#gatewayassociation

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Lily Pods St. Albert now offers discounts to people with disabilities, their families

Lily Pods Float Centre in St. Albert is keen to support people living with disability and their families. There is lots of research on how floating helps with sensory decompression, stress and pain management, relaxation, and general well-being. The folks at Lily Pods have information sheets available at the their front desk on the benefits of floating with autism, addiction recovery, anxiety, fibromyalgia, and arthritis amongst many others.

Leslea Ciciarelli, owner of Lily Pods, wants to see all people live well. In that spirit, Lily Pods is now proud to partner with Gateway.

They are offering the following benefits:

Individuals living with a diagnosed disability: Pay what you can (truly … it is free if you can’t afford to float)

Immediate family members: 25% off each and every float (just say that Gateway sent you)

When you call and book an appointment, please let Lily Pods staff know you were referred by Gateway. If it is “pay what you can,” you can make arrangements when you book the appointment. 

Please give Leslea a huge THANK YOU if you have the chance to meet her.

http://lilypodsfloatcenter.com/lily-pods-float-center-is-proud-to-be-a-partner-with-gateway-association/

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We challenge you to post a #selfie + a promise #YEGDignity

Check out the ‪#‎YEGDignity‬ ‪#‎selfies‬! We have this aweseome #YEGDignity campaign leading up to Global Dignity Day Oct. 21. Have you done the #selfie C.A.N.D.Y. challenge yet? Message Gateway Association for candy bags and we'll send some your way. 

The idea behind the campaign is to encourage all members of the community to honour the dignity in all people. The #YEGDignity C.A.N.D.Y. (Challenge. Awareness. Now. Dignity. YEG.) campaign is a selfie challenge. We hand out bags of candy (fitting for October), each of which contains a challenge.

We want people to read the challenge (there are five different challenges), accept it, and post a selfie in support, either on Facebook or on Twitter. 

One message is targeted to businesses: “I will make my business accessible to all people.” One message is targeted to service providers: “I will refer to the people I support as people, not clients.” And three are targeted to the general public: 1.) “I vow not to use the ‘R’ word. Ever.” 2.) “I will respect every person's abilities.” 3.) “I will look at you and not your disability.”

We challenge each and every one of you to honour the dignity in all people with a #selfie and a promise :)

Contact Gateway Association at 780-454-0701 or [email protected] and we’ll send you some bags. Challenge friends, family members, coworkers ... get those #selfies out there!

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Thank you to CBC Radio Active Edmonton for coverage featuring Gateway’s Director of Employment: Renate Burwash. The Edmonton Fringe Festival recently reached out to community/disability groups, such as Gateway, for support in the wake of controversy sparked when the festival banned four volunteers who live with disabilities from participating. The more our community looks at abilities first, the more opportunities will be given to all people. Please share :)

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Forty Stories; Forty Years

We spent a year collecting 40 stories from 40 of our families. What we have learned, about them and about our community, and Gateway’s place in Edmonton’s historical landscape, is profoundly impactful. These are the voices of our community -- of parents who worked with Edmonton’s school boards to include children with disabilities in classrooms; of volunteers who looked for innovative ways for all people to be included in communities; of families whose struggles and triumphs give hope to those who face barriers today.

We want to share these stories with the greater Edmonton area, as their voices are the voices of our community. This exhibit shines the light on voices not often heard by our community at large, and yet many of these voices have been pivotal in the pushing forward of belonging and acceptance for all people in our community. The banners showcase 40 incredible people and 40 incredible stories that helped Gateway become a strong influence in community. People with disabilities have a great opportunity to belong and contribute when given the chance.

Our banner exhibit, Forty Stories; Forty Years, was released on our 40th anniversary – Feb. 6, 2015. Each four-foot-by-two-foot piece, displayed on plexiglass, features the photograph and story of a local family. There are 40 banners in total. The exhibit also offers a large standalone banner that features our timeline and the many landmark moments in Gateway’s history in the Edmonton area.

Forty Stories; Forty Years was unveiled to the public at Edmonton’s City Hall April 7 and will be showing at City Hall until April 17. 

Watch us on social media or follow the banner exhibit as it moves around the city at http://gatewayassociation.ca/our-historical-banner-exhibit/

Where will the exhibit end up next? ...

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Use what talents you possess. The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang the best.

Henry Van Dyke

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“Tell me I can’t” … A young woman tells of her journey toward independence

Nicole Chalifoux, 29, who lives with both intellectual and physical disabilities, shares the story of her journey toward independence in a speech at Gateway Association’s Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, March 24, 2015.

Nicole is an engaging speaker who has grown immensely in the past year. Living independently in her own apartment has opened many doors of opportunity for Nicole.

Her self-awareness and self-confidence has blossomed; she speaks her mind freely; she has improved her physical strength and takes regular buses now rather than DATS for transportation.

She works; she bowls; she has a boyfriend; she is an involved self-advocate.

She now lives a meaningful, authentic life.

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Gateway Association staffers Cindy de Bruijn and Nicole Chalifoux meet with CBC Edmonton AM host Mark Connolly to talk about Nicole's journey toward an independent life.