LET’S and fellow participants had a 2 day kick-off event for the NeighbourAble research project. LET’S is a co-applicant on the successful grant and we will be providing Disability Awareness workshops. Currently, the research team is meeting on a monthly basis to finalize the timeline, work plan, and inputs for the project. Following those sessions, the plan is to meet everyone involved in the project in January 2025.
Summary of project:
Disability is about the fit between the environment and people, rather than solely about medically defined conditions of individuals. Homes and neighbourhoods that do not accommodate functionalities of non-able-bodied people deprive them of independence and dignity by requiring assistance from others to conduct basic activities, as well as prevent them from socializing, being physically active outdoors, or from maintaining their mental health and wellbeing to lead a full life. This ‘disabling’ process through a person-environment (mis)fit frequently occurs and creates undue burdens among persons who experience functional limitations or decline.
Conversely, environments that cater to different functions of people enable them to live more independently in their own homes and communities for longer with less assistance from others. For working-age adults, proximity to jobs and quality paths of travel around home can help them gain employment and earn income. It can also help reduce the financial costs for governments to provide alternative care in institutional settings, which is significantly more expensive.
Despite these implications, there is little research that investigates the fit between persons with disability experiences (PDE) and home and neighbourhood environment. The research gap has led to lack of evidence that informs strategic actions to transform neighbourhoods to be more accessible, equitable, and inclusive.
(A person using a white cane to navigate their neighbourhood)
To achieve the goal of a barrier-free Canada by 2040, innovative research that enables evidence-informed actions is necessary. The proposed partnership project—entitled the NeighbourAble Project—will bring together university researchers (from Dalhousie University, Simon Fraser University, and Lund University), and five leading community organizations (Brightside Community Homes Foundation, Live Educate Transform Society, Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia, and Independent Living Nova Scotia, and the Rick Hansen Foundation) to co-create a state-of-the-art research tool that generates much-needed evidence to help formulate effective policy and community actions.
Specifically, the NeighbourAble Project partners will together: 1) establish a pilot tool that assesses the impacts of fit between ability of PDE to conduct a set of daily activities and qualities of housing and surrounding neighbourhood; 2) test the pilot tool by assessing the homes of residents who experience a diverse range of disabilities in two Canadian cities (Vancouver and Halifax); and 3) Develop a partnership network of stakeholders to advance orchestrated actions to accelerate creation of more accessible and inclusive neighbourhoods—using the NeighbourAble tool-generated evidence as a launching point of the discourse.
Not only will the partnership add novel knowledge and methodology to the relevant areas of social sciences and humanities research, but it will also strengthen the toolbox of partner organizations to effectively influence policy as advocates and knowledge brokers. Student trainees will gain skills to become effective leaders that serve vulnerable communities in policy, design, planning, and advocacy realms. This partnership project will be a catalyst in furthering the connections across researchers, governments, and non-government sectors working to improve the lives of PDE, combining forces to generate a strong collective voice for change.