Please join me in welcoming Miriam Hoolahan, MSc. to CVS as the Manager of Communications. Miriam has an excellent background/education in communications and marketing and she will lead us in external and internal communications (including social media), member relations, fundraising, marketing of our enterprises and oversight of  our web-based information systems. Miriam started November 14th and I know that she will be an asset to CVS.

familyWORKs is having a meeting on Thursday, November 30th on the topic of Skill Building and the Guest speaker is Wendy Parry from Douglas College. Please see the poster below for further information.

We are writing to you to advise that when snows fall this year CVS intends to stay operational so that people who regularly come to the Port Moody office or the Port Coquitlam office will have staff to support them.  However, activities and outings may be changed to make sure that safety of the people we serve and staff is the priority therefore most services will be provided in the building. Please be aware that Handydart may cancel services if snow falls early in the morning.

For the individuals that are usually picked up from home, staff will attempt to pick up that person, however due to road conditions and hills that may or may not be possible. CVS will phone to advise if we are unable to pick up the person but please know that the office will be open and the person can be dropped off anytime after 9am and then would need to be picked up by 3pm.

We are aware this may cause some inconvenience however our efforts are to keep everyone safe at CVS.  We hope to have a very mild winter so that snow will not cause too much disruption. We have already made plans to have our parking lot and sidewalks cleared, we have salt stocked up, and we hope to be able to respond to weather events appropriately. If the snow is extreme please keep in mind that we may have to close for the sake of safety but we will try to avoid closing if at all possible. To check if we are open please call 604.218.8492.

CVS is hiring for our Community Inclusion Programs, Residential Services, Foster Care, Respite and Shared Living Services. For more information please check out our website or call Pete Stone, Manager of Human Resources and Quality Assurance at 604.939.8070 ext. 2027 or send him an email at [email protected]

It\’s our 2017 Halloween Party!

Come and join us for our Annual Halloween Bash

Oct 31st 10am-2pm

Location: CVS Port Moody Office

Games!, Goodies!, and Costumes!

Prizes! Cookies! Pizza! $5

The Family Support Institute presents a free webinar on Leaving High School – What\’s Next? The web event is on Tuesday, October 24th from 6:30 – 8:30 pm. see the information below for details and who to contact with questions.

October is Community Inclusion Month. Every year at this time, the Community Ventures Society (CVS) and Community Integration Services Society (CISS) celebrate the contributions that people with developmental disabilities make in the Tri-Cities communities. We think that inclusion should happen in childcare, in education, in the community, volunteering and in workplaces. Working is one of the best ways in achieving inclusion so that people are included in our economic system as workers, consumers and taxpayers. As important, workplaces are social systems where it is very likely that people will make friends and develop relationships and that provides social inclusion. Below are positive examples of inclusive employers in the Tri-Cities.

Our first example is the Tri-Cities Branches of Vancity who are intentional about giving people with developmental disabilities the opportunity to contribute and show that they can be valuable employees and contribute to public service.

Vancity was recognized by the Employment Roundtable of the Tri-Cities who awarded the Inclusive Employer Award to Vancity at the Mayor’s BBQ on September 7. Vancity’s work on diversity and inclusion is organization wide and is rooted in its organizational values. We very much appreciate the efforts of Vancity Savings Credit Union and they very much deserve this award.

Another shining example of an inclusive employer is at Gabi & Jules Bakery, where they employ several people with developmental disabilities. Owners Lisa & Peter Beecroft were awarded the Peter Hulbert Award at the City of Port Moody Volunteer Appreciation Night.

In December, the Employment Roundtable of the Tri-Cities presented an Inclusive Employer Award at the annual Christmas Rotary Luncheon (all 4 Rotary Clubs in the Tri-Cities) to Paul Droulis who owns the Canadian Tire in Coquitlam. Paul hired 2 people with developmental disabilities to work at Canadian Tire.

Community Ventures Society and Community Integration Services Society asks you to reflect on these exemplars of inclusion in the Tri-Cities and we invite you to join us in celebrating Community Inclusion Month. Over the next year, we ask that you think about how you can help people with disabilities be more included in our schools, places of play, in the arts, in workplaces and at the ballot box.

Victoria, BC – October 2, 2017: Inclusion BC\’s Faith Bodnar and other disability advocates joined BC Minister Shane Simpson today to announce a new transportation supplement for people who live on Persons with Disabilities (PWD) benefits.

The new transportation supplement fulfills the BC government\’s promise to restore the bus pass for PWD recipients effective January 2018 without any clawbacks.

The Ministry for Social Development and Poverty Reduction announced the new flexible transportation supplement, which can be used for a bus pass or other transportation options, at a press conference Monday morning.

• Read more in the Ministry\’s press release.

Bodnar, Inclusion BC\’s Executive Director, had urged government to restore the bus pass as soon as possible, noting that reliable and affordable access to transportation is critical to ensuring that people with disabilities can exercise their rights to community inclusion.

On Monday, Bodnar joined Minister Simpson for the announcement and applauded the move as a positive one.

\”Almost 18 months ago. Inclusion BC and thousands of British Columbians called for the restoration of the bus pass,\” Bodnar said. \”We brought our call to this very legislature along with the support of 16,000 people who signed our petition.\”

• More on the campaign to raise PWD rates & restore the bus pass

\”I am very pleased that the new government has made transportation a priority for people on PWD. Not only for those who use a bus pass but for everyone on PWD,\” Bodnar said.

Other advocates, including Disability Alliance BC and the BC Aboriginal Network on Disability Society (BCANDS) also joined the Minister for the announcement and applauded the move.

The provincial government has recently taken a number of steps to start addressing the poverty faced by people with disabilities (read more).

• In September, PWD rates were increased $100/month.
• In September, the BC government also increased the earnings exemption (the amount someone can earn from working before their PWD benefits are reduced) by $200 per month.

This raises the total annual earnings exemption for 2017 to $12,000 for a single person before any reduction in their monthly PWD benefits. BC now has the highest annualized earnings exemption for disability benefit recipients in Canada.

Inclusion BC is also participating in community consultations that Minister Simpson has launched to help shape a poverty reduction strategy for BC.

\”The transportation supplement is a major improvement that acknowledges all British Columbians with disabilities on assistance should receive support to get around in their communities, wherever they live,\” Bodnar said. \”This, along with the increase in earnings exemptions, is an important step forward in providing people on disability assistance with the capacity to work, improve their quality of life without penalty and contribute economically to the province.”

Inclusion BC looks forward to working with government and community partners to ensure income security for people with intellectual disabilities. This includes PWD rates that reflect the true cost of living and that are indexed to inflation.

About Inclusion BC
We are a provincial federation of people with intellectual disabilities, families and community agencies that advocates for inclusion, rights and full citizenship. Since 1955, we have been working with communities, partners and governments to advance our vision of a world where we all belong.
More: inclusionbc.org

Contacts

Faith Bodnar
Executive Director
Inclusion BC
Cel: 604 764-2591
Email: [email protected]

Dawn Steele
Communications
Cel: 604 374-1530
Email: [email protected]