Winnipeg Enabled

by jay
I think Winnipeg has so much to offer when it comes to groups working for the greater good. They are not always easy to find but they are there. Making strides in the Disabled community is the Manitoba league of Persons with Disabilities (MLPD). They are a small non-profit advocating the concerns of those many people in Manitoba who cannot. If your not part of this community it can be really hard to understand the barriers they face everyday. The group has just celebrated their 35^th year in April. They are a tight knit group governed by elected members of a board. They put out a quarterly paper called “Alert” keeping the community up to date on all their achievements.

I got together with a member of the league to find out more. Born with cerebral palsy, Libby Zdriluk has battled the barriers all her life. Libby has personally been denied certain of her own rights because she was not aware. People really need to take it upon themselves to get what they NEED. Social assistance case workers do not actually take the time to tell their clients about what is available to them to spare themselves a few more pages of paper work. “ I often have felt like I was being bullied, and treated unfairly because I was poor and had a disability.” I learned that in the United states there is something called the Americans with Disabilities act, something we lack in Manitoba and much of Canada. “right now there is nothing to protect us, we solely fall under the charter of rights and freedoms”. This act would ensure that disabled people would be equals in the work place and social assistance would be much more accessible. “When Winnipegers were polled on what is important to them, Disabilities was last. We need more protection. We really need to change our attitudes and and update our policies” it is frustrating to see brand new buildings going up that are unaccessible. It seems thoughtless. There is legislation that suggest making buildings accessible to all people, but it is not enforced. “This is why we need the disabilities act.” This act would also help when it comes to the workplace. ”It would be great to see better work place accommodation. Work places assume that we will take up to much resource and money. It is rare to see a disabled person get a promotion within a company even if they are aptly qualified.

Through all bumps and scrapes there are still great people doing great things. One of Libbys personal Heroes; Jim Derksen. Jim pushed for all the curb cuts, and continues to work with the government on policy issues, and he is still really well respected. Jim actually received and honorable doctorate on Monday June 1^st.

How can we move forward? This blog is all about moving forward. How to get there and where to start. What does Libby do to move forward? She sticks out like a sore thumb, “we need to try and branch out to other communities. You cannot do everything alone, we all need to work together with all sorts of issues. We need to get out of this bubble. There has been a lot of community activism, Winnipeg is very lucky to have an active disabled community. There are always conferences and events where people offer lots of great information for people to use for themselves”. There are also a lot of great services for them, including SMD (Society for persons with Disabilities) who offer on site counseling, and a number of other aids. ILRC (Independent Living Resource Center) who help with independent living, like self managed support.

What else can we do to move forward for social change so we are all equal in this world? Who can we look up to? We're gonna start by branching out, challenging everything and looking up to the people who make change in Winnipeg... well, all of Winnipeg.