Warmest wishes of the Holiday Season

Members of the Hall wish you 

Happy Hall-i-days! 

Happy holidays from the Disability Action Hall and Happy New Year

We wish you a safe, warm rest and look forward to seeing you in the New Year! 

Happy International Persons with Disabilities Day! Get Proud by Practicing

Celebrations are happening worldwide.

This December 3rd, 2021 for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities we celebrate YOU! 

Enjoy the poetry reading of the late poet, writer, and disability activist Laura Hershey, we present the poem on its 30th anniversary "You Get Proud by Practicing." 

(Plain text of the poem is just below. The video may also be enjoyed with captioned text within the video on YouTube and read in the description).

You Get Proud by Practicing 

by Laura Hershey (1991)

If you are not proud
For who you are, for what you say, for how you look;
If every time you stop
To think of yourself, you do not see yourself glowing
With golden light; do not, therefore, give up on yourself.
You can get proud.
 
You do not need
A better body, a purer spirit, or a Ph.D.
To be proud.
You do not need
A lot of money, a handsome boyfriend, or a nice car.
You do not need
To be able to walk, or see, or hear,
Or use big, complicated words,
Or do any of those things that you just can’t do
To be proud. A caseworker
Cannot make you proud,
Or a doctor.
You only need more practice.
You get proud by practicing.
 
There are many many ways to get proud.
You can try riding a horse, or skiing on one leg,
Or playing guitar,
And do well or not so well,
And be glad you tried
Either way.
You can show
Something you’ve made
To someone you respect
And be happy with it no matter
What they say.
You can say
What you think, though you know
Other people do not think the same way, and you can
keep saying it, even if they tell you
You are crazy.
 
You can add your voice
All night to the voices
Of a hundred and fifty others
In a circle
Around a jailhouse
Where your brothers and sisters are being held
For blocking buses with no lifts,
Or you can be one of the ones
Inside the jailhouse,
Knowing of the circle outside.
You can speak your love
To a friend
Without fear.
You can find someone who will listen to you
Without judging you or doubting you or being
Afraid of you
And let you hear yourself perhaps
For the very first time.
These are all ways
Of getting proud.
None of them
Are easy, but all of them
Are possible. You can do all of these things,
Or just one of them again and again.
You get proud
By practicing.
 
Power makes you proud, and power
Comes in many fine forms
Supple and rich as butterfly wings.
It is music
when you practice opening your mouth
And liking what you hear
Because it is the sound of your own
True voice.
 
It is sunlight
When you practice seeing
Strength and beauty in everyone,
Including yourself.
It is dance
when you practice knowing
That what you do
And the way you do it
Is the right way for you
And cannot be called wrong.
All these hold
More power than weapons or money
Or lies.
All these practices bring power, and power
Makes you proud.
You get proud
By practicing.
 
Remember, you weren’t the one
Who made you ashamed,
But you are the one
Who can make you proud.
Just practice,
Practice until you get proud, and once you are proud,
Keep practicing so you won’t forget.
By practicing.

You get proud

(Used with permission) 

Why Disability Support Workers are important and essential

Albertans with disabilities and allies got together to share personal experiences of the essential and important role disability service workers have especially during the pandemic. To sum it up, workers help many of us stay alive and thrive every day.

We also made the video to share with the Alberta Disability Workers Association as guests with service providers, family members, educators, and workers. If you would like to watch the video, please feel free to share it widely. 

The video has captions within the video itself. 

November is Indigenous Disability Month

November is the 7th anniversary of National Indigenous Disability month and it is also time to honor and celebrate the efforts of indigenous persons living with a disability.

We want to celebrate our friend Glenn Crowchief. Glenn wrote his story back in 2017 called the "Powerful Buffalo Silencer." Since then, Glenn has self-published his book. Glenn talks about what it was like to grow up with a disability and live far away from his family and his reserve. Glenn would really like help to get his story out to the media. Glen's dream is to do an awareness walk from his Calgary home, to then walk towards the residential school he attended East of Regina.

Glenn's story talks about falling through the cracks. He also talks about when a person is connected to good services life changes for the better. The British Columbia Aboriginal Disability Network Society (BCANDS) tells us  "The Indigenous population of Canada experiences a disability rate much higher than that of the general population, at approximately 30% to 35%." When you are indigenous and disabled,  it is easier to fall through the cracks trying to get help. 

Many public figures like artist Buffy St. Marie and Prime Minister are helping raise awareness to create a more fair and equal Canada. They tell us why it is important to work on the Disability Inclusion Action Plan and design a Canada Disability Benefit to help address barriers people face to live a good life. 

