You are invited to the Community Forum hosted by the Disability Rights Coalition to learn about the current status of services for persons with disabilities and their families. Nova Scotia has the highest rate per capita of those living with a disability in Canada and is one of the last provinces who have large segregated institutions who warehouse people because of their disability.
Past, Present and Future—Moving Together to Make a Difference!
Panel Presentation and Discussion about our History, Roadmap status, The Human Rights Inquiry, Lived Experience, First Voice and Solutions and Actions.
Where: The Club Inclusion, 2652 Joseph Howe Drive
When: Tuesday, December 11th, 2018
Time: 6:30-8pm
There has been little or no development of community-based options supported by the government of Nova Scotia since the closures of institutions in the mid-1990s. This lack of commitment has resulted in the stagnation of our service delivery system for over 20 years, negatively impacting on the most vulnerable people and their families in all aspects of life.
The Roadmap released in 2013 was to be a 10 year process of closures of institutions, transforming existing services, and addressing the growing wait list that impacts aging parents. There has been little movement that holds true to the Roadmap’s original intent now at the 5 year mark. The recent announcement to open 8 new community based options throughout the province is woefully inadequate. Nova Scotia continues to fall behind national and international standards supporting and valuing persons with disabilities. The Roadmap identified the need for a systemic overhaul—a transformation—to enhance and improve the service delivery system. It is about trusting and collaborating with parents who have supported their sons/daughters lifelong to live good lives in communities along with residential service providers who have experience and expertise in creating and developing community capacity for individuals with disabilities with success for decades. TRUST IN THOSE WHO KNOW BEST!!
The Human Rights Inquiry was first filed in 2014 and after numerous stalls from government the Inquiry finally took place this year, as we now await the ruling to be announced. The lack of commitment and leadership from government thus far is not good enough!
Together we can find a way to move forward, let’s address these issues and come up with a plan together!
Please share this on your social media by posting the attached flyer and/or sharing our Facebook event page, located on the Nova Scotia Association for Community Living Facebook (@nsacl).
The Disability Rights Coalition (DRC) continues to advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities and their families, initially as the Kendrick Coalition (in response to the Kendrick Report released in 2001) and then as the DRC to broaden our focus based on human rights for all persons with disabilities.
Contact: Disability Rights Coalition, Marty Wexler, martywexler@gmail.com
