Community Living BC has released its 2023-2026 Accessibility Plan. It sets out important goals with 30 steps that will be completed over three years. CLBC is also launching a public feedback mechanism to help it continue to improve.
“Accessibility is more than a plan,” says CLBC CEO Ross Chilton, “It is a mindset that is fundamental to our vision for communities of belonging and lives with connection.”
CLBC’s Five Areas of Action were developed after listening to how individuals with developmental disabilities experience barriers:
Relationships make all the difference: People want consistent relationships with staff who know them and understand their accessibility needs.
Clear, timely communication is key: CLBC policies and processes are complex, and predictability makes all the difference in reducing barriers.
Information needs to be shared in many ways: More information in plain language with visual aids is helpful in reducing barriers. Having information available in multiple languages and formats, including ASL and braille, helps address some accessibility barriers.
Welcoming physical spaces: People want to feel that they belong in the physical spaces they enter.
Accessible employment is necessary: Inclusivity has to be embedded into the workplace culture and structures.
CLBC conducted research and listened to barriers people were experiencing in getting help from CLBC staff, getting to and around CLBC offices, getting information from CLBC, working at CLBC, and how they felt they were treated by CLBC staff. In the process of making the plan, CLBC:
gathered information from experts
hosted five virtual workshops
engaged in conversations with community partners
received over 400 responses to an online survey
Along with the plan, CLBC is launching a new way people can provide feedback on accessibility on our website here. To make the process of providing feedback accessible, people, families, and staff can give CLBC feedback in five ways. Feedback about our accessibility planning process and any access barriers experienced at CLBC can be given by phone, email, online, in person, and by mail.
More information:
Community Living BC’s Accessibility Plan
Community Living BC’s Accessibility Plan – Plain Language Summary
Community Living BC’s Accessibility Plan – Plain Language Summary, Plain Text
Community Living BC’s Accessibility Plan – Plain Language Summary Video
Learn more about Accessibility at CLBC here