Malahat Nation and Ditidaht First Nation will receive funding from the province to make a number of their public buildings more accessible.
The two First Nations are the newest financial recipients of the Rick Hansen Foundation’s B.C. Accessibility Grants Program, which distributes the funding.
Developed to support communities across the province to improve accessibility for residents and visitors of all ages and abilities, the program, thanks to generous support from Victoria, provides complimentary RHF Accessibility Certification ratings for three sites per community.
That means up to $82,500 in funding for accessibility improvements and accessibility training is available for those sites.
For Malahat Nation, the three buildings that have already been selected for funding from the program include the Community Cultural Centre, the Multipurpose Building and Administrative Building.
“Malahat Nation wants to ensure all our community members, from children to Elders, can safely access community services, and having inclusive administrative buildings that prioritizes accessibility is an important part in ensuring this,” said Malahat Nation Chief Gordon Harry.
“The RHF Accessibility Grant will support Malahat Nation in understanding how we can improve access to our community buildings to better serve our community.”
The Ditidaht First Nation will utilize the grant program to provide accessibility updates to the Community Hall, Community Services Health Clinic and Asabuus Daycare.
“First off, I’d like to thank the Rick Hansen Foundation, and everyone involved in this program ,for reaching out and giving us this opportunity to participate in this program,” said Ditidaht housing manager Chris Barker.
“Accessibility issues are often overlooked, and I think this is the perfect opportunity to gain as much knowledge as possible to help improve accessibility in our community. We look forward to taking the necessary steps to improve access in our community buildings.
Brad McCannell, vice president for access and inclusion with the Rick Hansen Foundation, said the foundation is honoured to be able to work alongside Malahat Nation and Ditidaht First Nation to help improve accessibility in their communities.
“Statistics from the Indigenous Disability Canada/British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society reports that members of the Indigenous population of Canada experience a disability rate much higher than that of the general population, at approximately 30 per cent to 35 per cent,” he said.
“Accessibility improvements will benefit people of all ages and abilities in these communities including friends and loved ones. Everyone has a right to real, meaningful access.”