Advocacy

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Actively transforming our world.

Our policy priorities are guided by the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals to create a better and more sustainable future for all.

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POLICY PRIORITIES

POLICIES GUIDED BY THE UN

Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

Goal 4: Quality Education

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

GIVING PEOPLE A VOICE

Our Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities

The following are examples of our advocacy work that gives voice to the belief that everyone should have an active and engaged quality of life that enables meaningful connections and contribution to the world.

VOTE HOUSING

Vecova has endorsed Vote Housing, a national, non-partisan, grassroots advocacy campaign led by the Canadian Lived Experience Leadership Network (CLELN), the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, the Canadian Housing & Renewal Association, and the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada.

For many persons with disabilities there are limited housing options that are safe, affordable and accessible.
Persons with disabilities disproportionately live in substandard housing or must settle for less compatible housing options such as large group residences or senior facilities. In some cases, they end-up homeless.
Over 400,000 adults with disabilities or 15.3% of the Canadian population have core housing needs, which is more than 60% higher than those without disabilities.
Vecova supports adequate, safe and affordable persons with disabilities.

COMMUNITY ENGAGED LEARNING SESSIONS

University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine

Vecova is collaborating with Community Engaged Learning in the Indigenous Local & Global Health Office at the Cumming School of Medicine on offering community engaged learning experiences for medical students.

Community Engaged Learning strives to help future physicians better understand and appreciate the lived experience of people in the communities they serve, to appreciate the role of self-determination in their medical care, and to recognize that people with lived experience and the organizations that serve them are experts in how to educate and advocate for their health needs. Studies have shown that when medical students are provided community engaged learning experiences, they are better able to provide appropriate interactions and care for their patients and advocate alongside them.

LEAD Canada™

Leading Equitable and Accessible Delivery

Vecova is currently in the LEAD Canada process. LEAD (Leading Equitable and Accessible Delivery) is a methodology to help governments, public and private sector organizations to define and embed inclusion and accessibility into strategic planning, daily operations, program environments, and organizational culture.

This top-down approach to inclusion and accessibility helps organizations set clear targets for your business needs and provides a welcoming environment for the people you serve.

Through the LEAD Canada process, Abilities Centre staff helps organizations develop the know-how, confidence, and capability to serve the needs of all, regardless of age, ability or background, and lay the foundation for your organization to embrace inclusion and accessibility as important strategies for success. LEAD is an approach designed to generate both economic and social return on investment.

Alberta Disability Workers Association

Essential But Forgotten Campaign

Vecova is a member of the Alberta Disability Workers Association, which advocates for, represents, and supports the disability services industry. We understand that Alberta’s community disability services community is in a staffing crisis. We are proud to lend our voice to the growing chorus of those who want to see real change in our industry.

We encourage everyone, especially those who know of the critical programs and services provided by Vecova and our employees, to participate in the Essential But Forgotten Campaign. The aim of this campaign is to put a spotlight on the crisis that disability services – and Albertans with disabilities – are facing due to the undervaluing of disability service workers and poor employee compensation.