In the Stream Summer 2009 Invitation to Attend an Accessible Transportation Service Consultation To Accessible Transportation Users and Advocacy Groups for People with Disabilities Municipal Licensing and Standards (MLS) Division, Policy and Planning Services under the direction of the Licensing and Standards Committee will be hosting consultation sessions in order to review accessible transportation service in the City of Toronto. The Committee has requested that MLS report its findings at the November 5, 2009 meeting. As part of the reporting process, ML&S will be meeting with Torontonians with disabilities that use wheelchair accessible transportation services. We are asking you to refer two of your clients who use accessible transportation or staff who advocate on behalf of people with disabilities to participate in a discussion on how to better meet the transportation needs of people with disabilities. Topics will include: * challenges in using wheelchair accessible transportation * availability of wheelchair accessible transportation service * on demand wheelchair accessible vehicles * cost of service * Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) standards and ML&S Time: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm Date: September 28, 2009 Place: City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, Committee Room 1 (2nd Floor) RSVP: by September 10, 2009 to Dawn Morgan at (416) 397-5464 or dmorgan1@toronto.ca. ASL Interpreters and attendant care services will be provided. If other accommodations are needed in order to participate in this session, please indicate the type of accommodation when you RSVP. Public Review of the Initial Proposed Accessible Built Environment Standard On July 14, 2009, the Ontario government released the initial proposed Accessible Built Environment Standard for a public review period. A standards development committee developed the proposed standard. The committee was made up of representatives from the disability and business communities. Creating an accessible Ontario by 2025 is a big undertaking, but a goal the government is committed to achieving. The committee’s terms of reference outline that this standard will focus on preventing barriers on a go-forward basis. Under this proposed standard, all new buildings and buildings undergoing major renovations would need to meet the proposed requirements if passed as law. The government does not plan to require that all existing buildings be retrofitted to meet accessibility requirements in the final accessible built environment standard at this time. Also, the government does not intend to require Ontarians to make their existing or new houses accessible in the final accessible built environment standard at this time. A subsequent step the government plans to take to achieve an accessible built environment in the province is to take a more focused look at how to deal with retrofitting existing buildings and making houses accessible. These two issues are expected to be addressed through a standard development committee process. The standard development process going forward will consider any recommendations made by Charles Beer in his independent review of the AODA, which is currently underway. Have your say. Everyone in Ontario can review the proposed standard and submit comments. The committee will use the feedback received during the review period to shape the final proposed standard before submitting it to the government to consider for adoption as a law. Consultations are also being conducted across the province. If you are interested in commenting on the proposed standard, please do so by October 16, 2009. If you require an alternate format or method to provide your feedback, please contact: Accessibility Directorate of Ontario, Outreach and Compliance Branch, Ministry of Community and Social Services, 777 Bay Street, Suite 601, Toronto ON Canada M7A 2J4 E-mail: publicreview@ontario.ca; 1- 888-482-4317; TTY: 416-326-0148 or 1-888-335-6611 (toll-free in Ontario); Fax: 416-326-9725. Ontario is the first jurisdiction in Canada to develop province-wide, enforceable accessibility standards. The proposed accessible built environment standard is the fifth standard to be released for public review. Safe Engaged Environments Disability (SEED) By John Mossa Safe Engaged Environments Disability (SEED): A Community Based Action Research Project for People with Disabilities regarding Community Safety in Toronto. How SEED got started The Centre for Independent Living in Toronto (CILT) and the City of Toronto recognized the need to increase the level of awareness of community safety for people with disabilities in the Toronto area. Partnerships were then developed with community organizations and funding was sought to support the project. Funding and support The Safe Engaged Environments Disability (SEED) project is funded by the City of Toronto Community Safety Investment Program from 2008 until June 2011 and Toronto Community Housing from 2009 until 2011. Who are some of SEED’s community partners in this