The Voice - Community Advocate Don Slater

Join VAD as we speak with community advocate Don Slater.  We discuss happenings in the community, the disability sector and how Don relates to the individuals that require assistance.

Transcript

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

Welcome to the voice of Albertans with Disabilities podcast for November 2024. I'm Teresa Makarewich, your host and VADs program and service manager. Thanks for joining us today. Voice of Albertans with disabilities gratefully acknowledges that what we call Alberta is the traditional and ancestral territories and gathering place for the diverse indigenous people. Whose histories, languages and cultures continue to influence our vibrant communities. We make this acknowledgement as an act of reconciliation and gratitude to the many First Nations, Metis settlements and the six regions of the Metis nation of Alberta and Inuit who have lived and cared for these lands for generations .  Hy Hy. VAD has been talking to local agencies to learn about the resources that are available to the disability community, but today we'll be speaking with an advocate in the Community, Don Slater. Together, we hold the power.

Don Slater

Hi.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

Hello, Don.

Don Slater

Hello there, how are you?

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

Good. Can you take a moment and introduce yourself for everybody?

Don Slater

Sure, I'm Don. I can do more than that. Hi, I'm Don. I, as you know, I'm an advocate in the community. I worked with various societies to try to improve the lives of people with disabilities. I've been doing that for about 20 years. And again, that's generally all I am and who I  Am is just  A little helper.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

Nice. You're a great helper in the community. How did you become involved in the disability community?

Don Slater

Well, thank you. Well, I was injured on the job and I guess 2003, but I've had a lifelong disability called Schumann's disease and after I was, since you've done the job, it gave me the opportunity to take care of my mother who was terminally ill after my mother passed, I was left without a sense of purpose or cause. I found that I couldn't go back to work because it was too badly injured. And although I tried very hard to go back, but it just didn't happen for me. So, I started turning my energies towards helping others and I started out by just fixing people's electrical issues and their plumbing issues, i just volunteered. People would just call me. And I would just show Up at their house and fix things. When I got involved with politics, I went to the Convention in 2018. I won't say which party, and I was left sort of surprised by the lack of support or the lack of understanding for people with disabilities. So, at that point I really started spending my energy focusing on making life better for the broader disabled community and stuff instead of helping individuals. I was introduced to VAD and from there, here I am today.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

That's awesome. What are some of the resources you are able to provide to individuals that require self advocacy assistance?

Don Slater

Well, I do run A little website on Facebook. I won't name it here because I don't want to take away from VAD unless it's OK to name it there. 

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

It's OK 

Don Slater

OK, it's called the Ark, which is each related community on Facebook. And there I answer people's questions and try to help them with every situation they're under.

Don Slater

I offer my best advice, and that's all I can really do with my current position. I tell people about the importance of  The daily events and the daily goings on what's happening in the political world, but mostly help them feel secure with AISH and help them surf the the huge waves that is the government.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

How does accessibility impact the community for built environment and policies or procedures?

Don Slater

Well, accessibility is what causes the term handicapped. I know people don't like the term handicapped, but. Handicapped means, you know, not being able to do something because there's an obstacle in your way. And when you have accessibility, you're not handicapped. You're still disabled, but you're not limited by something. Like if you have to enter a building, there's no wheelchair ramp, there's just stairs, Then you're handicapped and disabled. You can't go up those stairs in your wheelchair. So accessibility is one of the most important things in it. And I'm starting to see an improvement in our society. People are starting to think about it. But our society isn't built for everyone, and that's something we have to continually work on to ensure that every person is just disabled and not handicapped. I hope that makes sense.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

That does. That's where VAD believes in full participation for all individuals. What are some of the challenges, without getting political, that the Community sees on a regular basis?

Don Slater

Well, politically speaking, sorry.

