Challenging Misconceptions

Telling Stories

We know that with the right support, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities can be self-determined, gain significant independence, be successful employees and live in their own homes. For many, however, limiting beliefs can stand in their way. With support from Community Living BC, this project will showcase a diverse collection of stories from around the province, featuring people from whom we can expand our ideas about what the life of a person with an intellectual or developmental disability looks like, and what kinds of support they need to thrive on their own terms.

Shifting Perspectives

The project aims to change perceptions about what people are capable of through honest portrayals of real people’s struggles and triumphs. We intend to share the impacts of inclusive practices in the workplace, home, family and beyond. By investing in collaboration between people with lived experience with disability, creative professionals and community organizations, this project aims to raise the profile of these stories to gain the attention of broader audiences to respect and understand the experiences of people with disabilities across the province.

A long dirt road visible to the horizon. A young woman is sitting on a chair in the middle of the road looking down at some paper in her hand. A person in a red jacket is standing facing her with their back facing the camera. There is a light dusting of snow on the edges of the road and surrounding hilly land.

Working Together

We are engaging Inclusion BC’s member organizations in this undertaking through a Provincial Working Group that will convene to share strategies and resources to use storytelling in the ways we communicate messages about disability rights and the impact of our work. In this group, we’ll learn from creative professionals, collaborate on sharing key messages across the province and beyond, and create a library of assets that will be available to members to help elevate their communications.

Media

Inclusive Employment: Stories from Campbell River, BC

Work has a huge impact on the quality and direction of our lives. It’s often central to our identities, communities and sense of purpose – and it is a part of adult life from which people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have been historically left out. Focusing on Campbell River, BC, this film explores stories of employees, their families, community members, colleagues and employment support professionals who are challenging this historical exclusion. Together, we are working towards a future in which workplaces that include people of all abilities are unremarkable.

This film was created in collaboration between Inclusion BC and Rivercity Inclusion.

Andrea’s Story: A story of inclusion from Fort St. John

As a part of our ongoing Challenging Misconceptions campaign, the Inclusion BC team has been traveling BC to feature stories of people with disabilities navigating a world that is too often not designed with their needs in mind, but are nevertheless finding ways to thrive through ingenuity, determination and the support of their communities.

Andrea’s is one such story.

Inclusion BC would like to thank the staff and leadership at the Fort St John Association for Community Living, Community Living BC, and most of all Andrea and her family for supporting this project.