People are encouraged to download the proclamation (A proclamation is like a formal public announcement) to acknowledge National Indigenous Disability Month. You can then add your name to the proclamation to help raise awareness and share the proclamation widely on social media. 

We are looking forward to more learning in the future. 

If you would like to get in touch with Glenn let us know.

If you might like to learn more contact BCANDS  bcands@bcands.bc.ca 

See Our Voice Art mask project with Staying Connected Network

This year we are sharing our voice reusing old masks to help recognize the 2021 United Nations observance of International Day of Persons with Disabilities "Building Back Better: toward a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 World 

Plain text below.

See our voice poster

Everyone is welcome to send in a mask to the Staying Connected Facebook Group. 

We are encouraging everyone around the world to share your voice. 

This International Day of Persons with Disabilities we are asking people to share your voice!

Upload a photo of your voice using a face mask as your canvas.

Submissions are due by November 30th, 2021

Feel free to reuse an old mask as your canvas.

Don't Have a facemask? That's ok, just keep your image to 5" inches high by 7" wide. All types of mixed media are welcomed.

Learn how to add "Alternative text" to describe your image to help people who may not be able to see your artwork.

Submissions will be picked by Staying Members and showcased on December 3rd, 2021 during an international celebration.

Share our voice!

See our voice

#IDPD #IDDP #IDPD2021 #IDDP2021

#stayingconnected

#disabilitypride

#seeourvoice #shareourvoice

Try the Jeopardy Disability Worker Game

Last year several self-advocacy groups and self-advocates were asked "What makes a good worker?" We then took these answers and themed out 5 areas that are important to people with disabilities. We think it is important to share ideas and experiences from people with disabilities to help keep good workers. 

We then summarized these answers in plain language by using a jeopardy game template. If you are a member of the Alberta Disability Worker's Association you might have already seen this game in action at the Annual General meeting. 

We invite you to try the Jeopardy Disability Worker game. You can either play alone or play with friends. 

Good luck! 

Play the Disability Worker Jeopardy Game

7 minutes of wisdom to fix poverty for good! And places to learn more.

Ways we can address disability & poverty in Canada (Instagram Post) by Disability Action Hall This is our last video, wisdom put all together to observe October 17th at the United Nations International Day to Eradicate Poverty. 

We may also want to check out: 

• "Poverty, It's a Trap" conversation happening tomorrow on Sunday, October 17th hosted by Poverty Talks.
• Alberta Ability Network's Poverty Reduction Table where people share their stories about the good things and ways to improve services and social assistance for Alberta.

1-Minute of Wisdom (Day 7) Indexing Income to Inflation as a way to fix poverty for good!

INCOME INDEXED TO INFLATION (Instagram Post) by Disability Action Hall

1-Minute of Wisdom (Day 6) Free internet and plain language to fix poverty for good

FREE WIFI AND PLAIN LANGUAGE (Instagram Post) by Disability Action Hall

1-Minute of Wisdom (Day 5) National Pharma-care to fix poverty for good!

PHARMACARE AS A WAY TO FIX POVERTY in Canada (Instagram Post) by Disability Action Hall

1-Minute of Wisdom (Day 4) Eligibility for Services to fix poverty for good!

Eligibility of Services by Disability Action Hall

1-Minute of Wisdom (Day 3) National Public Transportation Strategy to fix poverty for good

National public transportation strategy to address poverty in Canada (Instagram Post) by Disability Action Hall

1-Minute of Wisdom (Day 2)Mental Health as part of Universal Health to fix poverty for good

Mental Health is universal heathcare a way to fix poverty in Canada by Disability Action Hall in honour of World Mental Health Day, October 10th.

1-minute of Wisdom (Day 1) Indexing Income to end poverty for good!

Income as a way to address poverty in Canada by Disability Action Hall

1-minute of wisdom series to fix poverty for good!

Members of the Disability Action Hall wanted to share with you the 1-minute of wisdom solution series "To fix poverty for good"

From now until October 17th, 2021 we will be share with you 1 clip a day. 

These solutions will also work for all Canadians living on low-income.

On October 17th, we will premier the final video (a whole 7 minutes of wisdom in one take). 

Enjoy and Happy International Day to Eradicate Poverty! 

Our ideas for Disability Inclusion Action Plan

What we want in the disability inclusion action plan (wordle)

September 30th was the deadline to provide ideas for the Disability Inclusion Action Plan. The above wordle is what is most important to us. All Canadians were invited to fill out the survey (link to survey)  due Thursday, September 30th, 2021; for some, people we encouraged to submit a video (as some found the survey too hard to fill out). 

Here is our video as well as a plain language graphic below.  

