The BCCPD is very excited to present our new self-help Workbook, Going to the CPP Disability Review Tribunal. You can view the Workbook at the BCCPD website, on our Money and Income Supports page. The Workbook has been designed to help people whose Canada Pension Plan disability benefits application and Reconsideration Request have been denied, and are contemplating the next level of appeal–the Review Tribunal. Watch this short video overview of the Workbook.

If you would like us to mail you hard copies of the Workbook, please email Valerie Stapleton at feedback@bccpd.bc.ca or phone her at 604-875-0188 or 1-800-663-1278. Chinese and Punjabi translations will also be available soon.

Funded by The Law Foundation of Ontario, Access to Justice Fund. Thank you to the Law Foundation for their support.

Time sensitive!

In partnership with Shelter Net BC and BC Society of Transition Houses, the Woman Abuse Response Program at BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre will be delivering free training on Improving Women’s Safety in Co-Ed Shelters in 7 communities around the province. This training will enable front line shelter staff to learn more about how to keep women safe in a co-ed shelter environment. The training is open to all service providers who work with vulnerable populations, though priority will go to co-ed shelter staff.

ONE DAY FREE TRAINING for front line workers to learn more about how to keep women safe in co-ed shelter environments. Training will provide information on women’s experiences of violence and how it is connected to homelessness; impacts of violence, including mental health and addictions; barriers women face accessing services and trying to achieving safety; and examining policy and practices in shelters that impact women safety. This training is funded by ShelterNet BC, and jointly developed by BC Society of Transition Houses and BC Women’s Hospital’s Women Abuse Response Program.

TRAINING DATES
REGISTRATION
April 27, 2012 – Burnaby
May 2, 2012 – Fort St. John
May 8, 2012 – Kelowna
May 14, 2012 – Prince George
May 29, 2012 – Langley
May 31, 2012 – Nanaimo
June 4, 2012 – Vancouver

Please register online at http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e5igp1zigxjm2otj/start

Email hannah@bcsth.ca for more information.

Ottawa, March 29, 2012

The National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) is proud to announce the availability of a new, comprehensive guide on disability service provision and accommodations at colleges and universities in Canada. This Guide is now available on the NEADS website. It is the product of research conducted by the Government of Canada’s Office for Disability Issues and is a resource designed with direct input from Canadian campus disability service providers and student groups.

“The Enhancing Accessibility Guide is a very well-written and comprehensive document,” said Frank Smith, NEADS’ National Coordinator. “It is a resource that will be used extensively by disability service providers on college and university campuses, but it is also very valuable or students with disabilities as it is a model for optimal services and accommodations.”

Access to post-secondary education (PSE) is an integral component of achieving income security, yet people with disabilities are less likely to attend and complete PSE than those without disabilities. Students with disabilities have the potential to be successful in PSE and the support they receive from their institution can play a large role in this success.

NEADS partnered with the Government of Canada to ensure that the Guide was thoroughly reviewed by university and college disability service providers and student disability groups. NEADS then developed the Guide into a web-based tool, the purpose of which is to build awareness of disability issues within Canadian PSE institutions and to share best practices in accessibility and accommodation practices and procedures.

“The Government of Canada is committed to creating opportunities and ensuring the full participation of all people with disabilities, including students, in society,” said the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. “We are proud to work with organizations such as NEADS, which has done important work in helping students with disabilities gain access to post-secondary education.”

The Guide contains best practice examples of accessibility policies and programs as well as a variety of resources on topics which include Financial Support, Mental Health, Sports and
Recreation, Transition to Employment, and many others.

We hope all people, whether service provider, student, or staff, will find this tool useful.

You can locate the guide on the NEADS website in English:
http://www.neads.ca/en/norc/eag/
and French: http://www.neads.ca/fr/norc/eag/

For more information, please contact the NEADS office:
National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS)
Rm. 426 Unicentre, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6,
tel. (613) 380-8065, www.neads.ca