December is a joyful month for many of us, filled with families and festivities. At its best, it’s a time when friendship and companionship is uppermost in our thoughts and deeds. The end of the year is also a fine time to assess what has happened to us over the year. What have we achieved and what do we hope to accomplish in the coming year?
Two significant dates that should resonate for all CARP members are December 3, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and December 10, Human Rights Day. How appropriate is it that these two dates occur in the month when our thoughts naturally flow towards community and compassion?
https://www.un.org/en/observances/day-of-persons-with-disabilities
https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-rights-day
“Nothing About Us Without Us,” the slogan for the international global disabled community, shows the power that such people feel about themselves and their desire to achieve their goals in the near future. Disabled people want to advocate for themselves and others: it’s intrinsic in their campaigns that their abilities should be acknowledged. What disabled persons want above all is to have access to basic services—the kinds of things, which most of us take for granted, such as being able to enter buildings or easily use municipal transportation.
It is estimated that 1.3 billion people worldwide are living with a disability. That’s 16% of the population. Too many disabled individuals suffer from depression and such physical ailments as asthma, diabetes and obesity. Even those in relative good health contend with discrimination, poverty and poor educational and employment opportunities. Their human rights are being violated every day.
CARP has been working with the March of Dimes and other organizations to advocate for the use of Universal Design as an important component in Canada’s building codes. It’s a concept fully thought through by the CMHC (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation), a governmental institution intended to create the best possible housing system in this country.
https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/blog/2023/what-is-universal-design
The overall goal of universal design is to ensure that spaces do not discriminate and that they benefit people regardless of their abilities, needs and cultural preferences.
The CMHC has created a Universal Design Guide intended for MURBs (multi-unit residential buildings). It is clear, practical and useful to citizens with or without disabilities. Bathrooms, kitchens, laundry facilities and other common areas are designed to work for everyone. Vertical and horizontal circulation—elevators, stairs and pathways—are designed for all to use. This is clearly the type of thinking that works best for all. It’s something CARP endorses.
In this month when we are thinking most generously about citizens throughout the globe, isn’t it time to think about disabled people and their human rights in a complex world?