Plain Language Guide

We focused on these 4 areas: 

We talked about income, employment, mental health and pharma-care, public transit, and access.

Areas to improve: income, work, access, and eligibility for services

 Income

•     Where income from one level of government gives an income, it is not clawed back by another, it is indexed to the cost of inflation.
•     A national disability strategy and Canadian disability benefit (similar to the AISH program) so everyone gets the same amount that they are entitled to. Canada Disability Benefit is where our income is indexed to the cost of living, as people with disabilities have a higher cost of living due to medical costs.
•     Accessibility goes beyond physical space, and it includes income. 
•     Tying income support to inflation is important not just because as costs go up so will their income, but also people will not stress about inflation making them poorer.
•     A basic income, no clawing back, things that people need. If it wasn’t for AISH I am grateful for that as I make less than $1000.
  
•  Work 

• Interpreters and workplaces that are more inclusive, like my work has been good.
• For work, making grants accessible for individuals to access work, or supporting businesses to access money for ramps.
• Provide workers with disabilities the tools they need to succeed and do well at their place of employment.
• Post-secondary education needs to have tuition that is affordable and accessible.
• Hire disabled workers to work in various government departments, for example, with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
  
• Work with people with disabilities for services like airports, and training for ASL interpreters.
  
• Make life easier by having a disability with eligibility and services available regardless of age.

Access

• The federal government should put stuff in plain language in the forms and website and go look for more information on disability.
• Affordable free Wi-Fi so people may access online services currently only offered online.
• Create an office you can go to it in person, so you don’t have to go all over the place.
• Operational funding for public transportation, 
• We should have a national bus service across Canada; it’s a shame we don’t have it.
• Make it more affordable for people to go places and easier to get where they are going and better access, not having Greyhound and not having a national affordable bus service makes it hard for people to get anywhere, not just Calgary and Edmonton but smaller places like Okotoks and High River, (and not just during rush hour.

Eligibility for Services

• A national pharma care program as some people can’t get medication and they need it; including dental care, I have a pill to take now for my tooth and it is expensive, and no longer covered by the province.
• We need a mental health care system built around eligibility and accessibility to mental health services: the way we handle mental health in this country is horrific and we let a lot of people fall through the cracks as we refuse to investigate the hospital to ensure they are providing the services correctly.
• We are just assuming people with mental health services are safe to report abuse and people don’t feel that way. You think universal health care would improve.
• There is not enough done for seniors with a disability like in personal homes vs. facilities and helping people who live alone with a disability; people will need more care and more help.

If you have something to say and for more information about the plan; you may contact the Disability Action Inclusion Plan at this address: 

Disability Inclusion Action Plan
Employment and Social Development Canada
140 Promenade du Portage, Phase IV
Gatineau QC  K1A 0J9
Email: Accessible-Canada@hrsdc.gc.ca

Calgary Elections Tool Kit (Where to vote and wow so many candidates... who do I vote for?)

Elections Calgary (the 5w's) Here are some new things we learned about the upcoming Calgary election. (Including free buses) 

Did you know buses will be free for advance polls prior to Election Day and also on Monday, October 18th? Calgary Transit – Use Calgary Transit to go to a voting station during the Advance Vote or on Election Day. Receive two Transit tickets as you exit the voting station. One ticket covers the trip to the voting station. The second ticket covers the trip home.

Why vote? 

Why not? It's easy! 
If you are here... you know why. And if you are not sure... that's ok.. we hope this information might help you decide. 

How do I vote? 

Learn about vote tools to help cast your ballot at the polls! Check out the "Plan my vote" for the Calgary Election

And check out this video on the vote assistance machine!  that will be at the advance poll at a specific location to be announced in the near future!  

Where do I vote?

Links to Elections Calgary website where do I vote using your address.

Mail-in ballots 

will need to be received by Monday, October 18th by 4 pm, for more information about the mail-in ballot process, visit this link

What is on the ballot? 

Besides the mayor, councilor, and school trustees, there are city and provincial questions you might like to answer.Learn about what will be on the ballot (sample version 2 pages). Please also visit The Sprawl's opinion piece  "What's with all the questions on the ballot?"

1. City is looking at fluoride. 

Here are Candidates' positions on fluoride to help you decide.

2. Provincial Referendum Information: 

Picking Senators (for a non-binding election):

As of October 31st, Alberta will have two vacant senate seats.  The Provincial Government would like to recommend three candidates for the Prime Minister to consider (Senators are appointed by the Prime Minister of Canada and not elected by the people of Alberta).  