project? * Sponsoring Partner/Trustee: Centre for Independent Living Toronto (CILT) Inc. * Birchmount Bluffs Neighborhood Centre * City of Toronto * Hearing Every Youth through Youth (HEYY) * People with disabilities in Toronto * Sherbourne Health Centre * Springtide Resources * Toronto Community Housing * Toronto Community Housing tenants with disabilities * Voices From The Street What is the Safe Engaged Environments Disability (SEED) Project? The SEED Project is a 3 year community based action research project. This means that the SEED project has been developed and is being carried out by persons with disabilities for persons with disabilities. Entering the 2nd year of a 3 year project, SEED brings people with physical, mental health, intellectual, visible and invisible disabilities and their supporters together to identify common concerns and successes related to community safety in Toronto. In addition, the SEED project, on May 29 2009, received approval for 2 year funding from Toronto Community Housing to focus on Toronto Community Housing residents with disabilities and their supporters to identify community safety concerns and successes. Focus group discussions will occur over the next few months with both people with disabilities living anywhere in Toronto and tenants with disabilities living specifically in Toronto Community Housing who wish to contribute to developing ideas and actions in respect to safety. The SEED project will result in a plan for everyone on ideas and actions to improve or enhance safety. How do I get involved? There are many ways. Tell us your thoughts. Participate in focus or action groups, or simply become part of our information network. Register your interest with CILT. If you would like more information, please contact: John Mossa, Independent Living Skills Trainer Centre For Independent Living in Toronto 365 Bloor Street East, Suite 902, Tor, Ont, M4W 3L4 Tel: (416) 599-2458, ext. 238 ,TTY: (416) 599-5077 E-mail: ilskills@cilt.ca Website: www.cilt.ca OR Linda Coltman, SEED project coordinator SEED E-mail: seedproject@bell.net Take Back the Night - Toronto: September 12, 2009 BE AN ACTIVIST IN OUR COMMUNITY, GET INVOLVED! Toronto's History of TBTN – Take Back the Night: In 1981, after a woman named Barbara Schlifer was murdered, TRCC/MWAR (the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Woman Against Rape) organized a march in the Beaches area where she was murdered. Later that year, TRCC/MWAR organized a second “Take Back the Night” march, after another murder. The fall was then chosen as the time when we organize this protest every year. Take Back the Night is a feminist grass roots community organized event with a focus on women and children only march. (our definition of “woman” is broad and inclusive. It embraces women who reject traditional notions of gender in their self-identity, including transgender women). We protest and march against violence against women and children. Take Back the Night marches are hosted all around the world; in Canada, they are largely organized by Rape Crisis Centres. Women around the world march and protest every year to end violence against women and children and TBTN. The Toronto Rape Crisis Centre has been offering a wide range of support and advocacy to sexual assault survivors and their families throughout the GTA for more than 31 years. While important changes have been made, research shows that women in Canada continue to be assaulted every minute or less (Statistics Canada, 1993). Your support allows us to make a real difference in the lives of women, children and men who continue to be impacted by sexual violence. This event is wheel chair accessible. Child care will be provided Imagine a world free of violence . . . We do. Information found at http://www.trccmwar.ca/events/05-tbtn.html. Bell Voice Dialling Option is Returning Bell Canada is re-instituting its voice dialing feature, commencing June 15 for a fee of $6.95 month. This new BELL option will have: * improved voice recognition technology, * 100 names you can enter over the phone and * up to 1000 contacts which you can enter via the Internet. The contact telephone number is 1 800 268-9243. It is called the enhanced Voice Dialling service. You can register at this number. George Brown College: New Skilled Trades Program for Women The Assaulted Women’s and Children’s Counsellor/Advocate Program at George Brown College is offering a new skilled trades program for women. The Women Transitioning to Trades Program will provide training for women who are: Survivors of experiences with domestic violence, sexual assault, and other forms of violence against women who are: * Looking for stable employment * Interested in non-traditional work * Able to commit to a 16 month full-time training/education program This is a program (funded by the Ontario Women’s Directorate) that is designed to make the skilled trades and technician training accessible to women who are looking for safety, support, independence and control in their lives. Women who enroll in this program receive: * 6 months introduction to the trades, academic upgrading, and other preparatory activities * 12 months of full-time pre-apprenticeship training in a safe and welcoming environment * Coaching and job development support * Apprenticeship Certification (where offered) * Counselling support * Work placements * TTC tokens * Childcare costs if needed * Accommodation for learning and other access needs * Resources for other needs * Entrepreneurship training and skills Who can apply for this training program? Women and transgendered/transsexual/2-spirited women of all ages, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds are encouraged to apply for this course. Applicants should be referred by a community or social service agency that provides services and advocacy to women and transgendered/transsexual/2- spirited women who are survivors of, or who are vulnerable to, intimate partner violence and other forms of violence against women. If you would like more information please contact Anna Willats, Coordinator, Women Transitioning to Trades, George Brown College; Tel: 416.415.5000 x3643; awillats@georgebrown.ca. For more information visit http://www.theconstellation.ca/olc/events.shtml?x=182655. WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE COMMUNITY? Ethno Racial People with Disabilities Coalition of Ontario (ERDCO) Presents An Opportunity to Participate Are you an ethno-cultural or racialized person with a disability? Looking to expand and share skills for empowering the disability community? Then, apply to participate in ERDCO’S Capacity Building and Advocacy Project (CAP); a project that aims to advance the voices, issues, talents and giftedness of ethno-cultural and racialized people with disabilities and offer a series of workshops, including interesting guest speakers, opportunities to enhance communication skills and organize public meetings and advocacy initiatives, from this Summer to Spring, 2010. JOIN THE CIRCLE Participation in this project will expand the capacity to do public education and advocacy on such issues as human and disability rights, anti-oppression practice, cultural sensitivity and anti-ableism. It will be led by inspirational speakers, facilitators and engaged advocates with disabilities. ERDCO is currently taking names of people interested in applying to participate in this project. Apply soon! Contact ERDCO at 416-657-2211 or write to them at erdco_ca@yahoo.ca. An Honorarium will be provided to participants. Note: Attendant services and refreshments are provided, and ASL for some events. Funded by the Access, Equity and Human Rights grants program, City of Toronto Launch of the New Online Job Board The Canadian Abilities Foundation is pleased to announce their partnership with the Workopolis NicheNetwork in launching a new on-line job board jobs.abilities.ca. Workopolis.com is Canada's largest job site with nearly 4 million users a month and more Canadian employees and employers trust Workopolis to make their career connection than any other service on-line or off. In forming this strategic partnership with Workopolis, jobs.abilities.ca is able to reach a wealth of job seekers and an |extensive list of employers, this makes it unique in Canada. To visit the new website, visit http://jobs.abilities.ca/ CILT NEWS Mary Louise Dickson Receives Order Of Ontario By Sandra Carpenter On January 22, Mary Louise Dickson, received Ontario’s highest honour, the Order of Ontario. This occurred quietly and without fanfare. In fact many of us did not know until quite late after the fact. She was inducted along with such people as former Premier David Peterson and the late Dr. Sheila Basur known for her work during the Toronto SARS crisis. Ms Dickson is in good company. She was recognized for her work as both a mentor and an educator within the legal profession, and an advocate for people with disabilities. Her community work goes back to 1977 and includes being a Director at Lyndhurst Hospital, the Canadian Paraplegic Association and the Ontario March of Dimes to name but a few. She has built a distinguished career in the field of law. Appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1983, she is a partner with the Toronto law firm Dickson MacGregor Appell and is one of Ontario’s leading experts in the area of trusts and estate planning. A mentor and educator to the legal profession, she is an elected bencher with the Law Society of Upper Canada and has received the Distinguished Service Award of the Canadian Bar Association of Ontario. Ms. Dickson works diligently to reduce barriers and improve the lives of people with disabilities, and has been active in many community associations including serving on the Board of the Centre for Independent Living in Toronto since 1999. She is also a former member of the Canadian Human Rights Commission and has served with many professional organizations. We would like to ask you all to join us in recognizing her amazing achievement both personally as a person with a disability and professionally on behalf of persons with disabilities. We