The Voice - Inclusion Lethbridge with Dave Lawson

Join VAD as we talk with the Executive Director of Inclusion Alberta to find out about their services and resources.

Transcript

00:00:00 Teresa

Welcome to the voice of Albertans with Disabilities AKA VAD Societies’ Podcast for July 2022. I am Teresa Jackson.

00:00:09 Teresa

Your host and VAD’s program and service manager.

00:00:12 Teresa

Thanks for joining us today. VAD has started meeting with our membership to learn about the resources that are available to our iVad or individual members.

00:00:20 Teresa

And within the disability community.

00:00:22 Teresa

In today's podcast, I'll be talking to Dave Lawson from inclusion Lethbridge, a community where everyone belongs.

00:00:29 Teresa

Dave's role at inclusion Lethbridge is the executive director and I wanted to get him on the show to share his insights with you and talk about inclusion Lethbridge and the great resources that this organization offers. Together, we hold the power. Please welcome Dave. Hello, Dave.

00:00:46 Dave

Hi Teresa, thanks for having me today.

00:00:48 Teresa

Thank you for joining us.

00:00:50 Teresa

Please take a moment and briefly introduce yourself and tell us about your role at inclusion Lethbridge.

00:00:55 Dave

Well, yeah indeed.

00:00:57 Dave

And as you said Teresa, I'm I'm Dave Lawson.

00:00:59 Dave

I am the.

00:00:59 Dave

Executive director of inclusion lethbridge, and I've been in this role for about 16 years now.

00:01:05 Dave

Having said that, inclusion lethbridge is celebrating their 65th birthday. July 1957 is when families originally came together formally to create this organization.

00:01:17 Dave

Yeah, we've been around long time.

00:01:19 Dave

They've been around longer than I have and.

00:01:21 Dave

Just just able to say that.

00:01:23 Dave

So as the executive director of inclusion Lethbridge, we my my main responsibility obviously is to provide advocacy for people with developmental disabilities and their families, and that includes obviously, resources.

00:01:37 Dave

Resources such as planning, knowing what's out there to once a family decides what's going to be best for their loved one with the disability is is deciding determining what those services are.

00:01:47 Dave

The the primary work, another piece is obviously community engagement to make sure that we're connected with our community and the Community.

00:01:55 Dave

Able to, you know, support us in the areas that they feel we're doing important work so.

00:02:01 Teresa

Wonderful thank you for that, that was great.

00:02:04 Teresa

I have a few questions about inclusion Lethbridge to gather information for our listeners.

00:02:10 Teresa

So your website says every person should have the opportunity to live a rich full life in community that values their potential and ability to contribute.

00:02:19 Teresa

How does your organization

00:02:20 Teresa

Work to meet this statement.

00:02:23 Dave

Well, I I think.

00:02:25 Dave

When we talk about every person having the needing to have the opportunity, or at least the supports to have the opportunity to to contribute and and be part of society, part of Community is is making sure that we are creating an inclusive pathway for them to be able to.

00:02:42 Dave

Do that and you know certainly can get into.

00:02:45 Dave

Obviously you can imagine how important inclusion is to us being being called inclusion.

00:02:49 Dave

Lethbridge, which was a name change of so must be getting closer to six or seven years ago.

00:02:57 Dave

We did that from the Lethbridge Association for Community living when it was community living.

00:03:01 Dave

Movement was a big part.

00:03:03 Dave

Of the the work that we were doing.

00:03:04 Dave

So when we talk about an inclusive life for a person with a disability, sometimes sometimes.

00:03:11 Dave

A better way to explain it might be that it's simply simply described as good life and you might hear me from time to time talk about a good life.

00:03:19 Dave

For for a person with a disability and when we when we say that, well, what is a good life for person with a developmental disability, it shouldn't be surprising.

00:03:29 Dave

It's no different than a good life.

00:03:30 Dave

Is for people without a developmental disability, so it's sort of a good benchmark or standard to use when we're doing planning for the life of a person with disability and to making sure that that full inclusion is available.

00:03:43 Dave

to them.

00:03:44 Dave

And the sport supports for that inclusion in practice to be included is is is really important in that that process.

00:03:53 Teresa

Perfect, it was a great answer.

00:03:56 Teresa

You kind of touched on my next question already where I was going to talk on your mission statement.

00:04:00 Teresa

But can you talk a little bit more about inclusion and the concepts that you promote through your programs?

00:04:06 Dave

One of the pieces that it's fundamental to the work for that we.

