L-R: Ross Chilton, Chief Executive Officer of CLS, Myung Lee, Tax AID DABC’s Program Manager and Munira Vahanvaty, CLS’ Senior Administrative Assistant who coordinated the on-site services.

Disability Alliance BC (DABC)’s Tax AID DABC program and Community Living Society (CLS) formed a new partnership for the 2019 tax season.

CLS supports individuals with developmental disabilities or acquired brain injuries to live meaningful lives as full citizens.

The Tax AID program provided on-site tax filing services for CLS’s clients with disabilities, every Thursday from February 26 to April 25 at CLS’s headquarters in New Westminster.

DABC’s new project, Sexual Assault Reporting Options: Increasing Access for Women with Disabilities will create plain language, graphic-enhanced, information help sheets, as well as a sign language and captioned video for people who are deaf on sexual assault reporting options, including Third Party Reporting in BC.

This project also enables DABC to create a resource for community-based victim services organizations on “How to Create an Inclusive and Accessible Communication and Outreach Plan.” This will be an easy-to-follow checklist on how to make their outreach more effective and ensure they are reaching women with disabilities in their community. The checklist will also provide information on appropriate ways to communicate with and accommodate women using their services. For example, what the alternative communication formats are, who uses them, and why it’s critical to provide them when women with communication disabilities are using their services.

DABC will be collaborating with Ending Violence Association of BC and the Coordinating Committee for Women’s Safety team on the content of the video and information help sheet on Sexual Assault Reporting Options.

We will also be working with consultant, Chastity Davis, Chair of the Minister’s Council on Indigenous Women, on the creation of the how-to checklist in order to ensure this resource includes information on how to engage in culturally-appropriate communication with, and outreach to, Indigenous women. This is critical because Indigenous women have double the rate of chronic illness and disability of non-Indigenous women, and Indigenous women experience very high rates of violence.

We thank the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Civil Forfeiture Crime Prevention and Remediation Grant Program – Civil Forfeiture Grant, for their generous support.

Please join the BC Epilepsy Society’s 60th Anniversary celebration at this year’s I AM A VOICE FOR EPILEPSY AWARENESS EXPO & AGM!

This will be a day of knowledge exchange and health promotion! Join hundreds of individuals to learn about epilepsy, neurology and related topics. Speakers, such as lawyers, medical professionals, civic leaders and people living with epilepsy will be providing informative presentations on their work and sharing their knowledge and experiences.

Topics Covered: Epilepsy 101 | Employment Law | Family Law & Custody Law | Depression & Anxiety | Ridesharing Now for BC Coalition