Our New Home at Enables.Me!

To kick off 2015, we've moved all our blogs onto one platform with the name Enables.Me!

We're excited as our team grows to bring you stories and news on accessibility locally and around the world. Join us as we continue the journey at our new site!

Facebook post lands woman with Down Syndrome a job

This article focuses on how much more difficult it is to find employment when you live with a disability. It emphasizes how frustrating it is for an individual with a disability because they want to work but they cannot find meaningful employment.

The article also previews a documentary being produced about the difficulties of individuals living with a disability finding employment. The documentary is called “Talent Untapped”. It is about this invisible, untapped talent pool.

‘Look beyond white cane,’  ‘look beyond Down Syndrome or the developmental disability and look beyond the wheelchair because there is so much talent untapped.’
‘I don't want to just sit there, I’ll get bored at my house,’
‘You just seem to go in a loop,’ ‘a loop of nothing (looking for employment.)’

http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/mobile/facebook-post-lands-woman-with-down-syndrome-a-job-1.2185168

Creating Employment One Coffee at a Time

Source: Indiegogo.com

Our cousin Emily has been at the Coffee Shed for several years now and I've seen how it's enabled her providing a place that utilizes her abilities and to meet and socialize with others. It's a simple business model that has made tremendous impact for those that face barriers to employment. They are currently running an Indiegogo campaign to enhance what they are doing.

Less than half of working-age Canadians with disabilities have jobs, according to Statistics Canada. But one Toronto organization is working to reverse that statistic by appealing to the city's love of coffee culture. 

Common Ground Cooperative is a local non-profit that provides social enterprise and empowered employment opportunities to people with developmental disabilities. One of the participants is The Coffee Shed – a coffee shop run by adults with developmental disabilities headquartered in Surrey Place Centre near Queen's Park. 

Last month, The Coffee Shed launched an Indiegogo campaign to fund a barista training program inside their premises. Called Made by Mavericks, the training program was created by Gerald Patrick Fantone, a job coach at Common Ground, who came up with the idea after reading about the Galician Down Barista Championships – Spain's competition for baristas with Down syndrome – in Barista Magazine.

Read the entire article at Now Toronto and contribute the Indiegogo campaign.

Enabling Individuals through Art

Back in 2003 I was lucky to have private art lessons taught by Emillie Chan, who is a great artist in her own right. She has an art program for persons with disabilities which help individuals pursue a career in art and she promotes their work through art shows and other events. Her students are mainly based in Hong Kong and many of the students have adapted using their head, mouth, or foot to create their artwork. Ms. Chan is a kind hearted and caring person, and I am very thankful to her for taking the time to teach me art.

My grandpa

A few years later in 2009 I was asked by Ms. Chan to be part of the Embracing Life Art Exhibition, an art show hosted by the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto featuring her students of all abilities from Hong Kong and Toronto. Three pieces of my artwork was showcased at the art show. It was a fun experience being part of my first art show.

At the end of the week there was a big dinner gala to raise funds for the Fu Hui Education Foundation. During the gala there was a live auction for our artwork, where one of my favorite art pieces was sold to a gentleman and his wife. Later in the evening the couple gave my art piece back to me, which I really appreciated because I created the piece for my mom for Mother's Day. In appreciation I decided to give them a copy of the piece.

My artwork at Hong Kong Central Library

During March 27 to 31 this year, I was once again part of another art show hosted by the Hong Kong Central Library, which I could not attend in person. This time five pieces of my artwork was showcased and one of them was sold, which I was really surprised about. The proceeds from any artwork sold goes back to the student and part of it goes to the Fu Hui Education Foundation.

Below are some of my art work.

My Impending Job Loss – Part II

Source: AndyCore.com

The good thing is that the thing is still impending. It is now ten weeks since I was told by my boss that they would "transition me" and I had responded that they would have to address me in writing. So far nothing has come in writing. Some efforts are being made to delegate the work assignments. It is our lean season and there is relatively less work load. Most of the assignments given to me were fairly routine, however, there were one or two difficult ones.