The biggest challenges are that people don't understand what it's like to be disabled, and they really can't. You can't sit in a wheelchair and say, I know what it's like not to walk because you can only stand up afterwards. There's a lot of stigmas that's cast onto welfare, which is  Unfair and that stigma transfers across to people, veterans, disability benefits like, oh, you could work or something like that. Well, no, I can't. I wish I could. I wish I could get up. I've been knocked down. I need society's help. And many people have heard me mention the social contract before. And that contract says if you, if you're rich and you, you can live in office, your property is protected as long as you take care of the vulnerable. And I think our society has forgotten about to take care of the vulnerable Part. I think many people in our society are very concerned and inflate pressure by the current economic situation in the world, like with how it's how expensive everything has become, especially rent and housing. So the people at  The top are feeling, even feeling a little bit the crush, but the people at the bottom are certainly feeling the  Crush. And you've heard people say the AISH is the most generous. I prefer to say it's the least cheap because while it does provide a substantial amount of money. That amount of money is no longer sufficient. Wasn't sufficient before our latest information occurred, and certainly not sufficient now so, Hence the need for the Canadian disability benefit and I hope no government touches that. But I'm wondering away from the original question, so I'll I'll let you answer another question or ask any other questions. Right now you know I'll ask the questions, you don't answer the questions, no.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

That's OK. We're getting into the Canadian disability. But first, we're going to touch on the carbon tax and what is it? Can you explain how it's good for the vulnerable poor?

Don Slater

Well, the carbon tax is based on how many tons of CO2 you produce. A poor person might produce 2 to 3 tons of CO2 per year, and that's probably breathing and riding the bus and all those things. So when you measure how much you're a ton of CO2 is current. They  Versus what they get back in the carbon rebate, the disabled person gets back $900 a year in Alberta. So that's a helpful benefit. It it helps. Again, it helps with the problems with inflation. How many people might say, well, food is more expensive than everything's more expensive because of the carbon tax. But it's not really that much more expensive. You know it's expensive for the fuel companies, like the fossil fuel company. Means that the carbon tax, the word tax, isn't really appropriate because it's what's called a Pigovian tax. It's like a smokers tax. It's a gives people compensation that's damaged by the actions of others like smokers, smoke and they get health issues later in life. So they pay a tax. So their Healthcare is paid for by that tax. Then you and I don't have to pay it if we don't smoke CO2. The damage that's done to the world and the changes that are made are paid for by the taxes that fossil fuel industries pay. And everybody else in society generally gets compensation unless you're fabulously rich, and then you don't get a rebate, but more people get a wonderful rebate of 900 a year and that's going to go up next year as the carbon tax increases. Unless we have a change of government and then things could change. OK.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

Can you explain the Canadian disability benefit and then the disability tax credit?

Don Slater

OK, I can't explain the Canadian DTC. I can't. I can't explain the disability tax credit because it's an awkward piece of paper, but all I can say is it's it's poorly constructed and it's not something that the government should have used to identify people with disabilities. But it is what it is. I would say the doctors,  is don't take that form too literally. It was redesigned about 20 years ago to exclude people and not include them, and if it's going to be used as a qualifier for Canadian disability benefit. Then the intention should be to be as liberal as possible with that form. To ensure that your patient does qualify for the disability tax group, the reason the disability tax credit is important is is because it does give people A little bit Of the tax break, if they earn money, but that doesn't really apply to the disabled community, but it can help the parents of disabled children. The big thing for the majority of the Community right now  Is the disability tax credit is being used as the qualifier for the Canadian Disability. Different  Many politicians are unhappy with that. It's not what they wanted to have happen, but for whatever reason, internal politics that many of us are not allowed to understand, they did choose to disability tax credit. Many people prefer the government to use the benefit programs that many people are already on, like AISH, to determine who qualifies, and then they Could just do A sweeping qualification of thousands of people at once. Instead of forcing doctors to do 1 application, one at a time, the other, the other issue is that doctors are very busy and they're absolutely slammed.

So asking them to fill out paperwork at this time is not appropriate either. I I think it was the Canadian Medical Association put out a letter saying it's not appropriate to ask. Us to do. This many doctors are busy and I'm basically just echoing what they said when I say they put it on the back burner. Because they've got so much to do, it's a complicated form, unnecessarily complicated. And they just the government just needs to really take a look at what their intention was versus what they're doing to the community in the way of impairing their ability to qualify for the Canadian disability benefit. That was a little bit of a run. On sentence, but there you go.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

No, I agree completely. That's one of the things that we're really advocating for when people come in for form assistance is to make sure that they filled out the disability tax credit form to qualify for that 2025 disability credit.

Don Slater

Well, you know what I'm also hearing from the community. Is ohh I won't qualify and I don't think anybody should give up before they try.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

Yeah.

