Tag: disability alliance bc

Feb. 2017 Events – (Online, Burnaby, Surrey, Vancouver, Victoria)

Events, The broader context

Bookmark this post! It will be updated as more events are announced. You can also get frequent updates via our Twitter. Have a suggestion? Email us.

Wednesday, February 1 (11:30-12:30pm) Online Webinar: Live Demo of the Personal Planning Registry. Register Online.

Wednesday, February 8 (11:30-12:30pm) Online Webinar: Planning for Health and Personal Care. Register Online.

Wednesday, February 22 (11:30-12:30pm) Online Webinar: Planning for Financial and Legal Matters. Register Online.

  • February 3-16 (Various Times): BCCLA has several events going on this month:logo_bccla

February 3-5 (Various Times) In the wake of tragedy: acting together against Islamophobia includes Vancouver and Victoria in a list of more than 30 communities taking part in vigils to mourn the loss of life that resulted from this act of terrorism.

Wednesday, February 8 (5:00-7:00pm) 2228 Oak Bay Ave, Victoria: Victoria meet-up at the Penny Farthing – Come meet Micheal and Paul, discuss current civil liberties and human rights issues, and find out if you might like to get more involved! RSVP so we know how many snacks to order.

Thursday, February 16 (7:00-8:30pm) Alice McKay Room, Lower Level, Vancouver Public Library – 350 W Georgia St, Vancouver: Panel – Protecting the Right to Protest: Free Speech versus Corporate Power – The aim of this roundtable discussion is to explore how we can mobilize the media to, among other issues, educate the public for the need to reform the courts to regain citizen rights to free speech and the right to dissent.

Pro Bono lawyers provide a 30-minute free legal consultation on issues related to TFWs on Immigration, Employment, Human Rights & Privacy, Admin-General and Civil Procedure. This service is for low-income migrant workers including: Low-Skilled Workers, Persons under the Live-in Caregiver Program, Agricultural Workers, etc. All clients should book an appointment at least a week before the target Clinic date. Book an appointment with the organizer.

  • February 6-16 (Various Dates): People’s Law School 1004presents the following events in Burnaby and Vancouver:

Monday, February 6 (7:00-8:30pm) Burnaby Public Library – 6100 Willingdon Avenue: Family Law – Child Access and Custody – Contact 604-436-5400 to register.

Tuesday, February 7 (12:00-1:00pm) 900 Howe Street, Vancouver: Currency Fraud – Register Online.

Wednesday, February 8 (7:00-8:30pm) Burnaby Public Library – 7311 Kingsway: Powers of Attorney, Joint Bank Accounts and Representation Agreements – Contact 604-683-4574 to register.

  • Wednesday, February 8 (6:30-8:30pm): Disability Alliance BC dabc_logopromotes a free online webinar from lawyer Ken Kramer, Q.C. on Disability & Estate Planning – Topics: Preparing a Will, Trust planning for persons with disability, Disability and Estate planning
  • February 14-17 (Various Dates): Mediate BC presents the following events in Vancouver:

Tuesday, February 14 (12:00-1:00pm) #150, 900 Howe Street, Vancouver: Games and Other Tools for Intergenerational Conflict Prevention – Register Online. (Part of Mediate BC’s Learn@Lunch Series with People’s Law School)

Wednesday, February 15 (1:30-3:00pm) Barclay Manor, 1447 Barclay Street, Vancouver: Elder Mediation: Maintain Your Voice and Your Choice – Contact 604-669-5051 to register.

Thursday, February 16 (9:30-11:00am) 900 Howe Street, Vancouver: Top 10 Things To Know About Family Mediation – Register Online. (Part of Mediate BC’s Learn@Lunch Series with People’s Law School)

Friday, February 17 (1:00-3:00pm) South Granville Seniors Centre, 1420 West 12th Ave, Vancouver: Collaborative Gaming for Seniors and Families – Drop-in.

  • Wednesday, February 15 (11:30-2:30pm): Pivot Legal Society redzonesforumpresents A Forum on Red Zones: Bail and Sentencing Conditions & Marginalized People in Vancouver at the Japanese Language School Auditorium, 487 Alexander Street, Vancouver in the DTES.

Speakers will present and comment on findings from a study conducted in Vancouver on area restrictions and other conditions and lead a discussion with participants. Free lunch will be served.

