Podcast Transcripts: National AccessAbility Week 2023
Life Made Accessible: Building Stronger Communities and Workplaces

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Brad Ullner - Education
...we never will achieve complete access as soon as we think we're arrived...

Hello and welcome to the disability and human rights group podcast series for accessibility week 2023, brought to you by the Social Development Centre Waterloo Region. I'm your host, Chaim Spallino and today I'll be talking to Brad Ulner about their experiences with accessibility or inaccessibility from their worldview. 

Would you like to tell us a little bit about your experiences?

I'm a person that has been blessed in many ways. I've been born and raised in Waterloo Region. I'm a graduate of the University of Waterloo with a bachelor's and master's degrees in political science and really feel like it's an indication to some extent of how far we have come. There are many people with disabilities that have ended up with some pretty fancy education through the integration of schools, oh probably 40 years ago now. But anyway, in all of that, one of the things though, is that the workplaces is still aren't necessarily the most educated on access type issues.

Its interesting to me that the pandemic brought such a shift in the point of view of some of the things that occur, including so many people who suddenly found ways to work from home. People with disabilities have been told for years that working from home wasn't a possibility. Suddenly, it became so when you had a massive shift in perspective, that the pandemic brought. Now, of course, working from home is not a perfect solution. You need internet connections and increasingly good internet connections and there are barriers of course that any one thing sort of bring about because of course, the minute you do things one way you're inaccessible to people who can't use it that way. 

But anyway, there is so much that the Internet is able to bring us. I am able to proofread some papers from students and contributors from around the world. They do their work in English and want to improve it. That is a skill that I can offer. So there is so much that is being brought to us imperfectly, but with the different perspectives we can come closer to where we need to be but have so much yet to work on.

Over the years I've uncovered the useful little acronym that I don't necessarily even remember exactly where it came from years ago, but it talks about a number of areas where we need to continue to think about accessibility. And it's a little acronym that people remember. THERE they're talking about transportation, housing, education, recreation, and environment. Talking not so much about the outdoor environment, but the built environment and elevators and ramps and all of all of that jazz. That's perhaps a useful way of thinking about a whole picture of access because of course you can run useful recreation programmes and recreation is indeed an important part of the THERE acronym. But of course, if you can't get there and haven't thought about transportation, that provides another issue and I think that's why it's rather usefully heads up that list into their acronym because as I say, if we can't get to somewhere you need to go that's a problem in and of itself. 

So all of that is a very interesting thoughts on where access is and needs to be and of course, we never will achieve complete access as soon as we think we're arrived at some point or something. There'll be some other issues that come about, again, as soon as we do things in one particular way. We’re able to do this particular interview by phone, but again, the technology kind of provides us that latitude and it's great, so far as it goes, for those that have that necessity and ability and so on. Thinking about access points or thinking about doing things in multiple ways to achieve goals. And we've seen the success of some of the shifts in thinking over the years. But it reminds us too of the the long distance we have yet to go.

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Jackie Prada - Workplace

...haven't quite reached accessibility or inclusion for the staff on higher level positions.

It's my understanding that the pandemic has brought forth some experiences for you some negative experiences for you with accessibility, is that correct?

Jackie

Yes. Or I'll put that as yes and no, there's the usual debate about online versus in person and the benefits of both in my opinion, the ideal would be both in certain amounts some people have ideas about preferring one or the other so thats one debate. Other issues around the pandemic and inclusiveness is sort of similar to the online in person in terms of a social outlet and loneliness and what different people prefer or making a reputation for yourself at work or in volunteering in the community

Chaim:

Jackie, can you tell me in your experience in the professional world during your work, have you had positive or negative experiences with accessibility?

Jackie:

I've had a mixture in smaller environments people can be quite flexible and willing to work with accommodations or I won't even call them accommodations, slight alterations to how they work. Whether it's social aspects and giving warning for how things are going to work. For context, I am a bit of a different situation and I am also a professional working on inclusive and accessibility issues for people with disabilities. Surprisingly, it's still an issue in those realms where companies are inclusive and accessible for the people they work for, but haven't quite reached accessibility or inclusion for their staff on higher level positions, which is a bit of an interesting shift.

Chaim:

That is interesting. Now would you say that, would you say that it's a reflection of like, the values of these companies and what they who they have to serve?

Jackie:

It's interesting I think, sometimes they get caught off guard and had better intentions then they were able to carry out in a competitive world of catching up after the pandemic. Things didn't go quite as intended, but it's definitely an ongoing issue at all levels. I've had a conversation with somebody about the progression through roles in order to be inclusive you couldn't just have a high level advertising for a person with a disability and not have any entry level advertising for a person with a disability within the same company. So it makes a discontinuum. 

Chaim

That makes a lot of sense. So what would you ask of these companies to make their kind of make the work experience more accessible besides providing like different kinds of opportunities that aren't just on the higher end of things?