Don Slater

I know people are disappointed. I know that's not what it's supposed to be, and I also know that the promises that were made by the government were grand and they didn't seem to be grand when the benefit came to fruition. The amounts that they said they were going to offer versus the amounts they offered were quite different there was. Disparity between the two amounts. So people were left disappointed and left disenfranchised. That is $200 a month. And with the crisis we're currently in, take it, you know, it's it may improve later. I have theories about why it came up at $200 a month, but I don't want to talk about rumors unless you say it's OK talk about rumors.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

I have my own theories on why it's set up the way it is and. I think it has To do with the bottom line.

Don Slater

We all. We all, yeah. We all have serious I I think the biggest issue is that the CPPD was never intended to be produced and clawed, backed by the promises. I think the federal government said we made a mistake there. It wasn't meant to be. It was meant to be an additional benefit on top of the provincial benefit programs. And then provinces clawed back, that was. It's shocking to it shouldn't be shocking to anyone, because when a person's in poverty And the collection plate starts to Fill up  You shouldn't  Go back collection plates starting to get too full. You know they're  Still in poverty. But let's take  A little bit  Of money out of there, because this is all they really need to survive. But your estimates on what a person needs to survive and what they need to feel a sense of well-being, are vastly different. You know, disabled people shouldn't be in a jail of solitude for currentness sort of like being in jail for a crime they didn't commit to. You were crushed by the hand of faith. You don't want to be every person who choose to work. If they could  I mean, who wants to live in poverty? So these additional benefit programs that bring a person up to at least the poverty line should be, you know, considered a blessing not considered a blessing for the government so they can get their budgets under control or relieve their budgetary issues. And this is this thing that's, you know, politicians. I know you don't need to be political, so I'll say all politicians  Have to assess, OK  If I was disabled tomorrow, what would I expect from myself? You know, if I lost all my income, what would I expect for myself and what I what would I expect from society? And they could also say if I was a billionaire tomorrow, what would I expect from myself to give for the vulnerable?

You know, and these. Are questions that people don't ask they they relieve their moral obligation to the vulnerable by saying, oh, they're fine, or they don't really need that or or most of them aren't really disabled.

You know I Hear about far too often,  Well, you're disabled, but not that badly or you don't look disabled. These are the means. These are the means that we have to avoid as a society because we don't walk in another man's shoes and we don't want the government to walk in our shoes or walk them all in our shoes.

Just so they can have a mall head start before. They steal our shoes. We want them to truly show empathy. The problem, I think with politicians is many of them have lived lives of privilege. And empathy is something that's crafted in the fires of of this world, like it's forged in fire. So empathy really comes from poor people and people who have suffered the people of privilege are often the people to get elected. And I would just ask them to try to understand a little more what it's like to be beaten up and beaten down and understand that disabled people have a lot of gratitude. They told their gratitude behind them, but at the same time they have pride and they don't want to be put down and part of being put down is forcing people to live in absolute poverty.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

Agreed. That was really well said. Thank you. Can you share some  Thoughts on the positive aspects of the community?

Don Slater

While the disabled community, Oh well, it's just full of absolutely wonderful people. Like I say, empathy is is forged in fire and many disabled people absolutely appreciate what they get. Like I say, they have gratitude. They don't want to be Oliver Twist, Asking the cook for more and getting whacked across the head By the ladle. Every person has pride. Some of us can work and and do a little better, and it's very fortunate that we're allowed to earn some amount of money. That's great. But not all of us can, and so there's some disparity even in the disabled community, between those that can sort of eke their way through life versus those that are really, really cast down and really impoverished. But you know, there's not saying I think. It was since I. Hope I've got the right person who said if you're down and out, you know Steinbeck. I think anybody can correct me. You said if you're down, you know  Once you go to  The poor people, they're the only ones that will  Help the only ones. And what that means is poor people Are generous because they understand How hard it is to live a life of despair and live a life poverty. There's also something called the Hispanic paradox, where people in South America live in extreme poverty. But they're all happy because there's equality and they all share, and they all lift each other up. And when you have the inequality that we have in our society. That creates a lot of unhappiness. You know, you've got the rich, you know, floating along in the clouds or at the top of the trees or wherever you want To place them. And then you have the poors that are just taking their way by. But again, I'm getting a little preachy. I I just want to focus on  The disabled community, you know, as an advocate, it's hard being an advocate because you can't lift everybody up as far as you want to. You can sort of, you sort of lean on you a bit, but you lean on them a bit. But no one is capable of lifting another person completely out of the hole that they're  Standing in right? They're bringing them up to a level playing field is something that many of us cannot do. We try our best, so it's a little bit heartbreaking for the advice. It's. But the good thing is, is the people I talk to are so joyful. Even considering their circumstances, these are the most joyful people in society. They're the kindest people in society. I see them when they go up, when they talk to a cashier, the cashier is left smiley after their interactions. They're the people that will hold the door open for somebody else, even though the other people should be holding the door open for them.

