Kelowna Community Resources is a searchable online database of community resources from across the central Okanagan.

The BC Coalition of People with Disabilities (BCCPD) is working with Woodlands School survivors for their struggle for justice and compensation. Woodlands School was a provincial residential institution for thousands of children deemed to have mental disorders. It was closed in 1996 after students alleged that they were subject to abuse at the school. BCCPD has a Woodlands Campaign webpage with information on the campaign and how to get involved.

The Alberta government website publications and forms page has applications and fact sheets on income assistances about seniors', disability, and housing.

Link Up Employment Services for Persons with Disabilities is a not-for-profit website with resources for people with disabilities looking for employment and employers looking to hire people with disabilities.

IDEA Regina is a grassroots alliance dedicated to full citizenship for individuals with disabilities. The IDEA Regina website has a Rehabilitation Directory, an extensive list of disability links, the Regina Disability Manifesto and an Open Forum.

Information on Disability Assistance in BC. In order to recieve PWD assistance you have to fill in an application form, have a physician report completed by a doctor or medical practitioner and assessor report completed by a health professional of the your choice. PWD also Includes individuals with mental health disorders.

Persons with Disabilities Online is a huge database of links related to disability issues created in collaborative between Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers responsible for Social Services and developed in consultation with representatives from the disability community. Human Resources Development Canada manages Disability WebLinks under the direction of the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Working Group for Benefits and Services for Persons with Disabilities.

Personnes handicapées en direct est un grand réseau de l'information sur les questions de l'incapacité. Le site web était créé par les ministres - de niveau fédéral, provincial et territorial - en charge des services sociaux, et il était aussi développé en consultation avec des représentants de la communauté handicapée. Le site web est administré par le gouvernement de Canada.

The Ontario's Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office (PPAO) was established in 1983 to protect the civil and legal rights of inpatients in the current and former Ontario provincial psychiatric hospitals. The PPAO has a number of online Info Guides including self-advocacy, accessing records and human rights complaints.

"The BC Coalition of People with Disabilities is a provincial, cross-disability advocacy organization. Our mandate is to raise public and political awareness of issues that concern us. We hope, through our work, to facilitate the full participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of society and to promote independence."

The website details a number of initiatives including a series of Help Sheets on disability benefits under the Employment and Assistance Legislation.

"WORKink is Canada’s largest Virtual Employment Resource Centre for Job Seekers with Disabilities."

Supports and Services for Persons with Disabilities in Canada: Requirements and Gaps is the Canadian Council on Social Development's (CCSD) 17th edition of a Disability Information Research Sheet and provides data on requirements for supports and services among Canadians with disabilities, as well as information on gaps in these supports and services.

Supports And Services For Adults And Children Aged 5 - 14 With Disabilities In Canada: An analysis of data on needs and gaps is a report released by the Canadian Council on Social Development. This data analysis was commissioned by Ministers responsible for social services at the federal, provincial and territorial levels.

The Volunteer Legal Advocacy Programs (VLAP) has updated their advocacy resources. The booklets are intended to help members who are in need of information in the following areas: disability insurance, human rights, Canadian Pension Plan disability benefits, self-advocacy and knowledge about legal resources in the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, Victoria, Kamloops.

The following are the titles of the five advocacy booklets available online or through MSS:
(one will need adobe acrobat reader to view the documents.)

• ADVOCACY
• COMMUNITY AND LEGAL RESOURCES
• MS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
• CANADA PENSION PLAN (CPP) DISABILITY BENEFITS
• WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT DISABILITY INSURANCE

These booklets are also available to order through the MS Society of Canada, BC Division contact the MS Society at 604-689-3144 or 1-800-268-7582."

"Being an advocate does not mean you have to quit your job, write big checks or rush to Washington D.C. It also doesn't mean you have to know everything there is to know about learning disabilities or every law ever written on the subject. Being an advocate does mean using your voice to make a difference for children and adults with LD in this country." This guide (in PDF) can be downloaded in segments or in whole from the National Center for Learning Disabilities website.

The DisAbled Women's Network (DAWN) of Ontario's website has a number of computer tips including one to help update Microsoft Windows. Covering things from basic computer operation, emailing, to FTP and keyboard shortcuts this Technology Info, Tips, FAQs You Can Use page is a recommended one to bookmark for personal computers as well as public access computer sites.

Prepared by Mark Redgwell

The following are a collection of resources for PWD advocacy that was prepared for The Law Centre Clinical Program in Victoria, BC and are reproduced here with The Law Centre's permission. These materials were designed primarily for law students in the clinical program who are new to Persons With Disabilities advocacy. Suggestions as to how to improve the Primer are most welcome and can be directed towards Mark Redgwell.

A Guide to PWD Advocacy

• PWD Advocacy Primer (34 pages, in PDF)

Interview and Drafting Materials

• Client Interview Worksheet (in DOC)
• Physician Report - Section 2 (in PDF)
• Assessor Report -Section 3 (in PDF)

Sample Letters and "Applicant Information" (Section 1)

• Sample letter to doctor (in DOC)
• Sample Applicant Information (Section 1) #1 (in DOC)
• Sample Applicant Information (Section 1) #2 (in DOC)
• Sample Applicant Information (Section 1) #3 (in DOC)

Legislation, Regulations, and Forms

• Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Act 2:
In PDF Format
• Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Regulations 2:
In PDF Format
• Sample Application Form for PWD (23 pages, in PDF)

"The Hall is a place where people with disabilities can talk about rights. Rights is the word used to mean that things are fair for everyone. Sometimes there are laws to make things fair, but sometimes we need more laws or better laws. At the Hall we talk about our lives and how we can work together to make things more fair for everyone with disabilities. " Disability Action Hall website gives examples of some of the work they do and have done to protect the rights of the disabled in Alberta.

The Disability Research Information Page (DRIP) was launched by the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) for centralized access to all CCSD disability research information.

The Advocates' Guide to Hepatitis C: A Handbook of Symptoms and their Causes
This is a guide prepared by the Hep C BC Education and Prevention Society to assist those in the helping professions to better understand and advocate for those with hepatitis C. The 29 page guidebook gives information mainly on symptoms of hepatitis C, the background information necessary when assisting someone with applying for disability benefits.

Hepatitis C and Disability Benefits Guide
This guide is a condensed pamphlet with information on hepatitis C and applying for disability benefits.
Contact HEP C BC at: 2741 Richmond Road, Victoria B.C.
tel: 250-361-4808, fax: 250-414-5102, or email HEP C BC