The BC Society Act, which provides the rules for governance and incorporation of non-profits, officially proclaimed important changes on November 28, 2016. There will be a two year transition period by which time all societies in BC will have to make the switch to the new Act. This workshop will provide the information on the bylaw and policy changes necessary for your organization to effectively make the transition when the new Act is proclaimed.

Register Online. Tickets are $50.

  • Monday, February 20 (6:00-8:00pm): National Self-Represented-Litigants Support Network meets in Vancouver. The group offers free support for individuals going through the difficult experience of representing themselves in family or civil court. Held at the Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre at 2772 East Broadway, Vancouver. Free Parking available. RSVP to NSSN.vancouver@gmail.com.

Stay informed:

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Organization of the Month | November 2016

The broader context

Meet Lillian

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“I am constantly amazed at people’s resilience”

Lillian Wong is an advocate with Disability Alliance BC (DABC) and has been with the organization for 15 years. I had the chance to have a short Q&A with her about her experiences.

How did you come to work for DABC? What made you stay? I was volunteering here when I was completing my Masters of Social Work at UBC – I was the phone receptionist with the Advocacy program. What made me stay on was the organization’s passion for working with the marginalized disability community. DABC is a great organization – it’s teamwork. There’s no ego. There’s no patronizing. Everyone is equal – everyday, everyone looks out for each other’s back and helps each other. It’s cohesive.

Does your organization serve your immediate community (Vancouver) or all of BC? We serve all of BC—my colleagues do workshops everywhere.

Can you briefly explain your work? I help people with disabilities, with income assistance, and provincial disability benefits. Disability applications – or housing applications, RSDPs. Most of them come to our office, and at times I will meet them elsewhere. My specific clientele is homeless and they are financially disadvantaged. The most marginalized in society. We’re non-profit, so it catches people who are falling through the cracks. We take them through the whole process: from the beginning and until they get the results. If we get denials, I’ll refer them to my colleagues who do appeals.

What has surprised you the most about working with DABC? I am constantly amazed at people’s resilience with what they have to cope with, financially and medically.

What do you worry about, and why? I worry that clients will fall through the cracks – the shelter, food, safety, what will happen when they get older with a disability. Aging with a disability, and what will happen to them.

What do you think keeps your clients going? Hope – that there’s something better. I am most excited about the RDSP – and the hope [it gives] to press on. With PWD benefits they are allowed to earn some money and not get penalized. Then they can save up for a future with the RDSP.

What’s new with Disability Alliance BC (DABC)?e150_partner_logos

DABC is launching a new BC-wide program to help people access the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP).

The RDSP is a long-term savings plan designed to help Canadians with disabilities at all income levels save for their futures.

DABC plans to help eligible people to apply for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC)—which you need for the RDSP—and connect them to Plan Institute’s RDSP Helpline and Guide or BCANDS, for further help to open an RDSP.

DABC will travel to communities across BC to increase awareness about the program, through workshops and one-on-one clinics.

To learn more and to request a workshop, call Linda at DABC: 604-872-1278; 1-800-663-1278 or email rdsp@disabilityalliancebc.org

About DABC

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Since 1977, Disability Alliance BC has been a provincial, cross-disability voice in British Columbia.

DABC (formerly known as the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities) was formed in 1977 and has been a provincial, cross-disability voice in British Columbia since then. To fulfill their mission, they:

  • Provide one-to-one assistance for people with all disabilities;
  • Produce and provide publications free of charge;
  • Design and implement programs and special projects; and
  • Work closely with community partners to promote positive change for people with disabilities.

Their programs include:

Advocacy Access Program: Help clients to access provincial and federal disability benefits, health supplements, and other programs such as subsidized housing.  Many clients are homeless or insecurely housed.

Tax AID DABC: Help people receiving provincially funded Persons with Disability (PWD) or Person with Persistent Multiple Barriers (PPMB) to file their income taxes.  This service is open all year, and their specialty is helping people file multiple years of taxes.

BC Personal Supports Network: A network of organizations that helps people with disabilities obtain assistive devices.

CARMA: Peer support that promotes a enhanced quality of life and self-determination for George Pearson Centre residents.

Publications: Produce a range of materials including self-help publications, an e-newsletter, advocates manuals, health guides and their flagship magazine, Transition.

Outreach: Facilitate free on-site legal clinics on disability benefits through community partnerships and also provide information and capacity building workshops.

DABC is led by Executive Director Jane Dyson, who has been with the organization since 1998,  first as an advocate and for the past 8 years as its Executive Director.  In 2015, Jane was awarded the Order of British Columbia for her work in the community.

Stay informed with DABC:

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