HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-08-13, Page 18L
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SECTION
Employment SProgram
disabilities li It - � � PQSiSCRIPT
1, i
By Susan Hundertmark
BY PAUL HARTMAN
For most of us the week -to -week routine
of going to work and returning to our own
homes at nicht. is lust that — root'!..
But for Goderich residents Dave Tebow
and Violet Keller and others with learning
disabilities, the implementation of such a
routine is an accomplishment, a genuine
source of pride and happiness.
"I've never been as happy in my life as I
am now," Dave says of his new-found in-
dependence. And Violet echoes his
sentiments.
Both are former employees at Suncoast
Enterprises in Goderich, a workshop for
the learning disabled. They are now the
proud owners of full-time jobs, thanks in
part to the Employment Support Program
set up by the Goderich and District
Association for the Mentally Retarded
GDAMR ).
The program, explains Helen Watson of
the GDAMR, is designed to find, in con-
junction with the local Canada Employ-
ment Centre, jobs for people like Dave and
Violet. Provincially funded, it's been in
operation for just over a year.
"So far, there are 26 people working full
or part time in the community under the
program," says Watson. "But we still
have about 40 employed at Suncoast."
"Some that are still there would like jobs
in the community. But others are,
understandably, a bit frightened at the
prospect. It does mean a big change in
life."
For Dave, now employed at Business Air
Services Ltd., a plane refinishing and
charter firm located at Sky Harbour Air-
port, the experience of starting a job in the
community after being employed at Sun -
coast was a bit disconcerting.
"I was nervous, a bit tense, when I
' started but there," admits the 29 -year-old,
"but once I got into the routine, I was
okay." $Ie's been working with the com-
pany to a year. •
Violet had it somewhat easier, starting
out as a volunteer at the Lady Diana
Nursery in Vanastra, and then moving into
a full-time position in mid-February.
Both are enthusiastic about their
employment after getting over some in-
itial concern.
Violet's eyes brighten when asked about
her work. "I love it, I love the, children,
and I hope to be staying there for a long
time," she says of the nursery which cares
for children with disablities.
Dave expresses similar feelings. "I real-
ly ly enjoy my work and the money's better
too," he remarks, referring to the .below -
minimum wage that he received at
Suncoast.
Dave is la janitor .at Business Air. He
David Tebow sets some aircraft parts on shelves prior to repainting
at Business Air Services Limited. Dave, formerly employed at Sun -
coast Enterprises, got his job at Business Air through the Employ-
ment Support Program. The program is designed to provide
dmployment in the community for persons with learning ,
isabilities and it has already placed 26 people. It is run by the
4 oderich and District Association for the Mentally Retarded and is
ggrovincially funded. (Photo by Patti Hartman)
dicativ� of
ame change :is in
change in direction` for association
BY PAUL HARTMAN
When the Goderich District Association
for the Mentally Retarded (GDAMR) held
its annual meeting in June, one of the top
priorities of the group was to . change its
name.
In a unanimous decision, the GDAMR,
following the lead of other groups in
Canada, passed a motion frau, the board of
directors to change the name of the
Goderich association to "Community.Liv-
ing —Central Huron."
"It's s corniiti «more attd more apparent
that eople late d wit °the tel tyi 'Mental-
ly retarded' don't like it," explains a en:;
Wats Oh of the s a
discriminatorylabe that carries allkinds
of ne alive connotations."
"Commune Levin en raHuron on
the other hand hi mates more of.a sense of
direction. It's a more positive term:' that
disabilities are "participating-" in the away from a person's individuality. '
community." "For those people that do need support;
"They're working in the community and we can hire support workers on contract.
they're living in the community. And' Otherwise, we're trying to get people out
that's, the way it should be. Just because into the connmunity."
you have a disability. doesn't mean' you Watson 'says GDAMR is also trying'to
can't be a contributing member of socie- eliminate terms such as "handicapped"
ty." Watson points to Violet Keller and and `f mentally retarded" from everyday
Dave Tebow for examples (refer to main speech and written, p__ "We're
1 c.7cll1,dL11/11D. n'c i G
story). \ - truing "to -get everyone into the habit of
talkin • i about people that .they know, not
The GDAMR awarits:appcoval from the about !imps of people."
r p p p
Ministry of Game chi and; Corporate an- Era icati.ng.<soine• of the terminology
"fairs for the name change lain Watson'an khat has beettw<attached .to:..persons.:.with>
',ticipates+litifi probleit ��
i.. disabilities will be a major step,in getting
p rid Anne of the'zliscr-imination that they
works from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., five days a 1 k t " 1 H 1 The name change is also indicative of a rid off tolerate, 'Watson says.
weekgetting a ride to and from work with h GDAMR "I t' change in for the GDAMR: An at q
"They fact that we had an institution for
a friend who's employed there. He sweeps 1 h t kid tempt is being made to: phase out special the disabled up the<road has helped pro
floors, organizes shelves, removes the g services. longsomestereotypes," Watson observes,
masking from. planes that have been g C t l "We've found that people don't reallyyp
painted, and generally provides help when need them," notes Watson. Fitting people People have to realize that'd disability
p ust affectsyour ability to learn. It does.
any of his co-workers ask for it. h t into programs, she. explains,' is un i y
"All the guys have been very good to me. reflects the fact that people with necessary., and that process also takes . .not affect your whole life."