A link to the candidates on the Elections Alberta Website 13 Senate candidates are registered with Elections Alberta. Nominating the people will take place on October 18, 2021, in conjunction with the 2021 Alberta Municipal Elections.

Some of the senate candidates are affiliated with a federal party, while some are independent. The ballot will ask you to suggest up to 3 candidates out of the 13. Then the Prime Minister and may or may not choose to appoint the people who have been put on the Alberta municipal ballot. It is non-binding. 

Map of where the Senators live

Alberta Senators Current and Candidates by Disability Action Hall  

Cross Border Interviews hopes to sit down with Senate candidates during the week of October 3rd to the 10th and you can begin watching the recorded interviews on their youtube channel. 

Equalization

What would a yes or no mean when filling in the circle about equalization? 

Visit the Government Alberta Website here to see the question.

Here are just some of the many opinions from:

• The Red Deer news article here 
• Recorded town hall about equalization (June 2021) hosted by Alberta Senator Paula Simons featuring economist Trevor Tombe; Eric Adams, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Alberta; Ken Boessenkool, professor of public policy at McGill University; historian Mary Janigan, author of the new book about the history of equalization, The Art of Sharing; and University of Alberta political scientist Jared Wesley.  

Daylight Savings

Albertans are being asked again about daylight savings. See the Elections Alberta for a chart on the sunrise, sunset across 4 regions of Alberta. A survey conducted last year by Alberta's Service Minister Nate Glubish said 90% of the 140,000 Albertans said to get rid of daylight savings. (Link to CBC article)

There are many opinions about daylight savings and the Alberta Government wants yours. Based on the 2017 committee report where over 13,000 Alberta provided input into the 'Alberta Standard Time Act' (Bill 203) here is how people voted back then:

• 3,271 people said are in favour of keeping it as is (MST all year round) due to economic concerns, light-related concerns, safety concerns, and out of step with other provinces. (However Premiere Kenney said in July 2021 now that Yukon got rid of it, BC is also exploring getting rid of it as most of the population lives in the South near the US border keeping the same time all year round pending consultation with US neighbors).  
• 10,090 said to get rid of it due to many reasons such as health concerns, safety concerns, child-related concerns, animal-related concerns, economic considerations, and/or because they consider changing the clocks twice yearly as unnecessary. 
• While 200 people were undecided, did not understand the question or said it is not the right question (as Alberta is in need of two different time zones because some of Alberta's population aligns better with Saskatchewan (UTC-7 time) and some of the larger cities align better with BC time (UTC-8 time), while northern cities like Fort McMurray would then have sunrises at 3 am.

Despite most people said to get rid of it, The Government of Alberta voted down the Alberta Standard Time Act 46-7 after a committee studied it (Bill 203) on October 31st, 2017. To read the 2017 committee report visit this link. 

Who do I vote for? 

The Calgary Public Library and the City of Calgary have a great vote plan website to walk you through the steps. https://www.planmyvote.ca 

Once you figure out which ward you live in (Elections Calgary "Find your ward")

Here are some more resources we learned about to help you decide. 

We will update this list as we learn more. (We are non-partisan and do not endorse candidates, we are only providing resources). 

Community Group Forums with Candidates:

• Calgary Climate Hub/Alliance for Common Good Candidate questionnaire
• Calgary Climate Hub Mayoral questionnaire
• Disability Action Hall recording of 27 candidates using a disability lens -Session 1 August 19th and Session 2 August 26th, 2021 (to find both links and timestamps from candidates go to our August 11^th post
• Alberta Ability Network and Voice of Albertans Disabilities Mayoral Forum, Thursday, September 23, 2021
• Action Dignity and the Calgary Alliance for Common Good Mayoral Forum
• Poverty Talks asked questions and received 27 responses from Mayoral and Council candidates. 

Media Interviews with Candidates:

• The Sprawl https://www.sprawlalberta.com/editions/the-election-edition-2021 also has upcoming forums for each ward
• Live wire has podcast interviews with each mayor and council candidate who was available to be interviewed
• CJSW interviews Mayoral Candidates forum from 4 pm to 6 pm on September 23^rd https://www.su.ucalgary.ca/2021/calgary-municipal-election-2021/
• Cross Border Interviewers hosting wards on podcasts on different days. 
• Global News Calgary will be facilitating a Mayoral debate on Wednesday, October 6th, 2021 from 5:30pm to 6:30pm, hosted by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.

Third-party Groups Endorsing Candidates:

• Look Forward has a list of endorsed candidates and what lens was used
• Calgary’s Future https://www.calgarysfuture.ca/ and endorsed candidates
• Responsible Representation Political Action Committee https://www.rrpac.ca
• Ask Her interviews Calgary Candidates 

*We are non-partisan and we did our best to share neutral resources. 