00:04:09 Dave

Do is is that families are obviously the most invested in good outcomes for their loved one with a disability.

00:04:16 Dave

And so the big part of what we do is build that family leadership and.

00:04:22 Dave

Doing so, sort of empowers family there.

00:04:25 Dave

If you think about the the families role in in supporting or planning a life an inclusive life for their loved one with a disability.

00:04:33 Dave

They they see lot of it.

00:04:35 Dave

They they benefit obviously from the good outcomes for their loved one with a disability and and if things don't go well, obviously the ones that are left there sort of picking up the pieces.

00:04:43 Dave

So it's really important that they're primarily.

00:04:45 Dave

They take a primary role in in guiding the life their loved them with the disability.

00:04:50 Dave

Now I've been in the field to.

00:04:53 Dave

Well, for over 40 years and you know I used to be involved in direct services as we were one of an agency that was essentially.

00:05:03 Dave

Having people leave institutions and come to be included into the - be supported to be included in the.

00:05:08 Dave

community and used to hear about, you know, a lot of times you talk about the.

00:05:12 Dave

Importance of family sometimes.

00:05:14 Dave

Oh well, you know family.

00:05:15 Dave

All we hear we only hear from them when then when things don't go well and and you know I knew we we need to do a better job of making sure that families have a stronger voice.

00:05:24 Dave

When I looked at what we were doing as an organization as we were doing really good work.

00:05:29 Dave

And and really progressive and I think, innovative work.

00:05:31 Dave

We were we.

00:05:32 Dave

Were we not only were not doing a good job of engaging parents and families, we were doing a, uh, we were doing a good job of actually alienating them.

00:05:42 Dave

And and that'll happen often where systems come start evolving and coming into place.

00:05:47 Dave

They they sort of ignore the importance of families that might have different ideas for what's important for their level and with the disability.

00:05:54 Dave

So I think.

00:05:55 Dave

That that's that's the key part of it is is making sure that families.

00:05:58 Dave

Have the right role.

00:05:59

I I have.

00:05:59 Dave

To give great credit to a number of people that have influenced me over the years, but certainly Michael Kendrick when he talked about the.

00:06:07 Dave

Natural Authority of families to be in the lives of their loved one with a disability and how important their work really is in their input.

00:06:14 Dave

Really is that

00:06:15 Dave

It made me.

00:06:17 Dave

Actually, that's what drew me to inclusion last purchased and moved out of the direct service as much as I enjoyed doing it as much as I enjoyed doing those great, innovative things and I knew that the working with families was where I needed to be, so that's where I am when I ended up here that 15 or 16 years ago.

00:06:34 Teresa

Do you have specific programs or events that you offer and how engaged in creating these programs in the community are you?

00:06:42 Dave

And we we don't necessarily see.

00:06:44 Dave

We obviously do have some projects and and I suppose we call them programs as well.

00:06:49 Dave

One of the things that we do we we do workshop on beyond graduation, helping families plan that life beyond high school and what's going to be that good life for their son or daughter with a disability.

00:07:03 Dave

In the 90s we connected with the plan Institute out of

00:07:07 Dave

Vancouver and we became the first plan affiliate outside of Vancouver.

00:07:12 Dave

And what that?

00:07:12 Dave

What plan is?

00:07:13 Dave

It is a family organization and their values very closely matched the the work that we were doing.

00:07:19 Dave

So I have to give credit credit to Alek Manske and Vickie Cammack who are sort of created the the vision for for a planning.

00:07:27 Dave

Process called 6 steps to creating a good life for for a loved one with a disability.

00:07:32 Dave

And actually, the result of their work.

00:07:34 Dave

They they both received the Order of Canada a couple of years ago for their innovation in in the lives of people with with disabilities.

00:07:40 Dave

So we followed their work closely and and as as a plan affiliate, have used that model as a a sort of a springboard to our work.

00:07:48 Dave

So what?

00:07:48 Dave

We do is.

00:07:49 Dave

We we make sure that families often.

00:07:52 Dave

Come to us in crisis, and we'd much prefer if they were able to find us before.

00:07:57 Dave

They they get into crisis and we can do some of the.

00:07:59 Dave

Planning that might prevent that, but having said that, we're you know one of our priorities is to that through the door advocacy when people come to us in a time of need, we need to be able to to meet their needs and and to do it as immediately as possible.

00:08:12 Dave

So we try not.

00:08:14 Dave

To have a waiting list as far as.

