MOOSE JAW — Being accessible and inclusive in the workplace is important because those qualities help grow the economy and ensure people with disabilities can contribute to society, an advocate says.
May 25 to 31 was National AccessAbility Week and the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW) hosted a come-and-go celebration on May 28 at its office in the Town ‘n’ Country Mall.
Ann Quan, an employment coach, explained that it’s important to welcome people with disabilities — whether visible or invisible — since they can “be the best part of themselves” and use all their abilities. Moreover, including such people reduces barriers and allows everyone to participate in the community.
“We want to make more awareness to our community that it’s important to embrace the accessibility and inclusion in our community,” she stated. “I think we’ve done a really good job, but I think we have a long ways to go … especially in the workplace, that employers embrace it and become disability confident.”
The CCRW promotes the ideas of accessibility and inclusiveness when helping people acquire work since it’s important to find them employment and further eliminate stigma, she continued.
Many employers automatically think someone is in a wheelchair when they hear the word “disability” and tell the CCRW that their business isn’t suitable for such a device, but the employment coach noted that disabilities can be visible or invisible and could include physical, psychological, addiction, or medical.
Businesses can enhance their inclusiveness by putting new policies in place — or reviewing current ones — that welcome and embrace people with disabilities and determine where they can improve to remove stigma from the workplace, Quan said.
Furthermore, employers should not automatically think that it will be expensive when they learn they may need to accommodate people, she continued. Such accommodation could mean people need breaks at certain times, they need to come in an hour later when it’s quieter or they require noise-reducing headphones.
“And those are all the things that we, as (a) program, help support and work with employers, so it doesn’t cost them anything,” Quan added. “So we supply all those accommodations to them.”
The Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work’s annual goal is to support 65 people in Moose Jaw, but it usually ends up helping roughly 100 people, while it also works with 100 to 200 employers, the employment coach said. Some businesses ask CCRW to review their disability or inclusiveness policies, or whether they should move toward being accessible and welcoming.
“So we help them in the long-range, as well as providing wage subsidies to ensure that the employee has three months that the employer can get them trained and know that they’re a good fit, and that it’s not all just on the employer,” she continued.
Quan added that many people are still unfamiliar with the CCRW even though it has been in the Town ‘n’ Country Mall for two years and in Moose Jaw for nine years, while it wants people to know more about it and use its services so doesn’t remain “a hidden secret anymore.”
The Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work’s website is ccrw.org and its Moose Jaw number is 306-693-1760.
