Effective April 1, 2017 the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation (MSDSI) has introduced a $100 monthly Alternative Hearing Assistance supplement. The supplement was implemented following a human rights complaint supported by lawyers at the BC Public Interest and Advocacy Centre (BC PIAC).

The supplement is available to eligible people with permanent profound hearing loss in both ears. Eligible people include those receiving Persons with Disabilities (PWD) and Persons with Persistent Multiple Barriers to Employment (PPMB) benefits, as well as Income Assistance recipients residing in special care facilities.

Applicants for the supplement must be assessed by an audiologist or hearing instrument professional to show that they cannot significantly benefit from a hearing instrument (hearing aid ect) for the purposes of speech comprehension. People who have received a hearing instrument supplement in the past 36 months may not be eligible for this supplement.

This supplement is good news and has the potential to promote better access to services and supports for people in the Deaf and hard of hearing community. Our congratulations to BC PIAC for their great work on this.

If you have any questions about the supplement, please contact Sam Turcott at our Advocacy Access Program at 604-872-1278 or 1-800-663-1278.

Nominations for Disability Alliance BC’s (DABC) Board of Directors are now being accepted.

To be eligible, an individual must be:

• A person with a disability
• A member in good standing with DABC

Interested individuals should submit a written expression of interest to Chloe Krause c/o the Nominations Committee by email at [email protected]. Once they have done so, they will receive a nomination package. The nomination package will contain:

• A nomination form to be completed and signed by two nominators who must also be members in good standing of DABC
• A form to be completed and signed by the nominee detailing his or her reasons for seeking nomination to the Board of Directors
• A form to be completed and signed by one of the nominators or the nominee setting forth the qualifications of the nominee for election to the Board of Directors
• A list of the DABC Board of Directors’ duties and responsibilities
• DABC’s Annual Report

The Nominations Committee must receive completed nomination packages no later than May 26^TH. Upon receipt of the completed nomination package, the Nominations Committee will acknowledge all expressions of interest.

 Please remember to pay/renew your $15.00 membership

Lifetime Networks understands the importance of friendship as being one of the cornerstones to a fulfilling life. Through the programs at Lifetime Networks they help people with disabilities develop and maintain lasting friendships.

Click here to access their 2017 Spring Program Schedule.

This memo just came in from Disability Alliance BC:

Community Update
Two DABC Help Sheets Translated Into Five Languages

Dear Community Partner,

We recently had two of our Help Sheets translated:

• Help Sheet #14: Registered Disability Savings Plan and the Disability Tax Credit
• Help Sheet #16: Guide to Filing Income Taxes for People Receiving PWD/PPMB

into the following five languages:

• Chinese (Simplified)
• Chinese (Traditional)
• Persian
• Punjabi
• Spanish

These Help Sheets can be downloaded at http://www.disabilityalliancebc.org/money.htm Please feel free to print and copy as many as you need.
Or if you would like copies mailed to you, please contact Val at 604-875-0188 or email her at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Jane Dyson
Sam Turcott

Victoria’s Michael Langridge captured Special Olympics Gold in the Super G event in Austria. Langridge is one of 14 other BC Athletes representing Team Canada on the world stage,  and was selected for the roster after winning three gold alpine skiing medals at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Newfoundland last year.  The 35-year-old trains out of Mount Washington and is the lone athlete representative from Victoria. The Special Olympics run from March 14-24th.

Click here to view the Chek TV link

At the end of February, the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation (MSDSI) introduced major changes to the way that British Columbians apply for disability and income assistance. Here are the main changes as explained by the MSDSI:

• People who apply for income and disability assistance are now required to register for the Ministry’s MySelfServe online service and acquire a BCeID to start an application. Applicants need to start the process at myselfserve.gov.bc.ca;
• The new application gives the option to upload documents electronically rather than delivering them to a MSDSI office. People who prefer to deliver documents directly to a Ministry office can still do this;
• The new application is optimized for use on mobile phones;
• People who are unable to apply for assistance themselves can request that a Ministry worker assist them to fill out the application over the telephone. To request help call 1-866-866-0800. The worker you talk to should make a request for someone to call back within 3 days to go through the application on the phone;
• The new application questions will have less redundant information than the old application. For example, people without children will no longer be asked to provide information about the amount of child benefits they receive;
• Some confusing questions from the old application have been clarified;

To read the complete article from the Disability Alliance of BC please click here

If you have any questions about how the new system works, please feel free to contact the DABC Advocacy Access Program at 604-872-1278 or 1-800-663-1278 to talk to an advocate. We would also like to hear about any challenges you are hearing from your clients with the new system; please contact Advocacy Access Program director Sam Turcott. This helps us in our consultations with the Ministry on operational issues.