Jackie:

Everybody's different, some people that would mean technology. I'm not one of them. But an issue that I've pinpointed is onboarding because it tends to be that someone could be quite self sufficient in the rest of their job but the first impression and onboarding can be really important and use support.

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Myron Steinman - Mental Health

... [many] do not have access to dignity and respect 

Would you like to tell us a little bit about your experiences?

Yes. As a boy, I had access to a father and a mother. As a young adult, medication enabled me to access the community along with supportive housing, and family benefits. I had access to formal supports where I learned to manage my disabilities and chronic health conditions I had and have access to informal supports, friends, family and nonprofit organizations. Within walking distance this telephone, car transit and the internet. I have access to a marriage partner and with children. I have access to homeownership thanks to Habitat for Humanity.

I retired from paid employment with severance pay with aspirations of accessing meaningful activities, part time paid employment to brand entrepreneurship initiative. In Ontario, many elderly and other persons do not have access to dignity and respect. Now, I have many visions. the following has to do with alternatives to the institutionalization of seniors, but really applies to all citizens. We fear and do not talk about the symptoms of dementia moving into with a disability, chronic health condition and or the powerlessness that comes to many of us in old age. My idea is not new, but I am calling for these concerns to be addressed at a neighborhood level among other things. I am inspired by the cohousing movement, watching Bollywood dramas with my wife, where intergenerational sharing of household is still common. By paid employment as a community mental health, my volunteer work with a small social development centre. Some background in the mid 1990s the Ontario Provincial Government has been funding large nonprofit housing projects. Consulting groups emerge to help citizens groups build, design and administer these homes for themselves.

Houses to use that were old townhouses or apartment towers but catering to a range of incomes from deep subsidy to shallow subsidies to market rents. Now what I am trying to put into words is a proposal for a neighborhood to work in partnership with a consulting organization to help facilitate a process so that ordinary citizens can build supportive neighborhoods for themselves. The major idea is self contained living quarters along with larger common amenity areas, supported with a supportive community. The legal ownership may be co housing, equity, cooperative, condominium, intentional community or part of an established housing provider, or just a few people sharing a house together. Older adults may live in single detached houses with large backyards. But they may not be able to attend to the upkeep of their home and afford the rising taxes or utility bills. With gentrification they may be able to sell their home for an unexpected profit and move to a small apartment, condominium or retirement home and or nursing home, and live out their years, many in isolation.

A developer can move in, tear down the houses and build modern projects that cater to individuals with a higher income. That is a stereotype. And governments can't be trusted. That is a stereotype. But there may be alternatives. Neighborhoods can be redesigned from the inside out. Neighborhood associations are growing in popularity. At least in my city, but they sometimes lack the engagement, research, advocacy, or financial resources. They may need to approach City Hall to apply for bylaw. So in exchange mortgage rules may need to change, they may need to hire a trusted contractor, real estate planner architects lawyers, social worker, outreach worker, nurse, personal support worker, certified peer-worker, volunteer coordinator, human resource director, we may need help to come together to engage with each other to discern what we valuable in our neighborhood and to build leaders. 

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Jeffrey Beckner - Poverty

...poverty is a barrier to accessibility to everything.

Would you like to tell us a little bit about your experiences?

Sure, because I have serious mobility issues and I do not have a car. I'm greatly limited by many (things), limited from many destinations, and many events. This restricts my ability to be a part of or belong to the larger community. More important than the restrictions because of my physical disabilities are the restrictions of accessibility due to my invisible disability.  I have a severe sleep disorder and chronic fatigue. So I don't have as much energy experience as most other people. This drastically limits my ability to be an active part of society.

Then because of my concurrent mental health problems, as well as my other health issues, I end up isolating alone at home for months and months on end. And so I often go weeks without even speaking to anyone on the phone. And when I do go out amongst other people, I don't have the wherewithal or the capacity to interact with others very well. As someone with the learning and developmental challenges, I even have more - I’m even more constrained, by my lack of social skills. Add to this that I am an introvert and male I must face the daunting task of making the first move to have a conversation or keep one going with anyone. So I usually don't. I am very, very emotionally sensitive and thin skinned. So taking all of this in. I am physically mentally and emotionally exhausted by most interactions. So it takes days of complete isolation to recuperate. And the downward cycle continues. I just don't fit in. I'm invisible. I'm on the outside.

Neither me or the rest of society are accessible to one another. Not only do I feel invisible, I feel like I have no value to anyone or society in general. As far as living below the poverty line, it substantially restricts my accessibility to people activities and places and life in general. I cannot afford a car, restaurants, concerts, entertainment, proper dentistry, non basic foods, decent housing etc. I cannot afford almost any of them to cost money. The same goes for proper counseling healthcare. I'd like to go to the country or go to places in the region that require a car to get there. But I can't. I can only afford a bicycle. So poverty is a barrier to accessibility to everything.