This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
In Canada, Easter Seals is a group of charitable organizations which supports the development and advancement of people who are living with different types of disabilities. Founded in 1922 by a group of Rotary Clubs, it sought to emulate the success of the American Easter Seals program.
Today, Easter Seals is set up as a federated structure led by Easter Seals Canada which represents the organization's national interests, and provincially-licensed member organizations in each of the ten provinces that directly provide a range of programs, and services locally. Across Canada, Easter Seals supports over 40,000 children, youth, adults and their families each year.
The best-known and largest of Easter Seals services are the summer camp programs. There are 12 Easter Seals accessible camp facilities across Canada that are geared towards providing camp opportunities to over 4600 children with physical or mental disabilities, including cerebral palsy, autism, muscular dystrophy, and spina bifida. Set-up and activities offered at the camps differ from location to location but in general, the camps provide participants with opportunities to participate in a range of activities such as: sledge hockey, adaptive archery, basketball, rock climbing, accessible High Ropes, canoeing and rafting, swimming, arts and crafts, music and drama, campfires, camping in a tent, and more. The camps welcome children, youth and adults, and families, and are provided at a heavily subsidized rate or at no cost to the families.
In addition to the summer camps, Easter Seals also provides a range of other programs and services. These differ from province to province but include financial assistance for mobility equipment, assistive devices and technologies such as adaptive computers and communication aids, and wheelchair-accessibility modifications to vehicles and homes; academic bursaries and scholarships; year-round adaptive sports and recreational programs; employment preparation and job training services; respite services and accommodations in urban centers for families travelling for medical treatment; and social enterprise services.
The Easter Seals Drop Zone, a multi-city event, [1] is one of the organization's key fundraisers. [2]
The Access 2 Card Program is an initiative developed by Easter Seals in partnership with Cineplex Entertainment, and administered by Easter Seals. For a fee, persons who are living with permanent disabilities can obtain an Access 2 Card which then provides the cardholder with either a free or a discounted ticket for a support person that is accompanying them while the cardholder pays the regular admission price to the facility. The card is valid at Cineplex movie theatres across Canada and over 500 other entertainment, cultural and recreational venues such as museums, art galleries, zoos, historical sites, and aquariums. [3] There were more than 200,000 users of the card in 2013. [4]
The Disability Travel Card is a program of Easter Seals which operates in partnership with Via Rail and Coach Canada intended for people with disabilities who require assistance from support personnel while traveling. The card enables the cardholder – the person with permanent disability – to obtain a reduced ticket fare for the support person accompanying them at the time of travel, while the cardholder pays the regular ticket price. [5]
Red Shirt Day is an initiative of Easter Seals Canada which was first observed in 2019 as part of the Government of Canada's National AccessAbility Week celebrations. The event echoes similar events like Pink Shirt Day (anti-bullying) and Orange Shirt Day (solidarity with Indigenous Peoples in Canada) in that it seeks to honour and value the contributions of Canadians of all abilities, particularly those who are living with disabilities, raise awareness among Canadians of all ages about challenges and barriers that continue to impact the lives of people who are living with disabilities and their families, and promote actions to create an accessible and inclusive society in Canada.
In 2014, Easter Seals Canada was awarded The Tourism Industry Associate of Ontario’s (TIAO) Award of Excellence for Accessible Tourism for its Access 2 Card and Disability Travel Card programs. Easter Seals is the first recipient of this award, which recognises efforts made to make tourism destinations available to all Canadians, regardless of abilities. [4]
Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" and "indirect access" meaning compatibility with a person's assistive technology.
Easterseals is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing disability services, with additional support areas serving veterans and military families, seniors, and caregivers.
The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities.
Service and supports for people with disabilities are those government or other institutional services and supports specifically provided to enable people who have disabilities to participate in society and community life. Some such services and supports are mandated or required by law, some are assisted by technologies that have made it easier to provide the service or support while others are commercially available not only to persons with disabilities, but to everyone who might make use of them.
The Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility, is the ministry responsible for issues relating to seniors and persons with disabilities in the Canadian province of Ontario.
Independent living (IL), as seen by its advocates, is a philosophy, a way of looking at society and disability, and a worldwide movement of disabled people working for equal opportunities, self-determination, and self-respect. In the context of eldercare, independent living is seen as a step in the continuum of care, with assisted living being the next step.
An airport lounge is a facility operated at many airports. Airport lounges offer, for selected passengers, comforts beyond those afforded in the airport terminal itself, such as more comfortable seating, quieter environments, and often better access to customer service representatives. Other accommodations may include private meeting rooms, telephones, wireless internet access and other business services, along with provisions to enhance passenger comfort, such as free drinks, snacks, magazines, and showers.
