the past several months show us that we want to learn, reflect and do better. We hope you enjoy reading these stories that capture the leadership, resilience and creativity of the community living and self advocacy movements during COVID-19.
If you would like to share your own story of hope and connection, visit www.selfadvocatenet.com and click on the “Submit your story idea” button.
We would like to thank all the members of the self advocacy community and others with diverse abilities who contributed their story to our magazine.
We look forward to your feedback and suggestions for the next edition of Celebrate Diverse ABILITIES.
Sincerely,
The CLBC Editorial Board
