On May 15th, the BC Auditor General released a report entitled Disability Assistance: An Audit of Program Access, Integrity and Results. The report found that “disability assistance clients may be at risk of not having their basic needs met.” The report makes 10 recommendations and notes that financial support rates for shelter and other basic necessities have not increased since 2007.

BC Coalition of People with Disabilities and its partners in the Disability Without Poverty Network have long been urging the province to increase benefits to $1200/month.

Link to report: OAG Disability Assistance-FINAL

NOTICE OF MEETING

Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2014
BC Coalition of People with Disabilities (BCCPD)
June 21^st, 2014

The BC Coalition of People with Disabilities is pleased to invite you to our 2014 Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Very Important: Please note that to vote at our AGM you must have paid your annual membership fee ($15.00) by May 22, 2014. To renew your membership, please call Val at 604-875-0188 or mail a cheque to #204-456 West Broadway, Vancouver V5Y 1R3.

This year we are very fortunate to have as our guest speaker Brad Zdanivsky, a rock climber who has helped create adaptive rock climbing equipment for people with physical disabilities. You can find out more about Brad at his website: http://verticalchallenge.org/about

Also, members will be asked to vote on a new name for the BCCPD. This is very exciting and we hope you will be a part of very important event for our organization.

Date:              Saturday June 21^st, 2014
Time:             Registration opens at 10:30 am
The AGM starts at 11:00 am. It will last approximately two hours.

Location:      The Blusson Spinal Cord Centre
818 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver

Light refreshments will be provided.

There will be Realtime Captioning available.  If you need sign language interpretation, please call Chloe Krause at 604-875-0188 or email her at bod@bccpd.bc.ca by June 1st.

Thank you for your support throughout the year. We look forward to seeing you on June 21^st!

Terry Pipkey, Secretary, BCCPD

BC Place lit up in blue and purple lights.

Monday, May 12th, 2014, Sunset to 11:00PM

BC Place will glow blue and purple Monday, May 12th, in support of International ME/CFS & FM Awareness Day, and as part of the “May 12th Light Up the Night Challenge”. The event is supported by both the National ME/FM Action Network and the MEFM Society of BC to bring awareness to the experience and needs of people living with ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) and FM (Fibromyalgia).

Close to 100,000 British Columbians are living with these disabling and often misunderstood diseases. If you would like more information about ME/CFS or FM, please contact the National ME/FM Action Network (www.mefmaction.com) or the MEFM Society of BC (www.mefm.bc.ca).