Report recommends 12 ways Sask. can improve lives of disabled people

REGINA – A new report recommends 12 ways the Saskatchewan government can help improve the lives of disabled people in the province. They include making buildings more accessible for people with disabilities.

There is also a call to make disability programs more accountable to the people they support.

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The report by the Citizen Consultation Team says more should be done to protect the disabled from violence, neglect and abuse.

The team also recommends the government should help remove barriers that people face who want to go to post-secondary school or take job training programs.

Andrea Lavallee was part of the committee that developed the strategy’s 12 recommendations.

Her son is in a wheelchair and she hopes the initiative transforms the current system so kids like him can grow up in a more inclusive province.

“We are not trying to fit individuals into what the government has set up and checking certain boxes. It means the government looks at every individual and their family, and lets them determine what their needs are,” she adds.

These recommendations are part of a strategy the government will oversee the next 10 years.

“Some of them {recommendations} are government initiatives that we can take a look at, others are community, society and community based organizations,” said the Minister of Social Services Donna Harpaeur. “It is everyone’s responsibility.”

The strategy is being applauded by local agencies for fully encompassing all issues facing people living with disabilities in Saskatchewan.

“It covered our entire province, it doesn’t just focus on the big urban centers where there are a lot of things.  It spoke about transportation and things in smaller communities where people don’t really have a lot of access or supports,” said Nikki Langdon with the Neil Squire Society.