00:08:15 Dave

What we can do?

00:08:16 Dave

Immediately for people we we

00:08:18 Dave

Address the issue at hand.

00:08:19 Dave

But we also make sure that they leave here or stay here.

00:08:24 Dave

Well, however it might.

00:08:25 Dave

Be with with a plan for.

00:08:27 Dave

That future, because often when.

00:08:28 Dave

And with disabilities or their families are just sort of dealing with things on a day to.

00:08:33 Dave

Day basis because.

00:08:34 Dave

It's so complex they often don't take the time to.

00:08:37 Dave

Do the planning that's so needed.

00:08:39 Dave

And so that's what we do.

00:08:41 Dave

We make it easier for them.

00:08:42 Dave

We help them clarify their vision.

00:08:43 Dave

We call it 6 steps to creating a good life.

00:08:46 Dave

Obviously on the plan model and we talk about.

00:08:49 Dave

Those six steps.

00:08:49 Dave

The first thing is for the family to clarify their vision.

00:08:52 Dave

To have a look.

00:08:54 Dave

At what the future is, and if you really want me want families to think about it, something they they often don't do is is, you know, think about your child life right after you're gone.

00:09:05 Dave

You're no longer able to be the person who is primary in their life and what that life it needs to look like so that they will be.

00:09:13 Dave

Successful in your.

00:09:14 Dave

Absence and it's often hard for for people to look at it in those terms.

00:09:18 Dave

Lots of families we run into their plan will work great if they outlive their family member with a disability, but that we know that's not a reality anymore.

00:09:25 Dave

So we make sure they have that that they clarify their vision, that they're they have a plan in place that that they can share with the people.

00:09:34 Dave

They need to hear that plan that would be part of the plan.

00:09:37 Dave

And also that they they pay attention to relationships in their loved ones life because we know how important relationships are for everybody.

00:09:47 Dave

Also, that that plan has to have that family leadership in place that and and not only mums and dads, but obviously brothers and sisters.

00:09:54 Dave

When that time comes as well and.

00:09:57 Dave

We also cover financial security for people and then then also securing that plan as to who does what, when, when, and who's going to be responsible for the different things that go on.

00:10:08 Dave

So I've oversimplified things there obviously, but that's sort of the.

00:10:12 Dave

The when we when we.

00:10:14 Dave

help families, we do those sorts of things with them.

00:10:17 Teresa

Kind of the meat and potatoes of it, if someone is looking to get involved with inclusion Lethbridge is there a client referral process?

00:10:26 Dave

There's not a as far as that.

00:10:28 Dave

We don't have a formal intake process and we do have obviously the families that created this organization are particularly 

00:10:36 Dave

 invested in people with developmental disabilities and and us being able to support them in their journey forward.

00:10:43 Dave

But we don't make a real distinction.

00:10:46 Dave

People come to us in crisis.

00:10:47 Dave

We do want to make sure they get their needs met and so we're kind of we're very well connected in the community.

00:10:53 Dave

And if they're there, their issues.

00:10:56 Dave

Don't really include a developmental disability.

00:10:59 Dave

It's not like we're not going to help them.

00:11:00 Dave

We we are still going to make sure we connect them to the right people and the right expertise for them to be able to carry on with their life.

00:11:07 Dave

Or, you know, overcome the crisis.

00:11:10 Dave

They might might be facing at a time.

00:11:12 Dave

Also, you know we.

00:11:13 Dave

Have eligibility criteria for people for different programs and.

00:11:17 Dave

You know, if we.

00:11:18 Dave

We think if the gateway to a program is an intellectual disability that doesn't.

00:11:22 Dave

That doesn't preclude us for for supporting somebody with a developmental disability, because that's what we've committed to so, and.

00:11:29 Dave

And we also think that our process is one that doesn't.

00:11:32 Dave

Primarily focus on formalized services. It is one that we we look for the natural community to be involved in people's lives. Having those sort of authentic relationship.

00:11:40 Dave

and to be.

00:11:42 Dave

In those, well, those those places that include people with disabilities.

00:11:46 Teresa

Do you have your volunteer base and what do they do for your organization?

00:11:49 Dave

We depend heavily on the hard work of volunteers and the support of our community, so really we many many hours we have.

00:11:58 Dave

We have people that track our statistics for us and and I'm happy that they do.

00:12:02 Dave

But many thousands of hours of volunteerism to keep this organization going.

00:12:06 Dave

And to be able to continue doing the good work that we've committed.

