Focus On Employment: Working Is Believing! November 17, 2011

Employment Excitement Sweeping Ottawa!

The LiveWorkPlay membership has never been confused about the importance of employment in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. After all, "work" is right in the middle of our name! We've also partnered with some amazing employers over the years, with familiar names like MBNA and The WORKS. Both companies are examples of champions of workplace diversity and in particular hiring practices that value people with intellectual disabilities as full citizens in the Ottawa community.

Each job that goes to a person supported by LiveWorkPlay is a huge event in the life of that individual, but it is also part of a historic social change taking place in Ottawa, across the province, and all over the world! People with disabilities are emerging from the shadows and fringes of their community and taking their rightful place alongside others. This is happening with respect to housing, sports, recreation, learning, citizenship, and of course, employment!

It was not long ago that a firm belief in the right to full citizenship for people with intellectual disabilities was seen as a radical position, but thankfully those days are over. Like-minded agencies everywhere are starting to speak up and voice the wishes of their constituents. Individuals with disabilities and their family members are rejecting sheltered workshops and day programs as lifelong substitutes for community participation, and are instead focusing their energies on having the same life options as other citizens, including non-segregated paid work at minimum wage or better. In other words, a real job!

Helpful to the cause are umbrella organizations like ODEN (Ontario Disability Employment Network). ODEN is partnering with service clubs, employers, and service providers, and others across the province to provide education and celebrate champions of workplace diversity. 

And local employment supports providers like LiveWorkPlay are joining local networks like EARN (Employment Accessibility Resource Network) which has its own employment champions (Business Leadership Network). Some agencies that offer grants are starting to shift their values by questioning programs and practices that segregate people with intellectual disabilities from other citizens. As the research clearly shows, having a job does not eliminate all barriers to community inclusion, but it makes a huge difference in multiple ways, from reducing poverty to improved mental health and building social networks.
 
Locally, United Way Ottawa has identified the sad reality that our city lags behind others in the province with one of the lowest employment rates of people with disabilities. In addition to providing grants in support of employment, they are facilitating EARN and the BLN as part of their disability employment focus.

Please view the videos and links above to get a flavour for some of the excitement of the past two months. And it's not over yet! LiveWorkPlay is thrilled to be joined by the Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce in supporting the Ottawa neighbourhood Rotary Clubs presentation of "Building A New Workforce."

This November 30 event features a keynote by The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.

Other special guests will include Joe Dale, Project Manager of Rotary at Work, and Mark Wafer, a Tim Hortons franchise owner who travels the province promoting the employment of people with disabilities.

It's Time For Feasting & Dancing

It seems like the September 23 Welcome Back Family Feast and AGM was only yesterday, but it will soon be December! That means two important LiveWorkPlay holiday traditions are just around the corner.

First up is the Festive Family Feast on Friday, December 9. We know the September feast had a busy agenda, so this time it is all about relaxing and socializing. We'll have a few announcements and celebrate some of the good news in the lives of our members for the past two months, but the real agenda is to enjoy the meal and enjoy some good company!

By popular request, the New Year's Eve party is once again a "members only" affair. We'll have seating for about 140 with a professional DJ and a delicious buffet. The ticket prices for both events are at the lowest price ever, just $15 for the feast, and just $40 (early bird price) for the NYE party.


Click Above and Register Now, Take Advantage of Early Bird Specials!

LiveWorkPlay Travel News: All Aboard!

LiveWorkPlay helps members enjoy domestic and international travel opportunities. After extensive consultation the three choices for this year include a Caribbean cruise, Nashville, and Quebec City.

The cost for these trips is kept low through the use of bus travel (in the case of the cruise, taking the bus to and from New Jersey). Not only is this more affordable, but it is much more inclusive! Instead of a small group of LiveWorkPlay members and staff spending almost all of their time together, bus tours offer the opportunity for a shared experience with a diverse and large group of other tour passengers.


Pictured above some of those taking part in the January cruise. The hot topic was excursion opportunities, which range from swimming with stingrays to a sailing experience on an America's Cup yacht! Last year was the first time LiveWorkPlay members tried travelling with a bus tour. You can watch this Collection of video memories New Hampshire 2010 to see how it went!

People First Annual Conference

4 delegates from People First Ottawa who are also members of LiveWorkPlay made their way by bus to Toronto for the People First of Ontario Annual Conference. They were joined there by their Ottawa chapter President, Josee Varin. In addition to taking part in conference sessions the team of five also opened the conference with a presentation and discussion about the documentary film Monica & David: A Love Story. It was a great way to get 170 delegates talking about a range of topics from employment to relationships.


Above left, Jennifer Harris talks about Monica & David. Centre, Moira Fuenzalida has her ballot and is heading off to the voting booth to elect regional and board representatives for 2011-2012. Right, Caroline Matte applauds her colleague Emily Menard who has just shared a story about following her dreams of life in the community.