sincerely acknowledge over 30 years of activity that has had a positive impact on the lives of people with both physical and intellectual disabilities. The Centre for Independent Living in Toronto is an information resource centre run by people with disabilities serving people with disabilities since 1984. It’s Time To Hear From Our Members Our Annual Consumer Questionnaire was recently mailed out to not only CILT members, but to all of our Active Members as well. As always, we are interested in hearing your feedback about our organization and the programs that we offer. Your input is valuable to us because it helps us to determine where and how we can improve in our future program planning. Rest assured that all responses will remain strictly confidential. We sincerely hope that many of you will complete and return the survey in the self-addressed stamped envelope provided. We ask that all surveys be completed and returned by August 28, 2009. CILT’s Open House Annual General Meeting This year’s Annual General Meeting is taking place on Thursday September 24, 2009 following an open house, scheduled from 3-5 p.m., beginning at 5:30pm to 8:00 p.m. at CILT’s new location, 365 Bloor Street East, Suite 902, (Bloor & Sherbourne). This year’s AGM will be an extra special event, as we will be celebrating the official opening of our new location as well as the 25th anniversary of CILT. Watch your mailboxes for formal invitations! NEWS FROM THE PDN New Parenting Publication The Parenting With a Disability Network (PDN) is pleased to bring you our latest parenting publication “SCHOOL YEAR CHRONICLES: A Personal Collection of Your Child’s School Year Memories”, an exciting and innovative way of capturing your child’s special childhood school moments and achievements; while providing tips for you, as parents with disabilities, on parenting issues including how to educate your child about your disability, how to breastfeed when you are a mother with a disability and facing postpartum blues. We hope that you and your child will enjoy this collection as much as we enjoyed compiling it for you. It can be purchased through the Centre for Independent Living in Toronto, for only $20.00 a copy ($15.00 without binder). So please, tell your friends, family, peers and colleagues about the “SCHOOL YEAR CHRONICLES: A Personal Collection of Your Child’s School Year Memories”, and give them the opportunity to enjoy their children’s school year memories as well. Peer Support Group for Mothers and Prospective Mothers With a Disability RETURNS Back by request and popular demand, the Parenting With a Disability Network (PDN) proudly presents the return of our Peer Support Group for Moms and Prospective Moms With a Disability. Our first meeting will take place on Saturday September 19, 2009 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm at the Centre for Independent Living in Toronto, 365 Bloor Street East, Suite 902 (Bloor and Sherbourne). If you would like to attend, please contact Nancy at (416) 599-2458, ext. 227 or by TTY at (416) 599-5077, or email to peers@cilt.ca. Attendant services will be provided. Childcare will be available but must be requested by September 4, 2009. Please note that this is a scent-free event! We hope to see many of you there. Strategies for Community Building and Organizing: A Reflection on My Two-Week Intensive Study at Ryerson By Carling Barry The course addresses the importance of community building given the real life situations of social exclusion and the challenges that are represented by diversity in the current social, political and economic context in Canada. It starts and continuously goes back to the realities that people with disabilities live with on a day to day basis. Building from a historical overview of community organizing in North America, we as students, are encouraged to analyze power, influence and inequality as the necessary groundwork to create and assemble strategies for action, and to develop a personal stance that will ground our practice with our jobs with disability groups/ and or communities. On the very first day we learned, and continuously learned, to use the ‘Seven Steps to Organize a Community’, a campaign used for building a community. The seven steps are: situate the self, issues, strategy/ tactics, allies, funding, action and reflection/document. I want to quickly discuss the seven steps because I think it is important for anyone who is in or works with a diverse community. These steps are necessary to organize the community and to fight for what they need. The first is Situate the Self which means, who are you? Why do you feel the need to be part of this? What can you bring to the organization/table? Second is Issue. What is the issue? Who does it involve? Why is it an issue? Is it a strong enough issue that we can see action come out of it and get what we need to live, work, etc. in society? Third is Strategy/ tactics which means what you are going to do and how you will go about doing it. An example of this would be, perhaps, that we are going to go public