Inclusion BC’s Community Inclusion Advocacy Program is a foundational piece of our work. Through the help of community donations, the program supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families by offering them direct advocacy support when they face barriers to full inclusion in their community.
The program also supports group advocacy, leadership development of family groups and emerging leaders, and community engagement with diverse population groups to break disability stigma and support full citizenship for everyone.
Our support covers topics that span a lifetime and include all ages. What this looks like varies for each situation, but it can mean connecting people with resources in their communities, offering information, creating an advocacy plan, supporting people to advocate for the services they need, and organizing learning opportunities in communities across the province.
The hands-on work that we do with people through the Community Inclusion Advocacy program helps us to understand the bigger picture of where current barriers or challenges lie, which informs our priorities for systemic advocacy.
Our First Quarter Summary
We started this year with a large number of advocacy calls, with 386 advocacy situations supported during Quarter 1 (April to June) alone. This was a 49% increase on the same period last year. The need for support continues to increase and is putting unprecedented pressure on our team’s capacity. Thanks to the generous support of our regular donors, our dedicated staff members have continued to work hard to meet the increased requests for support. We are proud to share that 90% of the calls or messages we receive are answered within two business days.
The top five topics in which support was requested during Quarter 1 were:
- Access to K-12 Education 33%
- Transition and Access to Adult Services 13%
- Access to Services from the Ministry of Children and Family Development 5%
- Housing Instability 5%
- Barriers to Access Persons with Disabilities Benefits 5%
In addition to supporting individual advocacy situations, we have also organized a number of events designed to increase the capacity of local communities for collective advocacy.
- We hosted a session on inclusive employment programs for the Family Support Workers Network to share resources and support people to get connected with local supports that could help them reach their employment goals.
- We collaborated with community partners to co-host Rivers and Roads: Linking Families of the Lower Mainland. A group of 82 parents, caregivers, and people with lived experience gathered in person and online to learn about ways to strengthen their advocacy and access resources to help build a good life for their loved ones. Meaningful knowledge was shared, and beautiful connections emerged.
We care deeply for each person who reaches out for support through our Community Inclusion Advocacy Program. We are humbled by the trust that users of the Advocacy Line put in us, and we take each story with us when we show up to advocate for systemic change at the highest levels of policymaking. This program helps us stay connected to the people for whom we do this work. We continue to take their lead when we push for changes that will move our society toward a world where everybody belongs.
you can help our community advocates meet the growing demand for support. Join our Circle of Friends and become a monthly donor here, or invite your friends to join. As little as $5 a month will help us to make sure that each person has choice and control over the support that they need to flourish in community.
