Connections PDF - Reena

Three Years On, Family Finally Accesses Services
We have become not
a melting pot but a
beautiful mosaic.
Different people,
different beliefs,
different yearnings,
different hopes,
different dreams.
- Jimmy Carter
Check out these
links!
The 519 Church
Community Centre
www.the519.org
Ethiopian Association in
the Greater Toronto Area
and Surrounding Regions
www.ethiocommun.org
Thorncliffe
Neighbourhood Services
www.thorncliffe.org
By Emily Carreiro, Family Support Coordinator
Recently I started working with a
family who have been living in
Canada for only 3 years. The family
unit consisted of mother, who was sole
support to the family, her two
daughters, the eldest with an
intellectual disability. The mother had
met with two other agencies within the
developmental sector before becoming
involved with Community Living
Toronto through the Family Support
Program. I came to learn that because
the mother and her daughters only
spoke Swahili and very limited
English, the family was struggling to
access information about services and
supports available for the family
member with the intellectual disability.
It was the assistance of our
partnership with Midaynta Community
Services, an agency that addresses
settlement issues, that I was able to
secure a Swahili speaking worker who
was open to assisting me with my
initial face to face meeting with the
family. This helped to ensure that the
family not only received information
about services and supports available
to them, but it was the families’
opportunity to tell their story in their
language.
The initial meeting was a success
and many goals were identified and the
family is now scheduled to have a
Person Directed Plan for their sister
and daughter. I have also managed to
secure a Swahili speaking individual
who will be present at the Person
Directed Plan to translate the questions
so that every family member can
participate in the process.
Our partnership with Midaynta has
enabled me to provide support and
information to this family, and connect
them to available resources. Without
continuing to develop partnerships
with agencies like Midaynta, we would
not be able to reach out to various
communities that are in need of our
supports and services.
Canadian Association of Muslims with Disabilities
Canadian Association of
Muslims with Disabilities
http://www.camd.ca
Rexdale Women’s Centre
www.rexdalewomen.org
Immigrant Post
www.immigrantpost.ca
Visit the
Bridging Diversity page
on Sharepoint for
information, resources,
websites and more
about our partners !
CAMD’s vision is to create a global
village that includes full access for
Muslims with disabilities. Their
mission is to work toward an inclusive
society by promoting principles of
accessibility that aims:
To ensure that persons with
disabilities have access to spiritual
and social activities, events and
programs in their places of
worship.
To resource and facilitate physical
accessibility, alternative
communication/Sign Language
interpretation, and alternative print
formats for faith based institutions.
To research and promote
information about and needs of
faith, spirituality and culture
through the lived experiences of
persons with disabilities to leaders,
service providers, governments
and communities.
To facilitate networking
opportunities for persons with
disabilities and their families.
To lead and support the
development of alternative respite
and independent living
opportunities that meets the
requirements of faith and culture.
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