Although resources are scarce, People First of Ontario and local chapters across the province continue to grow and continue to represent the independent voice of advocates who have intellectual disabilities. Prior to the formal conference proceedings, the board of directors met with Assistant Deputy Minister David Carter-Whitney and other Ministry of Community and Social Services representatives to discuss a range of topics.

Some of the top People First of Ontario concerns include: the inadequacies of the Ontario Disability Support Program, particularly the rental allowance which is far below market rates, and the clawback on employment income; the continued teaching and use of restraint; the impact of strikes and picketing of people's homes.

LiveWorkPlay members: mark your calendars for the evening of Saturday, January 14, when People First of Ottawa will host a social meet and greet and annual general meeting!

Next Stop: 1223 Michael Street!

As announced to our membership last month, LiveWorkPlay headquarters is on the move. We've enjoyed our time at the C3 Centre, our home since the summer of 2010. We give thanks especially to Volunteer Ottawa, Social Planning Council of Ottawa, Ottawa Chamber of Voluntary Organizations, and United Way Ottawa for all of their support and cooperative efforts around the C3 partnership table. We'll also miss being neighbours to Families Matter Co-op. But we aren't going far so let's all visit each other often!

Click Above for Three Views of our New Location!
The main reason for the move is the need for privacy. With the growth of LiveWorkPlay staff to 11, discussing confidential member needs in a team setting has become very difficult in an open concept configuration.

The new location at 1223 Michael Street is just a minute or two from the C3 Centre, on the east side of St. Laurent Shopping Centre. The private space of approximately 1500 square feet will serve as home to the staff team with workstations divided between several small offices, a modest meeting space, and a small but welcoming reception area for visitors.

The building has some interesting features, including an on-site cafe, free visitor parking, and a variety of non-profit, government, and business tenants that we are looking forward to meeting. The new office will be open by February 1, if not sooner. We'll make sure our members and their families have all the information they need about bus routes and other considerations.

United Way Campaign: Finish Line In Sight

There's a lot we could say about reasons to give to the annual United Way campaign. But we know most of our readers are interested in understanding how this helps LiveWorkPlay. Here's three reasons: 1) We are still in our first year of a three year funding agreement that supports employment 2) We benefit from partnership initiatives like the Employment Accessibility Resource Network 3) You can direct all or part of your contribution to LiveWorkPlay (just write 896222775RR0001 in Section C).

We've decided to get some help to motivate you: Felice Miranda and Betty Burke are two remarkable women with a few things in common, including adult children who are supported by LiveWorkPlay. They are helping to spread the word about the organization and its work as a United Way Ottawa partner and funded agency.

If you think Felice and Betty did a great job, visit the LiveWorkPlay fan page or send a supportive tweet their way via @LiveWorkPlay on Twitter!

Volunteer Team Supports Ongoing Improvements

Volunteer Coordinator Fran Childs met with about 50 members of the LiveWorkPlay volunteer team over the past month and gathered a number of helpful suggestions. This includes the use of a new "personal profile" that is particularly helpful with volunteering matching.

Volunteers are always coming forward with great ideas, like Valerie who wondered about a first aid course with a focus on the type of everyday injuries everyone can expect to experience. Peggy from Red Cross agreed to provide exactly what Valerie was talking about and the group of LiveWorkPlay members and volunteers who attended just loved it!

Get Social With Us

We have a page on Facebook, we tweet on Twitter, we have a channel on YouTube, and you will find many of our staff members on LinkedIn!

A Vision For The Future

AGM 2011: A VISION FOR THE FUTURE

The Welcome Back Family Feast and Annual General Meeting was a special evening with more than 160 LiveWorkPlay members, family supporters, volunteers, board members, staff, special guests, and community partners in attendance to enjoy a meal and conduct essential AGM business.

The evening began with the presentation of $10,000 from Fundchange and Telus, the outcome of LiveWorkPlay victory in the Summer Challenge. Financial reporting followed with auditor Ross Holmes and co-leader Julie Kingstone. Julie also welcomed new staff members Natasshia Lee and George Kranitis, and recognized new partnerships with United Way Ottawa and Families Matter Co-op.

Staff reports from Allison Moores, Jen Bosworth and Mat Nadeau, Grace Hudson, Daniel Harris and Anthony Stratton, and Fran Childs provided details on 1) welcoming and supporting members and families, 2) employment supports, 3) community connecting, 4) living in the community, and 5) LiveWorkPlay volunteers.

This information helped support a special presentation “Being the Change” by co-leader Keenan Wellar, which ended with a standing ovation for LiveWorkPlay members “in recognition that every day they go out into the community as trailblazers.”

The board of directors presented on the 2010-2011 year, emphasizing in particular the hard work and processes underlying proposals for new guiding statements in the form of vision, mission, and values. This included consultations with eminent figures like Al Condeluci and Dave Hingsburger, extensive surveys of guiding statements from local, provincial, national, and international organizations doing similar work, the World Health Organization Report on Disability, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

A draft proposal was then shared with LiveWorkPlay members as well as representatives from Community Living Ontario affiliates and other partner organizations.