to demonstrate to society that the disability community is not hiding, and that we deserve to be part of every aspect of society. When it comes to advocating for ourselves, we need to be on the committees, representing diversity, discussing what it is that we need, not having someone else speaking for us. The methods we could use to go public could include sending letters, having demonstrations, calling MPP offices, contacting the media etc. These are all ways that we can get our points across and be heard. Fourth is Allies which means when fighting for an issue, you or an organization will never be alone with what you need and or want. You can come together with other organizations and/or individuals who understand what you are going through. By going through similar experiences, you can start to create power by pulling together which demonstrates to politicians and to others that you and your organization are serious. Fifth is Funding. Finding funders can sometimes be the hardest part. Sometimes you will have backing from others (i.e. other organizations, government funding from proposals). As allies, you work together with the funding bodies, or at times with new organizations, where everyone is expected to contribute, in some way, towards the funding of the project. This may include volunteer hours, coordinating fundraisers, and individuals contributing their own money to the cause. Sixth is Action which is to act on the tactics, as discussed earlier on, in the section on Strategy and Tactics. By putting those tactics on the front line and actually demonstrating, having meetings with MPPs, and making sure that your issue is being heard, you are demonstrating the significant impact that these issues have on the population; issues such as poverty in the disability community, and its huge impact on people with disabilities, who are some of the most disadvantaged people in society. The disability community will not back down and will continue to fight until they have opportunities and have a healthy standard of living comparable to others in society. The Seventh and final step is Reflect/ Document which means after the action, or each time after an action you reflect within your community, organization, or with your allies about how it went, what people thought, things that went really well, things that need to be changed, what can be done better next time, and document it by writing it down so as that everyone knows which actions need to be improved upon for next time. These seven steps were discussed and highlighted continuously during the two week intensive. There are so many things I learned in this class, that it would be impossible to write about everything. I hope to bring what I learned from this course into my position at CILT and share with colleagues, members and other ally organizations that we work with. However I want to end with an important phrase that Catherine Frazee said when she came into our class as a guest speaker, and that is “Stay Mad.” Staying mad means even when there are victories whether small or large you need to continue to fight for what is your right as a citizen with a disability, and to fight for other citizens with disabilities. You may not see change for years, enactments that need to be implemented until years from now, and to remember never give up, keep on the fight and Stay Mad. NEWS FROM THE PEER SUPPORT PROGRAM Fall Peer Support Program Line-Up All events take place at: Centre for Independent Living in Toronto 365 Bloor Street East, Suite 902 (Bloor & Sherbourne) (416) 599-2458, ext. 227, by TTY at (416) 599-5077 or email to peers@cilt.ca September 2009: BINGO NIGHT: Thursday September 17, 2009 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm Refreshments and attendant services provided. RSVP by September 10, 2009. COFFEE CLUB: Wednesday September 30, 2009 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Refreshments and attendant services provided RSVP by September 23, 2009. October 2009: COFFEE CLUB: Tuesday October 13, 2009 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Refreshments and attendant services provided RSVP by October 6, 2009. MOVIE NIGHT: Tuesday October 27, 2009 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm Refreshments and attendant services provided RSVP by October 20, 2009. COST: $2.00 PAUL BLART; MALL COP Starring Kevin James Kevin James, of King of Queens and Hitch fame, plays your typical "every man" character in this movie. Paul Blart is a guy whose dream job (New Jersey state trooper) is just out of his grasp, but who's making the best he can out of the job he has - security guard at the local mall. He lives with his mother and daughter and dreams of finding that one person who can love and appreciate him for himself. GENRE: Comedy, Action, Family CLOSED CAPTIONING PROVIDED November 2009: COFFEE CLUB: Tuesday November 10, 2009 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Refreshments and attendant services provided RSVP by November 3, 2009. BINGO NIGHT: Tuesday November 24, 2009 