Disability

Last Friday, August 8th, on the occasion of his birthday, Aaron Shelbourne - a disabled activist and a member of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) – and supporters went to the Everest Restaurant & Lounge on Queen St. to demand a public apology from management. This was the second time Aaron went to Everest to demand an apology (video from the first action is available here). Over the past three months a powerful on-line campaign gained momentum to boycott the restaurant until they apologize to Aaron. The “Boycott the Everest Restaurant” group on Facebook has 1300 members, and the restaurant’s discriminatory practices are denounced on myriad other websites.

NEW OCAP GROUP FIGHTS FOR THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

A new group named Independence Unlimited: Quiet Riot has joined forces with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. Formed by Anne Abbott and Aaron Shelbourne, Independence Unlimited's mission is to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. Both Anne and Aaron have Cerebral Palsy and are non-speaking.

Their first point of business is to improve Direct Funding(DF). The DF program is the only viable alternative to residential institutions and supportive housing units, and allows people with disabilities to hire and manage their own attendants. This alternative is vital to secure the basic right of self determination. It is the only way people can free themselves from the many types of abuse they endure while trapped in the under funded attendant care system, ill equipped to deal with the real needs of people.

Dowload the OCAP Accessibility Committee's "A Short Survivor Guide - Your Rights in Ontario's Psychiatric System".

From the introduction:

Many psychiatric prisoners (involuntary psychiatric patients) and survivors in the community are not aware they have a few rights in the Ontario psychiatric system. While locked up in a psychoprison (any psychiatric facility), you have very few rights (most are conditional or restricted) such as the:

• Right to wear your own clothes
• Right to refuse psychiatric treatment like "medication" and electroshock ("ECT") (You can be forcibly treated if judged "incapable")
• Right to appeal involuntary committal
• Right to appeal doctor's judgment of "incapacity"