These are the good people that have the foundation of our society. And we often hear that Canadians are so nice, you'll hear international claims that Canadians are the nicest people. And I really thought about that the other day and said to myself, well, why are we so nice? And when I look back on my great, great grandfather and what he had to go to when he came here, he was basically conned into thinking he was showing up to a town and when he got there, it didn't exist. There's just a bunch of tents in the middle of winter. And that was Lloydminister. And at that time All those people that showed up really relied on each other. You know, they all suffered scarcity, so needing to be Nice was a very important attribute. In those days, you know. And I think it's An act of. It's an attribute of northern societies. Damn, that's cold. I don't want to go all the way to the store for a cup of sugar. I'll go over to my neighbors. The big smile on my face and say, can I have a cup of sugar and then? I'll keep this cup. But yeah, I think. That's really the the greatest thing about people with disabilities is, you know, suffering is good for the soul. All these old sayings that men have thought of over the thousands of years that we've existed and hundreds of thousands of years, whatever you want to wish to believe. But you know that that crafting of empathy really comes from a hard life. And so. We look at the disabled community and what they contribute is understanding and compassion and care and just basically wonderful human aspects and traits to offer to all all people.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

Thank you. Where do you see  The disability community going in the future.

Don Slater

Well, man. I'll just get out my little crystal ball. Here. Where I want to see the disabled community going in the future is what the where the UN wants us to be going. I want to see all the agreements that were signed in the past to come to be in the future. Want to see them come to fruition. Disabled people should be allowed to reach a state of well-being, or a sense of well-being. That's what I'm going to see for the future. I want to see a government that understands that it needs to regulate avarice and greed. To prevent those. That might suffer or fall to avarice to prevent the suffering that they they go through supplying. The benefit is not enough. I mean, it's great to get dollars. But then those dollars are quickly eaten up. When people realize, oh, I can charge more for rent, this person has more money. You know, so I'm. I'm terribly going off the tangents. I'm sorry. I've got so much on my mind and so much to say, but what do I see for the disabled community in the future? I see a better life for them, especially with the Canadian disability benefit. I mean that what Carla Qualtrough started was wonderful. I think this benefit is going to substantially increase in the future at least. That's my belief. And it's really going to help people as long as the promises keep their hands off the money. You know, this is not for the promises. This is for disabled people. And if you're a person that says most generous. Make your actions match your words. You know, be most generous. Be understanding. Don't be the person that reaches into the collection plate and takes many out because you think the collection plate is getting too full. Because your perspective on what enough is is flawed by the fact that you have more than enough. You know you're judging people that. Have less than enough. End of sentence.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

The question do you know if AISH is going to claw back the disability credit amount when it starts or is that going to exempt?

Don Slater

Well, there's been soft whispers that they won't claw back.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

Would be nice.

Don Slater

Yeah. Again, this is a cruelty and not announcing for sure that we won't fall back. I mean, why not? Are you going? To be the government says we're going to take. This money away from people. Are you going to be the government that says, well, we have to stick our thumb in the eye of the federal government, we're not going to take money from them, even if it's to to help the poorest among us. You know, we've got our pride. You know you can afford to have your pride and not accept the money or to deduct it off of each, but you're you're hurting the vulnerable. And I would hope that people do not play politics with this amount of money that they realize the spirit of it, that if they're conservative, they go back to the era of locking or they think about it stomach. That they don't think about. Well, we got to balance the books on. The backs of the poor. This benefit was not intended for provincial budget. It was intended to help people to lift them up, and if you don't think that their disabled community is suffering, then you're completely out of touch. You've got to exercise what empathy you have and and show care to the disabled community. So we've got soft whisperings. Any UCP that they're not going to clock? Back they should come out and make the statement tomorrow that they're not going to claw back because it's something they should do. So why delay something you should do, especially if it causes a great amount of relief in the disabled community and going to the fact that they haven't announced it. There's people in the disabled. Community to say, well, I'm not gonna apply for the DTC and spend the money and spend the time because again it's going to clog back anyway. There's people that catastrophize if that's a word that believes that the the shoe is going to drop on them and that goes back to when a political party said they weren't going to de index. And then as soon as they were elected, they dead indexed. And there was some some unfortunate advisors in the that political party that said things that really demeaned the disabled community. And it created a political party with a Black Hat and a political party with a white hat. As far as the disabled community goes. And in the future, I think that can change dramatically. As long as the. People that are caring for the disabled community. Really think about what kind of Hap they want to be seen, right? You know, do I want to be a bad guy? Or do I want to be a good guy?