WE DID IT!

The official CARF letter came in last week and I can confirm Kardel has received the highest accreditation timeframe of three years once again!  This is a credit to all of our stakeholders who make Kardel the organization we are.  The CARF Survey team made particular reference to strengths in the following areas:

• Kardel employs energetic and qualified staff members who are fully dedicated to the organization’s mission, which enhances the quality of life for persons served.  The high caliber of the organization’s operations and services starts “at the top” with the visionary executive officer who is well known for responding to the support needs of persons served in an increasingly large geographical service footprint.  The strong leadership team is also committed to continuous quality improvement.
• Large, beautiful pictorial representations of the strategic plan displayed on walls throughout Kardel’s administrative facility serve as constant reminders of the organization’s mission, vision, values, and strategic goals. Other wall posters created by the same artist graphically illustrate rights of the persons served and the organization’s service menu.
• Kardel effectively utilizes its ShareVision information management system by customizing it for entering, tracking, and reporting on the variety of data generated through health and safety drills and inspections, critical incident reports, strategic plan implementation progress, and performance management.  The organization also finds many additional uses for ShareVision that have led to better methods for communicating internally and externally.
• The Futures program facilitates community involvement with a high degree of choice for the persons served.  Significant among the options provided is volunteer work at a local community centre where persons served receive a monthly stipend from a grant program for their work preparing and packaging food and cleaning toys to be made available to local children.  Noteworthy social enterprise efforts undertaken by persons served in the Futures program include picking up items for recycling at a local condominium project, a portion of the proceeds from which are donated to local charities.  The Futures program also facilitates a wide variety of other recreational and volunteer opportunities.
• Kardel’s Individual Support Network (ISN) provides a flexible, versatile, and highly individualized service option to meet the unique needs of persons served with complex needs, and those who might not desire or easily benefit from traditional day programs and supported living services.
• The organization’s residential programs provide supports to persons served with a wide array of complex physical and medical needs. The homes are clearly designed to meet the needs of persons served, including ample accessibility-related equipment, and to maintain a comfortable and personalized environment.
• The organization’s community partnerships and collaborations are highly valued.  Staff members diligently work to maintain and broaden these and other relationships with stakeholders across the communities it serves.
• The organization’s commendable job of matching Home Share Providers and persons served has resulted in the development of many long-term relationships.  The ongoing support and open communication that characterize Home Share services ensure that quality services are ongoing.  Many person served stated that they love Kardel because “It is one big family.  It’s really not my family, but it sure feels like it is.  I love Kardel!”

To view the full report please click here.

We should all be proud of our performance between the last CARF survey and now and more importantly the continuing excellent service we provide to all the people we support.

Many thanks

Plan Institute, Disability Alliance of BC, and the British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society have united to launch a new program designed to help British Columbians with disabilities learn about and access tax benefits that will help them save for the future. As part of this initiative, Plan Institute is distributing a one-time $150 grant to help low-income British Columbians to start growing their RDSP, thanks to the support of the Vancouver Foundation.

Please click here for more information.

For the second year in a row, government is increasing disability assistance rates by investing $199 million over three years.

This investment is in addition to the $170 million announced last year to increase disability rates. It will benefit about 107,000 people with the persons with a disability (PWD) designation.

As of April 1, 2017, disability assistance rates will rise by $50 per month, or an annual total of $600. Once the increase takes effect, a single person with the PWD designation will receive $1,033 per month in disability assistance, up from $983. A couple in which both are PWDs will receive an additional $100 per month, for a total of $1,773.

Click here to view the entire article

Victoria show starring developmentally disabled actors gets $120K

The Canada Council provided a $120,000 grant for a theatre project showcasing adult performers with developmental disabilities. Producer Kathryn Popham and comedian Wes Borg will oversee the production, tentatively titled The Biggest Most Awesome Show Ever.

It will play the McPherson Playhouse for five performances from Feb. 6 to 10, 2018. All the performers will be paid.  It will be a large-scale musical, variety, theatrical show. starring people with developmental disabilities as creators and performers..

Since 2015, Popham and Borg have overseen comedy classes for Lifetime Networks, performing in front of applauding audiences is a boost for these performers.

The first audition for The Biggest Most Awesome Show Ever is Feb. 16. More information is available at http://www.dramaclubvictoria.ca/