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm Refreshments and attendant services provided. RSVP by November 17, 2009. Pan-Canadian Best Practices to Engage Seldom- or Never-Screened Women in Cancer Screening by Nancy Barry with input from Pan Canadian Advisory Committee As many of you already know, the Gateways to Cancer Screening Project is about to enter its second phase. From the Gateways Project, have come several other opportunities for CILT to participate in further studies related to cancer screening issues for women, one of which is the Pan-Canadian Best Practices to Engage Seldom– or Never-Screened Women. The South Riverdale Community Health Centre is the lead investigator on this project. The South Riverdale Community Health Centre (SRCHC) is a community-controlled organization that believes that health is a state of physical, mental, and social well being, and that the role of health centres is to provide good-quality primary care and to engage in those clinical, social, economic, political, cultural and educational initiatives that promote health. The SRCHC Board, members and staff adhere to the core values of equitable access; respect; a holistic, diverse approach to achieving good health; engaging with individuals, groups, and communities as active partners in health; meaningful community involvement; and social justice. Background of this study: Breast and colorectal cancers are two of the three most common cancers among Canadian women. While cancer of the cervix is less common because spontaneous screening (with Pap tests) has been effective, it nonetheless poses a significant burden associated with precancerous lesions. With proven screening tests, both morbidity and mortality can, and have been, significantly reduced in Canada by secondary prevention of cervical cancer and early detection of breast and colorectal cancers. Most provinces in Canada have cervical and breast screening programs, while colorectal screening programs have only recently been implemented in a few provinces. Screening participation rates for breast and cervical cancers in Ontario and elsewhere have reached a plateau in recent years, and there is room for improvement in screening participation rates for all three of these cancers. For example, in the past, three-year cervical screening rates in four Canadian provinces ranged from 67% in British Columbia to 74% in Nova Scotia. Ontario’s actual current screening rate (based on cervical cytology and billing data) is 70%. The need for this project: Marginalized populations Some groups of women, in other jurisdictions as well as in Canada, are less likely to participate in cancer screening, and are “much more likely to experience unfavourable outcomes.” These women include: * newcomers * older women * low-income women * disabled women * women of low literacy or whose first language is not English, and * Aboriginal women Low screening participation rates among women of multi-ethnic groups result in higher morbidity and mortality. Community organizations and various reports indicate that newcomers to North America identify language, cultural values, socioeconomic issues, modesty or preference for a female physician as significant barriers to screening. As newcomers comprise a growing percentage of the Canadian population, it is increasingly difficult to improve awareness of and participation in cancer screening without proven and targeted interventions. Novel approaches are required to reach the seldom- and never-screened populations. Communities in various provinces and territories have implemented successful, customized interventions to increase awareness of and participation in cancer screening among seldom- and never-screened women. To the best of our knowledge, however, there have been no organized, cross-country, attempts to document and share these interventions, the majority of which occur at the grassroots level. This project seeks to address this gap in knowledge. Target populations Our target audience consists of Canadian health agencies with a mandate for outreach to populations of women who are never or seldom screened for cancer, and who are, often, marginalized in our society. Such agencies struggle to find the best strategies — with limited resources — to reach these groups and to meet their diverse and challenging needs. Their expertise and experiences will directly inform the content of our key research product: a compendium of best practices for engaging seldom- or never-screened women in cancer screening. Intended results This project will develop and publish a comprehensive overview of effective strategies that have been successfully employed in communities across Canada to increase cancer screening in marginalized populations of women. Such an overview will facilitate the sharing of resources nationally and will recognize and highlight the wealth of successful interventions to improve screening rates for hard-to-reach and often marginalized communities. Distribution and uptake of such a compendium across Canada will allow our target audience to harness and adapt the