Since a lot was said about my poor performance in the past year, I took the effort of compiling some statistics about my in-out dates and find that the performance was, in fact, on par with the previous year and in some cases, there was an improvement. When I mentioned this to the boss, I was told, "The quality of your work has deteriorated!" Well, there are no yardsticks to measure the quality of one's work. Right now, things seem to have reached a stalemate. The company will not put anything in writing and I will not budge without seeing the letter.

The only action I have so far done is to move out of my downtown apartment into a 1960's apartment further north. The new place is smaller and is located somewhat far away from the office. For me the advantage is that it is cheaper and the owners allowed me to install safety bars in the shower. Therefore the problem of homelessness has been resolved.

I have been exploring the new neighbourhood and there are some things good and some things not so good. I shall write about my experiences in the new place as time goes by.

Coming back to the job situation – the authorities have ruled that I cannot claim Employment Insurance (EI) or the Ontario Disability Support (ODSP ) if I were to get a disability payment from the insurer. So I need to get a concrete idea of the comparative numbers before I can choose. I understand that all payments are subject to income tax, so there is no escaping the annual ritual of filing a return.

I have also been thinking of setting up a registered charity or non-profit organization that will try and address some of the needs of a person with disabilities. I am being helped in this area by a good friend and mentor, who is well versed in writing up such proposals for the authorities. His name is Vince Dumond and we hope to get this moving soon.

I am also working with another friend – Hanny Hosny – to set up a website for persons with disabilities, seeking to reduce barriers we face in accessing the 3 Es – Education, Employment and Entertainment. The website has been registered and we hope to launch it soon. The proposed name is Able Canada. Look out for www.ablecanada.ca.

Look forward to getting ongoing feedback from you, especially in exploring the possible ways in which the proposed charity/NPO can begin the task of generating careers or businesses for persons with disabilities.

Career Fair CCRW’s Day for hiring persons with disabilities in Toronto

Source: Experientia.com

Here's an opportunity for those of you looking for employment. There will be many employers participating in this career fair. You will need to apply by submitting your resume to careerfair@ccrw.org.

Once accepted, you will attend the fair that takes place on October 15, 2014 from 9:30am – 3:00pm downtown Toronto. Professional attire required. Bring résumés and business cards.

The employers participating include: Abbott Canada, Accenture, Air Canada, BMO, CIBC, Express Scripts Canada, Hewlett Packard, Mosaic Home Care, Mount Sinai Hospital, Pepsi, RBC, Ricoh, Scotiabank, Starwood Hotels, TD Bank, TD Insurance, Telus, Topnotch, United Way, YMCA.

For more information please contact the Workplace Essential Skills Partnership (WESP) at 416-486-2500 extension 8342 or visit our website at www.ccrw.org/wesp.

This project is brought to you by the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work www.ccrw.org.

My Impending Job Loss

Source: AndyCore.com

Since we first conceived  this blog - “WorkEnables.Me” - there has been a significant development in my work situation.

I was called in by my local boss for a private meeting, with a U.S based HR person on the phone. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss a “transition” plan. My boss used the first part of the conversation to outline my various failures and performance shortfalls.

The HR person said that the company had decided that I would be offered a disability package which is basically what is available under our group insurance. I had one week to get back to them agreeing (or disagreeing) with the offer. I told them by email that I would respond only to a written communication. At the time of writing, it has been 4weeks and nothing has yet been sent in writing.

One of the performance shortfalls stated was my speech impediment. As a result of my medical situation, my speech is slurred (one of our support groups suggested carrying a card which states – “No, I am not drunk, my speech is slurred because of my medical condition”). My boss said I was not able to participate fully in internal meetings and could not pick up the phone and talk to clients.

Since the transition conversation seemed definitive and a significant career development, I took the precaution of consulting an employment lawyer. He says that there are specific laws governing termination of a disabled person in Canada. Lack of performance is not a valid reason for termination (who knew?) and an employer must demonstrate having taken steps to mitigate the effect of the disability and improve performance.

The matter is now apparently at a stalemate and will move again only when my office puts things in writing. I do hope the matter is settled amicably.

I wanted to find out if I am eligible for payment of Employment Insurance (EI) in addition to these disability payments. In that search, I ended up at a Services Canada website. From there I was directed to a page where you need to apply for your Personal Access Code, which will be mailed to my home address.

Just created this blog to provide a blow-by-blow saga of losing a job to a disability and its aftermath.