It's become like a second home for me out •
th
ore than satisfied with
Dave i doing," says Keith Ro
ma ager of Business Air.
to o whatever ask
ery enthusiastic about
eree' eO le
Dave's a ployers are happy as well. � G
We're ' 'th the
ndeau,
work able
"He's •h. s _. - with disabilities
general
ed hilt
been able rights O � O �
doing........... ...._ ...
<<P
Livingunder
apartheid
first" will protect the
to and been
it.".
Business Asir is so happy with Dave' that
they've hired Russel MacDonald from
Suncoast Enterprises to train under Dave
as his assistant.
Dave is glad to be employed in a full-
time job in the community but he doesn't
begrudge his time at Suncoast Enter-
prises.
"I needed that time to think about my
life," Dave reflects of the two years he.
spent at the workshop after he left home.
"It was like a family for me."
"But when I left, it was a whole new ball
game. I had to start thinking ahead to what
I was going to do rather than thinking
about my past;"
Violet's job at the nursery in Vanastra
runs from 8 a.M. to noon, five days a week
She works ', closely with disabled
children, organizing their daily routine,
helping them with crafts and the like. She
too is happy with the response and en--
couragement she's received from co-
workers.
And the feeling is mutual. Cheryl Nuhn,
director of the Lady Diana Nursery and
the Tuckersmith Day Care Centre, is very
happy with the job Violet has been doing.
"Every assignment that has been given
to her has beenompleted satisfactorily,
Nuhn remarks.' "And the staff and the
children have re Ily accepted her well.'-'
Violet is in th process of learning sigd
language so th t she can better com-
municate with he children. She's also
been taking som night school courses .at
the Goderich h gh school in reading,
writing and mat .
The higher wagsS that each receive have
done much to change the way they live.
Perhaps most importantly, they are each
living on their own in the community,
something that they were unable to do
before they left Suncoast due to financial
constraints.
Again this is part of the GDAMR's focus
on integrating those with disablities into
the community on both the employment
and social fronts. Integration is also one of
the areas of con',centration of "People
First" a' self-advo�eacy group that Violet
and others are trying to establish in Huron
County (see sidebar).
What's the result of the Employment
4 Support Program and theafurther integra-
tion suggested by ',People First" and the
GDAMR? Wgitsonums it up well.
"Before, people had no control over their
lives; They were doing the same things
over and over. They didn't' have a future.
Now they do."
BY PAUL HARTMAN
You may not have heard of an organiza-
tion known as "People First'''but chances
are you'll be hearing about it in the near
future.
"People First" is a self -advocacy group
participated in by, and designed to help,
those that have been labelled, and thus
discriminated against, by society. It is a
Canada -wide organization, with chapters
in many centres, working on behalf of in-
dividuals with learning disabilities.
Violet Keller, a Goderich resident, is one
of the driving forces behind the move to
establish a "People First" group in Huron
County.
Though we often take our freedoms for
granted, most Canadians have a lot of
them. In Goderich, we live here because
we choose to. We're usually among our
family and friends and many of us work
productively at jobs which provide us.
with an adequate, if not comfortable,
standard of living.
Usually, we live in peace and harmony
with our neighbors. If not, we enjoy a
political system which allows us to vote
for change and a justice system which
acknowledges our ability to fight for our
rights and freedoms. ,
In most cases in our community,
choice is the operative word. But, whati .. ;
the rules were different?
Imagine a society where 70 per cent of
the population is denied what we take for
granted as our rights and freedoms. Im-
agine if the majority of people can no
longer vote. And, imagine a situation
when most,of us are denied even the most
basic choice of living together with our
families in the location of our choice.
Consider instead, a system which re-
quires the majority of people to carry a
permit. regulating where they live and
work. These permits are difficult to ob-
tain especially for women whose labor is
not in great demand by the ruling
minority.
The permits must be renewed,
sometimes as often as once a week, with
a day -long hassle with bureaucrats and
their red tape ( when, of course, a day of
work must be missed.)