We do not endorse any particular candidate.*

Democracy is calling! 

We are celebrating our citizenship and right to vote! Here is a quick 40-second video to enjoy. 

 

Plain text description of the video: 

Democracy is calling

“Democracy is calling” by Members of the Disability Action Hall

Knock, knock. Who’s there? Someone's at the door… Democracy is calling, Calling, step out for more. Oh, say can you see? Really? How cheesy. Democracy is calling. Join dawn’s early light, Snap election? What’s 1 in 5? Canadians have a disability, the 22%, a force, and hell-bent. Do we trust and must? Will indifference win? Be beat by confusion spin? Will we rise together again? With a mask, to the ramps armed with pens, vote your voice.

Be heard, no joke. Come join us. Cast your vote. Your story matters, Disability matters! You are the 22%.  You better went. Democracy calls you.

Members of the Disability Action Hall recently got together and shared stories of the voting process.

We then put together this spoken word with images we collected at a non-partisan 'Voter Registration booth' we did together with Apathy is Boring, during the 2019 federal election. 

Enjoy! And vote! 

If you have stories to share and great ideas on how to reduce barriers for voters with disabilities, why not share them? Learn more by visiting the  Inspire Democracy website. 

What is your vote plan? 

If you are voting on Monday, September 20th, and starting your vote plan, visit our '8 steps to vote day easy peasy" for ideas and information you might need to get started courtesy of Elections Canada and the Democratic Engagement Exchange. 

8 steps to make vote day 'easy-peasy'

8 steps to make vote day easy-peasy by Disability Action Hall

Eight steps to make vote day 'easy-peasy'! 

Plan to vote!

We are so glad you are here. 

You made the first step by getting on a laptop, phone or table to make a plan. 

Many Albertans are voting on Monday, September 20th starting at 7:30 am MST until 7:30 pm MST. 

Be careful about the information you see online about the electoral process—Get official information on Elections Canada's website: elections.ca

#ItsOurVote #Elections101 #DemocracyChampions. The graphics and links we are using are from Elections Canada. 

1. Where do I start? Use a checklist. (download PDF)

2. Am I registered to vote?

3. Who do I vote for? Undecided? 

Visit the Platform guide by Democratic Engagement Exchange.

4. Who is my local candidate? 

Did you know you can look up your local candidate by using your postal code, or by candidate name, city, map or province? 

5. Where do I vote? Use your postal code! 

6. Voting at my local polling station

7. What if I need help marking my ballot? (Video)

8. How do I vote safely on September 20th, 2021? (Video)

There are health and safety measures in place to make voting safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. #ItsOurVote

Visit Elections Canada's website to learn more about the options available to you: elections.ca 

Federal Voter Forum using a poverty lens

Federal Voter Forum 

using a poverty lens

Join us for a "Federal Voter Forum, using a poverty lens" on Tuesday, September 7th, 2021. Link to recording 

Hear from a list of knowledgeable speakers on various issues impacting Canadians. 

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

6-8 PM (MST) on Zoom (ASL and CART provided)

A knowledgeable panel of speakers will be addressing topics using a poverty lens - such as Housing, Healthcare, Food Security, Education, Truth and Reconciliation, and more. 

*Sneak Peak working doc of platforms, or Large Print format here.  

We will open it up for a community discussion and close the evening with a presentation on voter literacy- everything you need to vote. Alberta Candidates may also be in attendance. 

The webinar will also be recorded and it is a non-partisan event.

Advanced Polling starts Friday, September 10th,

and Election day is Monday, September 20th. 

➤Register here⮜ https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wmcMbEwMTASf6Vy6Ynd0qQ 

List of Speakers  

• Housing by Vote Housing Advocate
• Income by End Poverty Edmonton
• Healthcare/Pharmacare by Friends of Medicare
• Child Care by Women’s Centre of Calgary
• Food Security by The Alex Community Food Centre
• Accessibility by Voice of Albertans with Disabilities
• Education by Alberta Teachers’ Association
• Race Relations 
• Truth & Reconciliation by Vibrant Communities Calgary
• Voter Literacy by Apathy is Boring

The webinar is co-hosted by the following groups: 

• Public Interest Alberta
• Voices of Albertans with Disabilities
• Self Advocacy Federation
• Alberta Ability Network
• Disability Action Hall
• Vibrant Communities Calgary and Enough for All
• Southern Alberta Individualized Planning Association
• South Region Self-Advocate Network
• The Alex Community Food Centre
• Inside Out Theatre
• Albertans Advocating for Change Together
• End Poverty Edmonton