Disability Awareness Week sees signs of progress, but ignorance and judgment remain

Disability Awareness Week has kicked off in New Brunswick with the assertion by some that ignorance and judgment remain when it comes to the disabled.

Karen Powell suffers from a number of health conditions which, at times, confine her to a scooter.

“[People assume] things like because you’re a large person you’re just lazy,” said Powell. “Because you’re such a large size person you must have had a heart attack. That’s why you’re in a device”

Judith Johnson is legally blind.

“Even if I’ve got a white cane out I could be walking down the street and there are a bunch of teenagers and they don’t move at all,” she said

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This is Disability Awareness Week in New Brunswick. It started Sunday with this pop-up flea market in Saint John at the home of Key Industries, a company providing services to the intellectually disabled.

Powell cites the need for more affordable housing, transportation and medical care for the disabled. She says some progress has been made.

“Baby steps definitely are happening,” said Powell.

“They’re just not happening fast enough and they’re not happening frequently enough.”

Even when progress is being made, it’s not always a black and white issue according to Johnson, who says her father is a structural engineer.

“They’re making new builders have one unit in every four accessible,” Johnson said. “But then you get to the point where your market is saturated with accessible units.”

The goal each year is to make some progress.

“It’s not until you’re in a chair, or going out with people who are in chairs, that you really realize how limited some of the buildings are,” said Cathy Patterson, Chair of the Saint John Disability Awareness Week.

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Even a fiscally-challenged city like Saint John believes certain fundamentals must be met. “For example, if…people with disabilities are in a safety risk, I think we need to prioritize that,” added Mayor Don Darling.

Premier Brian Gallant was in Saint John for the kickoff and said the province is about to outline a new initiative promised in its 2018 budget.

“This is something that’s going to help not only seniors, but also people living with a disability that have informal care givers that are helping them be able to access their services,” said Gallant.

Those details are expected soon.