But, the hassle must be endured.
Police raid the community regularly
checking permits. Without a permit, im-
prisonment is 'likely and banishment
from your community to a reserve full of
other permit -less people is almost
inevitable.
On the reserve, employment oppor-
tunities are almost nil and you must rely
on. family members with permits to'sup-
port you and your children. The reserve
is eroded and barren land that is over-
crowded with women and children who
have been separated by law from their
husbands and fathers who must continue
to work for the minority-owned in-
dustries to suppdrt their families.
And, even if you're fortunate enough to
obtain a permit and therefore, find
employment, the wages are so low 'that
you must live in a shack made of 'cor-
rugated iron and cardboard and your
{ children must often do without formal
education.
° Violent strikes erupt in which scabs
are beaten and killed by strikers and
strikers are beaten and killed by police.
When the minority -run government
demands an end to the strike, police con-
duct door-to-door searches for workers
whom they drag out of their homes to
work.
And, When you've had enough and
decide to revolt against this repressive,
.system,. your.,neighborhood becomes a
war zone where homes are destroyed by
fire bombs and friends and family are
murdered in the streets. Police imprison
and brutalize anyone they suspect of
speaking out against the system or, if the
!. known subversives are in hiding, their
family members are arrested.
This scenario is not taken from the
Twilight Zone. It is not borrowed from a
speech from U.S. President Reagan on
the horrors of communism. And, it is not
an Orwellian nightmare prophesy of a
future society.
It is reality for the blacks of South
Africa who live under the racist system
of apartheid. It describes the past. 40
years of existance of black South
Africans as outlined in the book "Poppie
Nongena," based on the life of a black
woman living in South Africa today.
"Poppie Nongena" is a revealing and
important book- because it introduces us
to the real people who suffer under apar-
theid. It provides the families, the
culture, the frustrations and the dreams
of the blacks struggling and often dying
under its discriminatory system. And, it
helps us understand how, placed under
the same repressive regime,- we too
would be moved to rebel. '
The book also helps us feel the heat of
passionate outrage radiating from, the
fiery speeches of Bishop Desmond Tutu
when he urges the rest of the world to
help fight against apartheid.
It's a book that should be required
reading for world leaders especially U.S.
President Reagan„ and British " Prime
Minister Thatcher, who should read it
again if they've already skimmed
through it once.
Because, after reading the book along
with daily news reports from South
Africa, it's hard to understand how
anyone who believes in human rights and
freedoms, could not respond by doing
everything in his or her power to end
such a system.
That's why I applaud Canada and the
other Commonwealth nations who are
leading the way, in international sanc-
tions against South Africa.
And, I heap scorn on Britain and the
United States who refuse to impose sanc-
tions despite the fact that British and
Americans war veterans sacrificed
much to fight a similar system of hatred,
discrimination and oppression in the Se-
cond World War..
Apartheid must- end. And, I hope
Canada continues to do what it can to
that end.
"After talking to Beth French, the
organizer of People First in Toronto, we
decided that we wanted to start a group
here," she says.
"People First" in Huron County is still in
its infancy stage. The group is looking for
someone in the community to help
organize and plan for the future.
The organization, once established, will
have several functions, • the most impor-
tant of which is to serve as a watchdog to
ensure thatpersons with disabilities are.
not. being discriminated against. It will
also aid these same people in getting a job
in the community and help them find a
place to live.
The group will also concentrate on pro-
, curing funds for government programs for
the disabled and educate society to the
position of the disabled.
The basic thrust is similar to the one
GDAMR has been concentrating on,
recently -- t� integrate those with
disabilities into society. In this case
however the integration is- being ac-
complished by those with disabilities.
Dave Tebow of Goderich who worked at
Suncoast Industries for two years and now
has a job at Business Air Services Ltd.,
sees integration as positive and necessary.
"It's something that they (people still at
Suncoast) have to do. They've got to learn
what society is like today and the only way
they ckn do that is to get out and work in
the world."
On the other hand, Dave explains, in-
tegration will help society understand him
and others like him. And both Dave and
Violet express a hope that others will at-
tempt to look at the world from their
perspective and try to understand their
positron.
"People have got to put themselves' in
my shoes and see what it's like," urges
Violet.
Both also sense, that people's attitudes
are changing for the better towards those
Violet Keller helps a child enjoy a ride down the slide at the Lady Diana .Nursery where with disabilities —a situation which can on -
she's employed under the Employment Support Program. Violet is also a driving force for ly improve as "People First" gains a
self -advocacy rr....s�,:M+. those With foothold
_ t.. td in Huron County.the establishment in Ht�irou County of "People P"
learning disabilities.(Pboto by Paul Har roan)
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