00:12:09 Dave

To doing.

00:12:10 Dave

So yeah, we're we're always looking for people that want to be involved and how they how they might be involved.

00:12:16 Dave

We can always put them to good use whatever expertise or experience or lack thereof they bring to us.

00:12:22 Dave

We will certainly be able to take advantage of it.

00:12:25 Dave

It is a a really, uh, I mean a deep in history.

00:12:30 Dave

The conviction of the families that that were that were pioneering.

00:12:33 Dave

Inclusion in the early days in the community and continue to influence this organization.

00:12:40

It I I.

00:12:41 Dave

Think that what's important though is we're a values based organization and so a lot of people will say that.

00:12:47 Dave

But if you're not clear on what those values are, how do you know if you're sustaining that fidelity to the values?

00:12:52 Dave

So when we say we're a values based organization.

00:12:56 Dave

Really, those values are that no disability precludes full citizenship that every person has an important contribution to make to the lives of others and to the community.

00:13:06 Dave

We also believe that that contribution is made through natural and authentic relationships within that community and relationships with others also.

00:13:14 Dave

And of course, family leadership being one of our core values as well that families need to be empowered and informed and listen to when they they are advocating for a good life.

00:13:27 Dave

Or their son or daughter with a disability.

00:13:29 Dave

And and also obviously that a good life is found along an inclusive pathway and they're just such good mark.

00:13:35 Dave

Good benchmarks to go by when we are planning and we are evaluating the life of a of a a person with a disability to to make sure that they do have that those values are being exercised by this organization.

00:13:48 Teresa

And so your demographic.

00:13:49 Teresa

Is that all ages adults children seniors?

00:13:53 Dave

It is it.

00:13:54 Dave

It's all ages, you know, from time to time we do have people with with a developmental disability coming to us and they don't really necessarily have for one reason or another, don't have the family support.

00:14:04 Dave

We have an obligation to sort of look at what people that do have that family involved.

00:14:10 Dave

What sort of outcomes they need, and what kind of supports.

00:14:13 Dave

They need and we base it on that you know where we sometimes when we run into family.

00:14:19 Dave

They they may have been quite worn down and and their their efforts have been eroded, and it it's time for us to remind them, and hopefully they can be rejuvenated and and reminded of their importance in the role.

00:14:32 Dave

Like I say.

00:14:33 Dave

There's some services out there.

00:14:34 Dave

It might alienate families from their loved one with a disability, but it's we help them make sure that.

00:14:39 Dave

Engagement in there or or those people that don't have families.

00:14:42 Dave

They have a very similar support or a similar life plan in place.

00:14:46

Can you

00:14:46 Teresa

Please tell our listeners how to get a hold of inclusion Lethbridge if they want more information.

00:14:51 Dave

Certainly we are on Facebook.

00:14:54 Dave

We do have a website at inclusionlethbridge.ca or.com. Either one will get you there. They can always call us 

00:15:02 Dave

403-327-2911 that's our office phone. We consider that we're always available to meet people needs. And and we actually are trying to make ourselves available 24 hours a day.

00:15:15 Dave

If if families if if there's some crisis and families need to get ahold of us, we try to be as responsive as possible.

00:15:21 Dave

As far as our operations.

00:15:22 Dave

That's we, that's what we want to evaluate.

00:15:25 Dave

Our service as is how, how fast.

00:15:28 Dave

Did we respond to you?

00:15:29 Dave

Was our our response effective?

00:15:32 Dave

And then we always say in how much did we charge you?

00:15:34 Dave

Because all of our services are free of charge.

00:15:37 Dave

You can buy a membership that might allows you to.

00:15:40 Dave

Say you're a member of inclusion Lethbridge, but it's not.

00:15:44 Dave

It's not mandatory.

00:15:45 Dave

I'm not sure that's the best business model, but we are here to meet the needs of community no matter what it is, and particularly for people with developmental disabilities so.

00:15:54 Dave

Yeah, that they can get ahold of us and they can pretty much get ahold of us anytime through those.

00:15:58 Dave

Those means and and I'm sure there's others as well.

00:16:01 Dave

And I was coming through the front door.

00:16:02 Teresa

How much is a membership

00:16:04 Teresa

If somebody wanted to join?

00:16:05 Dave

It's $25 for an individual, $35 for a family and we also have an association memberships that are $100.

00:16:14 Dave

Associations that might want to be, or organizations that want to be part of the.