successes of similar organizations across the country, thus making efficient use of their limited resources. The project will also help to expand and strengthen a network of health agencies across the country to further share experiences and best practices. As a larger, longer-term goal, it is hoped that such a resource would eventually contribute to increased cancer-screening rates, and reduced morbidity and mortality from breast, and cervical and colorectal cancers National scope and applicability The “Pan-Canadian best practices to engage seldom- or never-screened women in cancer screening” project is by definition national in scope. It seeks to identify and compile innovative programs and interventions at the grassroots level throughout the country as a whole. The aim is to share and increase knowledge — within and between provinces — on methods for improving screening rates in the target population(s). Results will be disseminated across the country, with the hope that agencies can replicate successful innovations across the country. The project will capitalize on the partners’ and advisory/steering committee members’ existing networks across Canada to begin to identify participating organizations, which will include, primarily, community health centres and agencies and provincial/territorial cancer-screening programs. Letters of support from agencies and organizations across Canada will be forthcoming. The involvement of the Canadian Cancer Society, as well as the Canadian Partnership against Cancer through Dr. Margaret Fitch, will also help to ensure a national focus. The three core partner organizations of this project are South Riverdale Community Health Centre, the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital (MSH) and Toronto Public Health. Members of the Advisory Committee bring to the project their membership in numerous networks, and/or direct connections with representatives from other, provincial and national, networks and groups. Consequently, they will facilitate collaboration and links with other resources and groups across the country. Advisory committee members include: * Cancer Care Ontario * Dr. Margaret Fitch, RN, PhD, Manager of Ontario’s Cervical Cancer Screening Program * Canadian Cancer Society * Korean Canadian Women’s Association * Centre for Independent Living in Toronto (CILT) Inc. The target audience consists of Canadian health agencies with a mandate for outreach to populations of women who are never or seldom screened for cancer, and who are, often, marginalized in our society. The results of this project will allow our target audience to harness and adapt the successes of similar organizations across the country, thus making efficient use of their limited resources. The project will also help to expand and strengthen a network of health agencies across the country to further share experiences and best practices. The project’s success will be measured in terms of our target audience’s increased knowledge of effective interventions and designing sustainable programs, their ability to translate other members’ projects into their own contexts, and their experience of strengthened and broadened networks across the country. To this end, we will create and disseminate evaluation forms to our target audience, asking them to assess whether the compendium and the “key themes and issues” document are useful and relevant to their needs. The same evaluation form will be available online. INTERESTING AND EXCITING WEBSITES Access-r-ease: Innovative Accessories With Style Don't be stumped by the spelling, just think Accessories. This webstore was developed by someone with multiple disabilities, who knows how important it is to have access to innovative accessories and gadgets that make life easier for everyone, as well as useful information. Access-r-ease is here to bring you affordable, quality accessories to help make your life easier. There's something here for everyone, whether you're at home, at work, or on the go. And just like the guy on that Hair Club for Men commercial, the individual isn’t just the owner, but they use some of the products as well. If you're looking for interesting articles and useful information for people of all abilities, check out what's in the "Articles & Resources" box near the bottom of the left hand column of the website. Categories of items include personal care, eating and food prep, boosting accessibility at home, work or school, and mobility accessories. To find out more, visit www.EasyAccessories.com. Disability Matters This column will feature three writers, each with a different disability. They all have something to say about living with a disability and how they view awareness and attitudes toward disabilities in Canada. The column will deal with the rights of people with disabilities, eliminating inequality and discrimination, and issues of self-help and consumer advocacy. Their plan is to rotate among our columnists to have a new column each month. Visit http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_disabilitymatters/.