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

Yeah, hopefully we can get more white hats out there.

Don Slater

Well, I think every human being wants to be. A white hat. But again, it comes to empathy and. The way they see the world. Put yourself in another amount of shoes. You know, seeing the world as another person sees it, experiencing the world as another person experiences it.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

Exactly.

Don Slater

I mean the politicians are certainly blessed in their lives, you know. I think they work. Five hours a day, five months a year and they get they get paid really well. We we get to, we get an expense account, they get all these blessings and maybe they could think about what their life was like before and what a blessing it is to to live in their state, to be at their sense of well-being. You know, I now think about the disabled people. They don't have enough and where their life would be if they just had a little bit more lecture, lecture lecture.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

People say you can't buy happiness, but I'd like the money to try.

Don Slater

Well, you you can't buy happiness, but you can certainly buy freedom. You know, I'm not freedom. You know, I'm not. Freedom provides happiness, right? Like you said before, being in jail for a crime you didn't commit. It's just being forced into solitude because I can't afford to go anywhere.

I wait for my action for 30 minutes. I'm rich. You know, until I buy groceries until I pay my bills and tell everything else. And then I sit and I wait for my next paycheck to come. I what are they called? 30 minute millionaires so. I don't know what a good term is. For it. 30 minutes under, there's something like $100. Yeah, but.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

No worries.

Don Slater

Yeah, you know. Just being able to have a social life is so important to a person being able to sit and talk to a person over a cup of coffee, and where happiness is found is in the company of others.

You know when you're too poor to go, even on a bus, or you know, or you're too poor to afford a cup of coffee, you know? That's when life gets really depressing. Depressing. I'm forced to stay at home. I'm forced to be alone and bless those with.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

And then you get the people who say things like we'll just cut out the coffee and the Starbucks.

Don Slater

Oh yeah, yeah. Just cut out all. The joy in life. You know that's that's just great.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

And I remember thinking things like if I could afford that stuff, I'd be better off. But I can't afford that stuff. So you cut.

Don Slater

Good.

Don Slater

Yeah, it's like seeing the person just. Cut out every joy you have in life. You know just. Cut that out. You know, we're we're paying for your life. You know you don't. You know, they're forgetting the the very. Basis of the social contract. But if you're going to force. People to live like animals. Then you should expect that you have to live like an animal. You know you're on the. Ohh you know. You know, could you imagine the the the greatest beasts in the wilderness having 100 Cariboos under its. Paw. You know, every other beast in in the wilderness would come along and attack them.

That the the rich enjoy the protections they're giving based on the idea that they care for the vulnerable, that's their obligation. And they also have to remember that the people that have fallen are the descendants of people that built this problem. Yes. We're allowed the people who are falling and have gone through hard times or have horrible disabilities are the children of the people that work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you know, working on the farm or maybe not 24 hours a day. Average farmer only works 23 1/2. Hours a day. So you know, we're allowed to have part of that inheritance. That other people have thrived from that. Other people have built fortunes from that. The foundation of society was built by others and you just didn't create everything you have by yourself. And so that you have. An enduring sense of gratitude to everybody in society for the society that. We live in. And he makes it society just and makes society fair. And then you feel damn good about yourself when you think that you're like somebody like Andrew Carnegie. That's there. The man that dies death rich dies disgraced. You can't take it with you. Life is. About. Sharing it with other human beings. All the material things in the world that we gather and surround ourselves with don't bring us happiness as the people that are in our in our lives. So, think about all the people that you want in your life and how you want to interact with everybody. If you create, you create a society with a bunch of suffering individuals. Society is not a nice society so. It's to the. Benefit of those in power to care for the poor.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

I agree. Do you have any specific plans coming up that you want to share with the audience?

