September 19, 2012

Blind British Columbians Demand Publicly Funded and Publicly Accountable Training at Budget Consultation Hearing.

Despite continued appeals, rallies, requests and discussions, blind people in British Columbia and in the rest of the country continue to receive apathy and indifference in response to their need for proper blindness skills training and rehabilitation.

The Canadian Federation of the Blind (CFB), a grassroots advocacy organization, made up of and led by blind people, is calling for immediate action on this matter at the 2012 BC budget consultation hearing to be held tonight, September 19, at the Coast Capri Hotel in Kelowna, at 6:20 . The organization is asking government to take responsibility and provide funding for blind people to receive the training they need and deserve.

“It is atrocious that blind people are not receiving such basic public services as proper training in using the white cane, Braille, adaptive technology and other independent living skills,” says Mary Ellen Gabias, CFB President.

No publicly accountable funding exists for blindness rehabilitation in this province. Persons with mental and physical disabilities receive funding in the public system for rehabilitation, but this public funding does not exist for persons who are blind.

The unemployment rate of blind people is near 80 percent. Approximately 13,000 legally blind people live in BC; among these, approximately 3,000 to 4,000 are working-age.

“The public does not realize blind citizens are not receiving the services they need and deserve. Government takes no responsibility for the situation and chooses to leave the lives and futures of blind citizens in the hands of charity,” says Gabias.

For further information, please contact:
In Kelowna, (250) 491-7226
In Victoria: (250) 598-7154