00:16:18 Dave

The inclusion Lethbridge as well.

00:16:21 Teresa

Is there anything else I should know about?

00:16:24 Dave

When I talk about the.

00:16:25 Dave

Planning that we do with families.

00:16:27 Dave

Yeah, we don't like when we do.

00:16:30 Dave

Presentations or planning or our beyond graduation.

00:16:32 Dave

We don't spend a lot of time talking about formal services because sometimes I mean there.

00:16:37 Dave

There are many good services out there doing some really good things.

00:16:40 Dave

Some good people doing good things within those services, but we don't want to represent the community that.

00:16:47 Dave

Especially in the case of people with developmental disabilities that when they're that their needs are totally met by these services, you know there there is times when people are engulfed in services.

00:16:58 Dave

And obviously they have lots of professionals lots.

00:17:00 Dave

Of programming and assessment and all those sort of things that go on and it can sort of tell community that.

00:17:07 Dave

Oh, we got this as an agency supporting a person.

00:17:10 Dave

Was the developmental disability when really

00:17:13 Dave

They know and and we know that their role is to actually introduce them to community, include them in community and build those natural relationships we don't want society to believe that these agencies are the be all and end all for people with developmental disabilities.

00:17:28 Dave

Because when I say that people need natural relationships, the community needs to know that it's not only the role of people with disabilities in community, it's a role of community in the lives of people with disabilities that they actually play a role and they are neighbors and hopefully coworkers and and all those sort of things that that make our life worth living.

00:17:48 Dave

And certainly makes a the life of a person with a developmental disability worth living as well.

00:17:53 Dave

It's really important for community to understand that they have a role as well and it's and we see that happen.

00:18:00 Dave

You know, when when?

00:18:00 Dave

People are hungry.

00:18:02 Dave

People might think about the food bank or soup kitchen really important things in our community, but it doesn't address the the core problem.

00:18:10 Dave

And and I think that that's that's an important message for society and community.

00:18:15 Dave

That that they.

00:18:15 Dave

Have a role in the lives of people with.

00:18:17 Dave

Disabilities and and.

00:18:18 Dave

The fact is that the more right relationships people have, the less.

00:18:21 Dave

Room there is for wrong relationships so and we also know that people are safer and inclusive and inclusive life they are than they are.

00:18:29

Just check.

00:18:30 Dave

Created life so it's really important that we remember that all the time and that everybody knows they have a role in this.

00:18:35 Dave

This important thing that we like to call community building.

00:18:38 Teresa

Sounds like inclusion lethbBridge has a great community base.

00:18:41 Dave

we tend to attract the right people for the right reasons for for sure and and I admire and marvel at the the support we get from the Community, from corporate entities to to private private industry and those sort of things and then then the citizens just come to us and want to help out.

00:19:00 Dave

Because they they know it's a.

00:19:01 Dave

Good idea, they might not.

00:19:03 Dave

Know how, but you know we can.

00:19:04 Dave

Like I said, we can always put them to to good use if they do come come to.

00:19:09 Dave

Us we'll make.

00:19:10 Dave

Sure that they they are doing something meaningful always.

00:19:13 Teresa

Well, thank you for your time and energy today.

00:19:16 Teresa

Your support to the community is a value to all inclusion.

00:19:19 Teresa

Lethbridge is an organizational member of VAD and a link to the website can be accessed on our membership list online.

00:19:26 Teresa

Individuals looking to access bad members can do so with VAD society / resources.

00:19:31 Teresa

Thank you again Dave today for joining today's podcast.

00:19:35 Teresa

Voice of Albertans was across disability nonprofit organization of and for people with disabilities that is guided by the principles of accessibility, equity and inclusion.

00:19:46 Teresa

And you can.

00:19:46 Teresa

Learn about VAD services on our website at vadsociety.ca or call 780-488-9088 For more information.

00:19:55 Teresa

If you have a topic you would like to hear more about, please e-mail me at vad@vadsociety.ca. Do you have anything else you wanted to say today Dave?

00:20:05 Dave

Nothing other than thank you so.

00:20:06 Dave

Much for this opportunity.

00:20:07 Dave

Teresa and and we're very appreciative that we are.

00:20:11 Dave

Thankful to be members of voice of Albertans with disabilities and we appreciate all of the good work that you folks do as well.

00:20:18 Dave

Thank you so much.

00:20:19 Teresa

Awesome, thank you very much.

00:20:21 Teresa

Signing off for today together we hold the power.