Don Slater

Let's see. See making a sandwich. After That, you know, there's Christmas and there's all sorts of things that are coming up and, you know, scraping enough together. I'm thinking of making cookies for people because they can't afford to make some cookies. So those are my big plans for the future. But, you know, again, I'm just sticking with the with the program, I'm helping them. I can't because I can't. I'm working with another organization that is trying to bring about vast change and trying to work with politicians to make them see the light if they're, if they're standing in the dark, I don't think those politicians want to be in the dark. They want to help, but they just don't know. What our world is like, and that's what I'd like to assume that they're not purposely cool. You know, they're not purposely ablest, I call it non intentional ableist.

When you think people are fine when you're not. Fine. You know, you just. My work in the future is just being going. To be hey. Hey, this is what's going on. What do you think? So, and I'm going to be doing a little bit of work with the outbreak, helping animals to give them a shout out because they're incredibly important to the disabled community as well. I talked, I talked about Solitude earlier today, one of the biggest relief reliefs of Solitude is having a pet. You know, it's like having a family member that's always there for you and doesn't yell at you and doesn't talk back. And you know, it's just this unconditional love that. The disabled people need and that unconditional love becomes so important in the lives of people with nothing. That are very helping animals does a wondrous job for the disabled community. There is an example of people that are doing something that's wonderful and all those people that were helping animals as the people of God should really give themselves a good pat on the back because they're making life so much better. They're just some little little things, you know. I gotta quote kilogram. For an ado. Of little things, the mind finds it's morning and it's refreshed, you know, and we want to. We want to go. We want to wake with a song of praise upon our lips. You know, each day we face, we want to face it with our best selves and do our best for everyone else.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

Right. I like that. How does somebody get a hold of you if they need assistance?

Don Slater

Probably phone you. Well, that's one of the ways. Just to phone VAD. But you can go to the age-related community sites on Facebook. There's other age-related sites. Mine isn't the only one. The wonderful Heather Sharebar has a side of the room which she manages. And she's just a wonderful warm human. And she does her best to help people. But on these Facebook sites, I'm not the only one. There's also a woman named Mary Silvani. I hope I'm saying her last name right. She does wonderful work in helping people find resources and. It's just basically what can I do? I can point people. In the directions of others that help you know, I can point people through the community. I can be the guide in the community. You know, I can do my best to help you as well. I can help you with the disability form so I can, you know, basically. Basically, what I do is appoint people to people like yourself. You know what's greatest achievement don’t well is the greatest achievement is pointing people towards that, you know, like is God really helps. And God is wonderful organization that does a lot of. Good work for a lot of people.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

Thank you for that. Well, thank you for your time and energy today. Don, your support of the community is of value to all. Is there anything else you want to say today that I haven't asked you?

Don Slater

Well, we're done. Are you understanding? Yeah, I'm going to big panic because I've only used 30,000 words and I've got 30,000 to go. No, it was a lovely experience, Teresa. Thank you for having me. I'm hoping there wasn't too much of A motor mouse and people can understand all my rambling thoughts. There is a lot to say about disability. Choose and. You know, after this this podcast is over, I'll be saying ohh I should have said this. I should have said. That. You know, you try to get it all in there, but I want people if there's one take away from this and there's one take away from my ramblings is that. I care a lot. I my care and empathy is profound for the disabled community. I've been fortunate. That I've had. To care for people that have been ill. And. I've been fortunate to feel the love that people have given me that are in those situations, and it is truly a blessing because I can say to myself my life had meaning and my life had purpose because I helped a sole need. Get through their life.

Teresa M, VAD Program & Services Manager

That's a wonderful purpose. Well, thank you again for joining Vance podcast. Voice of Albertans with disabilities is across disability, nonprofit organization and for people with disabilities, we are guided by the principles of accessibility, equity and inclusion. We're above add services on our website at vadsociety.ca or call 78048890 For more information. Question. If you have a topic you would like to hear more about in a podcast, please e-mail myself a TV DVD society.ca with topic ideas, speaker suggestions, or your feedback. Signing off for the day together, we hold the power.

Don Slater

Yay VAD