In 2022, CAN (LET’S) took part in a patient / public consultation focus group for the project “Bringing patients and society back into the social accountability of a medical school.” 1 of the questions at the focus group was about guiding principles for engagement and as a consequence of the consultations 8 guiding principles have been identified.

The researchers are now in the stage of disseminating the results of the project. They plan to create a set of resources (power point slides, speakers notes, handouts etc), that they and others can use when making presentations to different groups.

Focus group members, patient and public members, gathered to create a video speaking to the guiding principles. This video will be utilized with academic audiences so that they can hear directly from people with lived experience about the importance of the principles.

The Stigma Organizational Assessment Cycle (SOAC) project is the result of a community call to action for stigma reduction advocacy in BC. Their goal is to support organizations to learn how their programs and services may be contributing to stigma and discrimination and identify opportunities and actions for change.

This project aims to develop a learning cycle for BC organizations to assess, and then address stigma and discrimination within their organizations. They will base this learning cycle on an accreditation or audit process and create tools and resources – including a peer-based surveyor team — for organizations to discuss areas of potential improvement related to stigma and discrimination, gather data to support learning, and provide mechanisms for action planning to implement real change.
The idea for SOAC emerged at the Stigma Reduction Interventions Deliberative Dialogue hosted by PAN (Pacific AIDs Organization) in 2019. The catalyst for the Deliberative Dialogue was our work leading the BC People Living with HIV Stigma Index, a community-based research study.

CAN (LET”S) was contacted by this exciting new project to contribute to better health and social outcomes for people in BC by sharing stories of our members experiences with stigma.

The Spinal Cord Injury Association has a long history of helping people with spinal cord injuries and related disabilities and their families, adjust, adapt, and thrive. As part of this, they have a sexual health website. SCI requested that CAN review the sexual health website to ensure it is equitable and informative for 2SLGBTQIA+ folks.

CAN (LET’S) was contacted on behalf of the Sustainability Ambassadors Program at the University of British Columbia. The team is creating an open access Sustainability and Society Guidebook that explores the intersections of climate and social justice. Their goal in creating this guidebook is to amplify the voices of marginalized people and empower youth to take ownership of their learning and become agents of change in their communities.

They wanted to collaborate with Creating Accessible Neighbourhoods and have us share our experiences and wisdom about how disability justice is connected with climate justice and sustainability. Stories will be integrated into their research, alongside a set of actions readers can take to shape safer and more equitable communities.

CAN (LET’S) was contacted by the Acting Academy Manager at Realwheels Theatre. They emailed regarding our Disability Awareness workshop. As their students get to know one another and work together, Realwheels believed that a workshop on this subject would be beneficial to the class. They were specifically looking for a workshop with lived experience. CAN’s (LET’S) presentation are filled with lived experience, both from our facilitators and our members. We find that stories, and the emotions those stories evoke, make a greater long-term impact on participants. We were referred to Realwheels Theatre by the Co-Executive Director of Kickstart Disability Arts and Culture. We will be setting up a date for the workshop soon.

In December, CAN (LET’S) was contacted by an employment consultant of Inclusion Langley Society. The consultant was referred to CAN (LET’S) by a participant of our Breaking Barriers workshop. The consultant wanted to reach out to see if we would meet with them and a client about the work that we do because the client is interested in going into a similar line of work. The consultant had heard CAN (LET’S) at the “Building a Safe Culture in Employment Services” seminar hosted by Focus Disability Network Society. They thought we would be a great organization for their client to speak to. We set up a time for the three of us to have a conversation. In the end, the client will be volunteering with CAN (LET’S) in the Spring on our Disability History workshop creation. We are glad to have them onboard and provide them with experience in a social justice organization.

Affirming Connections reached out to talk with CAN (LET’S). Affirming Connections is an organization that seeks to support people of faith, ministries, and organizations who work to eliminate religious discrimination and exclusion. CAN (LET’S) has been booked to speak at their Affirming Leaders Day on May 21. The event is a faith-based development & connection day for 2SLGBTQIA+ folks and allies.

They are still working on this year’s theme, but they are interested in conversations about accessibility, solidarity and intersectionality between 2SLGBTQIA+ folks and other marginalized communities. CAN (LETS) will provide a session focused on how faith communities can be more actively accessible and how this work might synchronize with their efforts to affirm 2SLGBTQIA+ members of their community.

CAN (LET’S) was contacted on behalf of the Sustainability Ambassadors Program at the University of British Columbia. Their team is creating an open access Sustainability and Society Guidebook that explores the intersections of climate and social justice. Their goal in creating this guidebook is to amplify the voices of marginalized people and empower youth to take ownership of their learning and become agents of change in their communities. They wanted to collaborate with Creating Accessible Neighbourhoods and have us share our experiences and wisdom about how disability justice is connected with climate justice and sustainability. Stories were collected via Zoom interview and integrated into their research, alongside a set of actions readers can take to shape safer and more equitable communities.

CAN (LET’S) participated in a meeting to discuss the possibility of creating an online poverty simulation tool with Basic Income BC. At the meeting, we had representatives from Basic Income BC, a videographer/digital creator, and a CAN (LET’S) representative. CAN (LET’S) was asked to advise on how to ensure accessibility with the tool. We also suggested that we could find participants with lived experience for the project. This conversation is just in the starting phase. Updates will be in future newsletters.

CAN (LET’S) was contacted by Nadine Nakagawa, New Westminster Councillor for a conversation about climate and disability justice. The City of New Westminster is working to launch an alternative crisis response pilot project. This means trying to find more appropriate resources for people who are homeless, experiencing a severe mental health crisis, living with addiction, etc. They know that municipalities are responding to many of these issues with policing, fire services, and bylaw responses which do not get to the root cause of the issue and do not adequately serve those who are struggling.

Nadine contacted Creating Accessible Neighbourhoods because we an organization that works on disability justice issues. We discussed the pilot project with you. We shared our perspectives regarding the needs of those in our community. We also spoke about how they be aligned to the work CAN (LET’S) already does.

Here is an article about the pilot project.