Blind people will gather in BC’s capital on Feb 15 at noon to raise awareness about the urgent need for publicly-funded intensive training in blindness skills such as cane travel, Braille and adaptive technology.

Rally Information

Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2011, 12pm – 1pm
Location: Victoria Parliament Buildings, Belleville Street

With proper training, blind people can compete on terms of equality with their sighted peers. But unfortunately the opportunity to learn and master essential blindness skills is not le to most blind Canadians. The true cost of this neglect has fallen on the backs of blind people, who too often live lives of poverty and isolation.

Blindness skills training in Canada is wholly inadequate, and can only be accessed through charity. The charity-based model of rehabilitation has failed blind citizens of our country, where only two out of 10 blind people of working age are employed. Public funding must be allocated to ensure this basic human right.

“The public does not realize that 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 Elizabeth Lalonde, president of the Canadian Federation of the Blind, a grassroots advocacy organization made up of and led by blind people.

“I have gaping holes in my life skills, and nowhere to go to really learn the skills I need to be independent,” says Miriam Youssefi, a blind Victoria woman in her early forties. “Others have suggested I move to a group home or get home support, but I would rather dig my grave than do that. I want to learn the skills so I can help myself.”

“I am 31 and have academic credentials, but I don’t have the confidence or the support I need to actually get a job and be self-sufficient,” says Erin Lacharity, another blind woman in Victoria.

“I lost my sight in an accident a few years ago. When I went blind, I was only given minimalassistance with the cane and one cooking lesson, and that’s it. Because I have had no intensive training, it has really affected my quality of life personally and professionally,” says Shane Baker, a Victoria resident in his early thirties.

The rally will be the first time blind and visually impaired people will come together en masse to talk about the situation and to advocate for positive change.

“The rally is a proactive move forward, a positive step taken by blind people to change their lives, and is the first of many actions we will take to improve the lives of blind Canadians,” says Lalonde.

Summary

Publicly funded, intensive training centres for blind Canadians will enable blind people to be selfsupporting and to contribute to the economy. Blind Canadians need to have the choice of where this
rehabilitation comes from in order to be successful.

Background:

– Blind adults in Canada have limited or no opportunity to learn Braille, cane travel and other essential blindness skills
– Only two out of every 10 blind Canadians of working age, are employed.
– The average yearly income of blind people in Canada is $12,000, far below the poverty line.
– Only 10% of blind children are taught Braille in public school
– There are no blindness immersion programs in Canada.
– The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, was adopted by our country in 2009, but blind Canadians have been excluded from the right to publicly funded and accountable rehabilitation.

Solution:
– Blind people who receive immersion training in blindness skills, and positive mentoring from blind role models, are more likely to be self-supporting
– Skills and mentoring training for blind adults takes only six to nine months in a blindness immersion setting.
– 80% of employed blind people are literate in Braille
– The United States has three blindness immersion centers operated by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) that accept international students

Source: The Canadian Federation of the Blind and the National Federation of the Blind

Please contact the Canadian Federation of the Blind at 250-598-7154 or info@cfb.ca.