coming together ...to create change Winter 2009 inside Reflections on 2009 National Action Committee on Family Message from the Leadership and Grassroots Engagement President of NBACL 2 Nancy Armstrong . s 2009 draws to a close we can look All of these changes, both internal and Aback, with pride, on the changes that external, were years in the making, Building a Social have been created this year. sometimes even decades. They happened Movement for Inclusion 3 because of the hard work and persistence Michael Bach . In the spring we all celebrated as Ontario of many people, people who despite closed the last of their large institutions. obstacles and setbacks, always kept the A Parent’s Perspective on This brought to an end the era of vision of what we are trying to achieve Poverty and Intellectual segregating and isolating people behind foremost in their minds and who refused to Disability 4 closed doors. Communities in Ontario give up. People like us — families! Leila Rahem. t.u.ll.a . were instead opening up and welcoming all individuals. Celebrate 2009 — reflect on and Maritime Family Kitchen appreciate how far we have come this year. Party – a true success! 5 On December 3rd, International Day of Then, as we embark on 2010, we must . Persons with Disabilities, the Government make sure our vision remains clear and Around the Country 6 of Canada announced its intention to strong and begin again to address the work . Saskatchewan proceed with ratification of the UN that remains to be done. Yellowknife Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Just one week later, on Ontario might be institution free but other Upcoming Events 7 International Human Rights Day, the House provinces are not. The UN Convention will . of Commons unanimously voted to support be ratified but will it be implemented in a Ten Objectives For ratification. It is expected that this well planned and timely manner? Will the Next Ten Years back ratification will happen early in 2010. Government act on its promise to address . page the unacceptable poverty level of persons That same week two influential reports with intellectual disabilities? were released, suggesting that there will be movement by the Government of There is much work left to be done to Canada in addressing the issue of poverty create communities, a country and a world for people with disabilities. that accepts and values all individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families. There have been ongoing and positive changes within our federation, including We must continue to come together in approval (at the AGM in October) of greater and greater numbers and make our individual membership in CACL for the first voices heard. This year has proven that time in our history. change is indeed possible! We must not lose the momentum! Members of the National Message from the Action Committee on Family Leadership and President of NBACL Grassroots Engagement Nancy Armstrong – Co-chair, NB Laurie Larson – Co-chair, CACL Nancy Armstrong Julie Smith – PEI President NBACL Shauna Henry – NWT Mimi Kennedy – NWT Kevin McTavish – SK Dawn Gates – MB ust over a year ago when I was so, however humbling, we Rose Flaig – MB asked to take on the role of New approached families, local Beth French – ON JBrunswick’s Family Leader as associations, and community Tara Brinston – Secretariat, NB part of the National Network of partners and asked those tough Family Leaders, I jumped at the questions: What are we doing chance to meet families from right? What can we do better? across the country and share our journeys as parents of children This process now permeates all The Council of with intellectual disabilities. The aspects of our work. Supporting tapestries of our lives, experiences families, family networks, and the Federation and environments have similarities family leadership is integrated into and differences but we are every aspect of our Strategic Plan. The Council of the Federation is inextricably woven together in our We hired our first Family Support the forum for bringing the broad absolute determination to create Coordinator, and aim to have one in Community Living Federation more caring, inclusive each of our seven geographic together to work collaboratively communities. regions. It will take many more on advancing the full inclusion small steps, but I am excited as of people with intellectual More recently, I have been asked to families take up again their disabilities and their families. co-chair the National Action position as the driving force of the Committee on Family Leadership organization. It is comprised of CACL and each and Grassroots Engagement. Over of the 13 Provincial/Territorial the summer months, this group has The National Action Committee on Associations for Community developed a work plan that will Family Leadership and Grassroots Living. Through National Action hopefully keep us constantly Engagement is timely for New Committees, members of the renewing ourselves and our family Brunswick, but I am certain it is Council come together to share leadership from coast to coast. timely for all of us across the and exchange knowledge, to Engaging families is an issue we as Federation. I am encouraged by the link existing efforts and to a Federation struggle with, whether national focus on family leadership. identify ways of working we are urban or rural, large or small together to achieve our shared organizations. Now it is my pleasure as a very new 10 point agenda. President of NBACL to get to work At home in New Brunswick, NBACL even more closely with those high began the formal process of a achieving, won’t take no for an Grassroots Engagement Initiative answer, will settle for nothing less over two years ago. In order to than full equality NBACL volunteers better engage families and allies, and staffers who have set the social we first needed to know how we policy bar so high in this province were doing as an organization. And because nothing else will do. 2 Coming Together • Winter 2009 Building a Social Movement for Inclusion Michael Bach of organizing that that is still newspapers, radio and TV. But the Executive Vice-President of CACL largely rooted in the service reality is we do not yet have the thinking and mission of the 1950s power we need to achieve the and 60s. We are a federation of vision and mission we have set for over 400 local along with ourselves. hen the National Action provincial/territorial ACLs. At the Committee on Family local level, we have a variety of A social movement is a means to WLeadership and Grassroots associations – sometimes small or mobilize this kind of power. It is Engagement, and the National large ACLs – focused primarily on based on the idea that if we work Network of Family Leaders delivering an array of supports and collectively, rather than leave appointed by Provincial/Territorial services. In some communities, we people isolated and alone in their Associations for Community Living are remarkably vibrant local lives, we can tap energy and (PT ACLs) met at our national associations which, along with the mobilize commitment to bring conference in Moncton in October, support of PT ACLs, are showing about transformational and we considered what I think is a how communities can be systemic change. If we now want burning question for us all as we transformed. In other communities that kind of change, we need to approach 2010: How do we our locals are struggling to survive, organize as a social movement. become more effective in pursuing or have closed their doors, and in and achieving our 10-year Agenda? many more ACLs are simply So how do social movements In this article, I share some of my nonexistent. mobilize power to change hearts, reflections on our discussion. minds, communities, public We are realizing that to be more policies? Networks are the new Why isn’t our federation effective effective we need to become much political actors with the power to enough yet to successfully pursue more of a social movement than shape political agendas and bring and achieve our 10-year Agenda? I only a federation of organizations – about change. Global financiers think the primary reason is that our a social movement of family and and media leaders recognize that aim is now different than it was in allied leaders, a grassroots today power – for better or worse – the 1950s and 1960s. Then it was movement engaging self-advocates, is mobilized through networks, and primarily to build a service system families and community members so do effective social change to support children and adults with linked through networks of people movements. intellectual disabilities – and ACL and organizations and in common leadership was extremely cause. What kind of networked social successful in securing resources to movement do we need to pursue do so. However, by the time we got Why organize as a social and achieve our Agenda? One that into the mid 1970s and in particular movement? Because we want makes collective action possible at into the late 1980s and 1990s our power and influence, not as an end all those places where we know vision began to expand as the in itself but to bring about change. change is needed – in the minds human rights revolution began to We want power to change minds and values of Canadians, in hopes take hold in our associations and and change communities. We want and expectations and energy of movement. power to change how teachers families; in schools, workplaces, think and how schools work; how child care centres, in governments, Where are we now? We are inspired employers hire, and run their in the media.