How People with Disabilities in B.C. can be better served.
- Kethra Stewart
- Mar 21, 2023
- 4 min read
People living with disabilities in British Columbia, Canada, face many barriers to accessing services in B.C. The main barriers are society’s perceptions of people with disabilities, such as their attitudes, bias, and discrimination towards them, by not showing respect or treating them as equals. There are many ways that people living with disabilities can be better served, such as learning about people with disabilities and showing compassion towards them. Currently, there are laws, policies, plans, and programs in place by the B.C. government to help improve the lives of people living with disabilities.
According to the statistics, the current population of B.C. is approximately 5.3 million, and we are the 3rd most extensive populous in Canada, next to Ontario and Quebec (Wikipedia, 2023). In addition, the percentage of people who self-identify as living with disabilities is 24.7%, including mental health, pain, and learning disabilities (B.C. Gov News, 2023).
I worked with people with disabilities in-home care, long-term care, and massage therapy in Edmonton, Alberta, for eleven years. I have experience with people with different disabilities and have heard their stories of how people treat them and how they have felt, which affects their social status and self-esteem. Unfortunately, they face stigma and discrimination, and unfortunately, many people with disabilities do not know how to protect their human rights, obtain jobs, or higher education. Some people with disabilities live with chronic pain conditions such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, dementia, depression, neurological issues, mobility issues, and amputations. Other have physical and mental disabilities such as being blind or deaf, have eating disorders or suicidal idealizations, are addicted to drugs or alcohol, or have other debilitating mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.
Many families rely on caregivers to assist people in home care with their daily living tasks and must be adequately trained to treat a person with disabilities. I have experience working with people with specialized dogs that were there to help their owners, and most people need to learn the etiquette that you do not touch their dogs because they are not pets. B.C. government website has information regarding people with specialized guide dogs and to help educate the public about these dogs (Government of B.C, 2023b). There have been times when I pushed a client in a wheelchair, and people talked down to the client instead of coming to their level to speak. Something as simple as trying to understand and being patient when someone has a speech disability, instead of hurrying them, can show kindness and respect when a person tries to communicate.
A person with a disability who has difficulty asking someone for help is a barrier because of communication issues. An inability to speak or write, or inability to use a technology system or have access to the internet, such as a computer or mobile phone for assistance, are other issues that the B.C. government addresses. Other barriers are not having accessible ramps to businesses or housing or ways to be portable for having access at tables in restaurants, meetings, language interpreters, and stigma about a person’s ability (Government of B.C, 2023a).
The Government of B.C website has a wealth of information regarding B.C's disability, accessibility, and inclusion plan. In addition, it offers services through communities by upholding the recent law passed in June 2021, the Accessible BC Act (Government of B.C, 2023). Government services have improved the lives of people with disabilities. They have launched programs to help people with disabilities, including making high-speed internet access to homes, homecare funding, and inclusive care for equipment and children with disabilities at home and schools with more funding (Government of B.C., 2023).
B.C. distinctly involves the community through funding for various programs, as we have a plan from 2022-2025 for the five priorities in place to help remove barriers for people living with disabilities (Government of B.C, 2023). The top five priorities are creating a culture of accessibility and inclusion with a gender equity lens, improving information and technology systems in homes and access, improving access to public places, funding for wheelchair-user-friendly in universities, colleges, restaurants, buildings, and government buildings, and other public places more accessible (Government of B.C, 2023). Other priorities are employment inclusion opportunities with a workable internship program that includes diversity and inclusion plans and improving public services (Government of B.C., 2023).
The priorities set in place will take time for the journey towards including marginalized groups such as people living with disabilities. However, in time the government structure is serving the community better by creating these plans, which allow more opportunities for people with disabilities as they need to be included in society through acceptance, knowledge of the barriers, and being treated with respect.
References
BC Gov News. (2023). Building a better B.C: accessibility and inclusion in British Columbia. Government of B.C. Retrieved March 19, 2023. https://news.gov.bc.ca/factsheets/building-a-better-bc-accessibility-and-inclusion-in-british-columbia#:~:text=Passed%20into%20law%20in%20June,with%20disabilities%20face%20in%20B.C
Government of B.C. (2023a). AccessibleBC: B.C's Accessibility Plan for 2022/2023 to 2024/2025. Province of British Columbia. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
Government of B.C.(2023b). The rights and responsibilities of Businesses and the public. Province of British Columbia. Retrieved March 19, 2023. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/human-rights/guide-and-service-dog/public-rights
Wikipedia. (2023). British Columbia. Retrieved March 19, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia
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