The CNIB Foundation is a Canadian charitable organization and volunteer agency dedicated to assisting Canadians who are blind or living with vision loss, and to provide information about vision health for all Canadians. Founded in 1918 as the Canadian National Institute for the Blind to assist soldiers who had been blinded in the First World War, CNIB originally offered sheltered care and specialized employment to people with vision loss. It has since expanded to include other programs and services, including research, public education, rehabilitation counselling and training, advocacy and an alternative-format library for people living with a print disability. It is a member of the Braille Authority of North America.
San Joaquin Regional Transit District is a transit district that provides bus service to the city of Stockton, California and the surrounding communities of Lodi, Ripon, Thornton, French Camp, Lathrop, Manteca, and Tracy. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 2,068,800, or about 8,500 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2023.
The Paralyzed Veterans of America was established in 1946 with the goal of serving the needs of disabled veterans. The organization was created to assist members, such as veterans of the armed forces living with spinal cord injuries or diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in living with increased independence and dignity.
March of Dimes Canada (MODC), officially the Rehabilitation Foundation for Disabled Persons, Canada is a registered national charity established in 2005 by Ontario March of Dimes. MODC aims to provide community-based rehabilitation services and resources across the country to people with physical disabilities.
Accessible tourism is the ongoing endeavor to ensure tourist destinations, products, and services are accessible to all people, regardless of their physical or intellectual limitations, disabilities or age. It encompasses publicly and privately owned and operated tourist locations. The goal of accessible tourism is to create inclusivity of all including those traveling with children, people with disabilities, as well as seniors. This allows those with access requirements to be able to function as an independent using products following the universal design principle, a variety of services, and different environments.
The Lighthouse of Houston is a private, non-profit education and service center dedicated to assisting blind and visually impaired people in the Houston, Texas metropolitan area to live independently. The Lighthouse serves approximately 9,000 people each year and is a member agency of the United Way of Greater Houston.
Council for Canadians with Disabilities (CCD), formerly known as the Coalition of Provincial Organizations of the Handicapped (COPOH), was created by people with disabilities in 1976 to provide support for all people with disabilities who seek the opportunity to go to school, work, volunteer, have a family, and participate in recreational, sport and cultural activities. The CCD is a national human rights organization of people with disabilities working for an accessible and inclusive Canada. In the 1970s, the CCD became a permanent part of the disability rights movement and it became a fluid entity that includes people with a range of different disabilities. To manage the work that will lead to the achievement of this goal, CCD established the following Committees to guide their activities in key areas:
The Scottish National Entitlement Card (NEC) is a Scotland-wide smart card scheme run by Scottish Local Authorities on behalf of the Scottish Government. It is predominantly operated as a concessionary travel pass, but can also act as Proof of Age for young people (Young Scot NEC) and give access to civic services such as libraries and leisure centres depending on the local authority.
Scene+ is a Canadian loyalty program established in 2007. It is owned by Scene LP, which is jointly owned by Galaxy Entertainment, a subsidiary of Cineplex Inc., Scotiabank, and Empire Company.
YAI, previously known as the Young Adult Institute, is an organization serving people with Intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the United States. YAI launched as a pilot program at a small school in Brooklyn, New York, in February 1957. The pilot program was run by co-founders Bert MacLeech and Pearl Maze and served seven people with I/DD. Today, YAI has expanded to a team of over 4,000 employees and supports over 20,000 people in the I/DD community. YAI supports people with Autism, Down syndrome, and Cerebral palsy, among others.
Indigenous Disability Canada / British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society (IDC/BCANDS) is a national Indigenous charitable organization with its head office based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. IDC/BCANDS provides cross disability-related support and services to Indigenous peoples in Canada with disabilities, and advocates for the full inclusion of all Indigenous peoples with disabilities, both socially and economically.
Disability in Kenya "results from the interaction between individuals with a health condition with personal and environmental factors including negative attitudes, inaccessible transport and public buildings, and limited social support. A person's environment has a huge effect on the experience and extent of disability." Having a disability can limit a citizen's access to basic resources, basic human rights, and social, political and economic participation in Kenyan society. There are three forms of limitation of access linked to disability: impairment, disability, and handicap. An impairment is "the loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function." A disability results from an impairment as "the restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in the manner considered normal for a human being", and the requirement for accommodation. Finally, a handicap "results from a disability, and limits or prevents the fulfilment of a role that is normal for that individual."