The feedback was overwhelming positive and included suggestions for inclusion of the word “barriers” in the values statements, which was inserted into the revised draft as presented to members at the AGM. You can read the vision, mission, and values statements at the bottom of this email.

There were strong emotions in the room and even some happy tears as members voted on three separate motions to adopt the proposed vision, mission, a

nd values. All three motions passed with a unanimous vote. Kory Earle, President of People First of Ontario, was present as an observer along with Mike

Coxon, Executive Director of Mills Community Support. While meeting with local candidates for the upcoming provincial election, Kory and Mike too

k a brief time out and recorded their impressions of the AGM. Their enthusiastic comments closely reflect other feedback

received that night and in the days that followed.

Krista Davidson-Flint, a popular speaker and inclusion advocate based in Calgary, posted her reaction to the new guiding statements on

Facebook: “Brave, compelling, and uncompromising. Love it!” Disability advocate Jen who was following on Twitter (@AbilityWarrior) all the way from Kensington, Maryland, posted a similarly enthusiastic “Don’t you just love it? Putting the emphasis on the community, not the disability! SUPERTASTIC!”

The most important reaction was that of people with intellectual disabilities who have a direct relationship with LiveWorkPlay. Most of them were in the room the night of the AGM as voting members, and moved or seconded all of the motions. There was some whooping and hollering that might have broken protocol, but outgoing chair of the board Marlene Floyd found it was all a part of the moment. “A group of members met to discuss these proposals early in this process and gave us important feedback,” says Marlene. “It was wonderful to see that this critical piece of AGM business had meaning for our core members and that we could all celebrate this important moment together.”

Marlene was herself the object of some special attention, in recognition of her planned retirement from the board which took effect at the conclusion of the meeting. Vice-Chair Cecelia Taylor paid tribute to Ms. Floyd and capped it off by bringing member Caroline Matte to the stage to present an original piece of artwork that she created especially for Marlene.

Returning to the board: Mitchell Leitman, Cecelia Taylor, Dan Patton, Al Mackey, Tamara Gomes, and Pennie Styan. New to the board: Joshua Amiel. Retiring from the board: Marlene Floyd (who will remain connected in other ways) and Alan Ednie (Alan has moved to British Columbia – we thank him for his service and wish him all the best!).

UNITED WAY OTTAWA CAMPAIGN LAUNCH

The United Way Ottawa campaign is underway!
The goal of $33.5 million was announced in front of an audience of more than 1000 supporters. This included Melissa Cunningham, a LiveWorkPlay member who participated in the event in support of the Belonging to Community focus of “Connecting people with disabilities who want to work with meaningful employment opportunities.”

LiveWorkPlay is one of the community partners that helps make this change happen, and Melissa is one of the beneficiaries.

With LiveWorkPlay support Melissa interviewed for a position with The WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro in Orleans, where she has become a highly valued employee.

There are many ways to donate to the United Way Ottawa campaign. The most popular is through workplace payroll deductions. You can also donate online. Whatever your method, remember that you can also direct some or all of your donation to LiveWorkPlay. You can do this in “Section C” (Other Charitable Giving Choice) of most United Way Ottawa donation forms. Just enter our charitable registration number 896222775RR0001.

LIVEWORKPLAY GUIDING STATEMENTS

Adopted by Members at the LiveWorkPlay Annual General Meeting 2011

September 23, 2011, Ottawa, Canada

VISION: A COMMUNITY WHERE EVERYONE BELONGS

MISSION: HELPING OUR COMMUNITY WELCOME PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES TO LIVE, WORK, AND PLAY AS VALUED CITIZENS.

VALUES

CORE: PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES ARE VALUABLE CONTRIBUTORS TO THE DIVERSITY OF OUR COMMUNITY AND TO THE HUMAN FAMILY.

LIVE: WITH RESPECT TO HOMES, HEALTH CARE, EDUCATION, PERSONAL DIGNITY, AND PERSONAL PRIVACY, PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES HAVE THE RIGHT TO THE REMOVAL OF BARRIERS PREVENTING THEM FROM EXPERIENCING THE COMMUNITY ON AN EQUAL BAISIS WITH OTHER CITIZENS.

WORK: WITH RESPECT TO PAID WORK AT MINIMUM WAGE OR BETTER, SHORT-TERM UNPAID WORK, AND VOLUNTEER POSITIONS, PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES HAVE THE RIGHT TO THE REMOVAL OF BARRIERS PREVENTING THEM FROM EXPERIENCING THE COMMUNITY ON AN EQUAL BASIS WITH OTHER CITIZENS.

PLAY: WITH RESPECT TO CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL LIFE, SPORTS AND RECREATION, POLITICAL LIFE, AND THE FULL RANGE OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS, PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES HAVE THE RIGHT TO THE REMOVAL OF BARRIERS PREVENTING THEM FROM EXPERIENCING THE COMMUNITY ON AN EQUAL BASIS WITH OTHER CITIZENS.