Open For Input!

The Canadian Abilities Foundation reaches out to 5,000 organizations for people with disabilities and asks the question: What do you think?

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Come visit EnableLink - and give us your feedback. With your input, EnableLink will become one of the most useful online resources serving people with disabilities... ever!

March 1 marks the beginning of our final phase of community consultation, prior to EnableLink’s official June 4 launch at this year’s People in Motion Trade Show and Exhibition in Toronto. Please bookmark EnableLink now - and visit as often as you like. As your comments, additions and ideas come in, EnableLink will shape up to serve you as an information-rich, interactive personal resource.

Of course, EnableLink will continue to grow and change indefinitely, but in our current phase we are calling on community groups and individuals to come give it a good test drive. For instance, this issue of ABILITIES, with its invitation to view and review EnableLink, will be distributed to its thousands of individual readers as well as to over 5,000 organizations by, for and of people with disabilities.

Please let us know what you think - about the content of EnableLink, the accessibility, how easy or difficult it is for you to get around within the site. What about the range of services? The information and communication opportunities? Is there anything you’d like to see added or changed?

Join us in June at People in Motion for our launch celebration - and take in the sights and sounds of Canada’s premier trade show for persons with disabilities, health care and rehabilitation professionals and seniors.


WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES VIOLENCE PREVENTION RESOURCE
In addition to its general disability resources, EnableLink will also serve specific populations of people with disabilities ¾ well, including certain groups and individuals requiring particular resources. Our most recent plan for EnableLink includes a Women with Disabilities Violence Prevention Resource Guide.

This important initiative, while seeking to partner with existing resources for women, will make extensive use of the thousands of resources for people with disabilities within EnableLink’s existing databases. Add to this fresh research, and the Women with Disabilities Violence Prevention project will highlight accessible organizations, websites, publications, services and groups within Ontario that serve women by promoting and fostering violence prevention.

Look for more information about the project in this and upcoming issues of ABILITIES magazine.


CANADA’S WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BOARDS POINT TO ENABLELINK
Nearly all of the workers’ compensation boards of Canada have joined Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board in supporting EnableLink as a resource for injured workers. To date, these include British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

The common interest is to have injured workers, people who find themselves with a sudden disability, be able to take advantage of EnableLink as a bridge to connect them with the disability community - a bridge to connect them with thousands of resources, both off-line and on the Internet.

A fuller listing of EnableLink sponsors and supporters will be presented both here, within ABILITIES magazine, and on EnableLink itself.


FORUM PARTNERS ONLINE:

CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT LIVING CENTRES
http://indie.ca/cailc/english/index.htm
Independent Living is about people with disabilities having the right to make their own choices, decisions and risks. CAILC’s site contains information about Independent Living Resource Centre programs across the country. There is also a publications catalogue, library, projects section and information about the organization.

INFOABILITY
http://www.infoability.org
InfoAbility is an information and referral service for vulnerable adults in Ontario. This site contains information about excellent crisis and intervention resources across Ontario. There is also some good information about where to start when looking for resources for the first time. A noteworthy section of the site is "Services for People with Disabilities Who Are the Victims of Abuse."

CAMBRIAN COLLEGE SPECIAL NEEDS REGIONAL RESOURCE CENTRE
http://cybersudbury.com/non_profit/special_needs/index.html
This resource centre at Cambrian College provides academic and career opportunities for persons with learning, visual, hearing and mobility disabilities. The college also conducts research on new assistive and adaptive technology.

OPPORTUNITIES 45+
http://www.opportunities45.org
Opportunities 45+ is an employment resource for adults over 45 with a disability. This website project is hosted by One Voice (The Canadian Seniors’ Network) and Human Resources Development Canada.

Your organization can be a Forum partner, too. For more information about the Canadian Abilities Foundation’s Forum, contact us at (416) 923-9849 (e-mail: rdc@interlog.com).


WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
EnableLink is destined to become your resource -- take an active hand in making it information-rich and valuable! Write, fax or e-mail us to add content to the services we will be providing.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Send us upcoming events for the EnableLink Calendar (January 1999 and beyond). Be sure to include the following information:

Title of Event/Conference:
Date:
Location:
Description:
Contact Information:

LIBRARY, BOOKSTORE & READING ROOM
Send us your suggestions for book titles and articles of interest for our Library, Bookstore and Reading Room. Be sure to include:

Title:
Author:
Date:
Publishing House:
Subject:

LINKS
Tell us about your favourite websites. Don’t forget to include:

URL (Internet address):
Subject or area of interest:
A few of your personal comments on the site:


RESOURCES! RESOURCES!

Here are a few examples of the resources you will find on EnableLink:

CANADIAN AND INTERNATIONAL DISABILITY LINKS:

INJURED WORKERS ONLINE
http://www.injuredworkers.org
A collaboration of injured workers, trade unionists, community activists and doctors working to improve the treatment of people with work-related injuries/illness.

DAWN CANADA
http://indie.ca/dawn
The DisAbled Women’s Network of Canada is affiliated with the provincial organizations of DAWN. DAWN is dedicated to research, defining the needs and concerns of women with disabilities and designing programs to meet those needs. The site contains feature articles and information about ordering DAWN publications.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (ILO)
http://www.ilo.org/index.htm
The ILO is the United Nations specialized agency which seeks the promotion of social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights. This site is trilingual (English, French and Spanish).

LEMONADE FACTORY
http://www.flash.net/~suffrn/
Don’t be confused by the name! The Lemonade Factory is a website about literacy, poetry, art and disability. The site is a celebration of artists with disabilities.


DIRECTORY OF DISABILITY ORGANIZATIONS IN CANADA:

CANADIAN REHABILITATION COUNCIL FOR THE DISABLED, NEW BRUNSWICK
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Phone/TTY: (506) 458-8739
Fax: (506) 457-2863
E-mail: crcd@nb.net.ca
Meets the unmet needs of persons with disabilities living in New Brunswick.

CANADIAN HIV/AIDS LEGAL NETWORK
Montreal, Quebec
Phone: (514) 451-5457
Fax: (514) 451-5134
E-mail: info@aidslaw.ca
Educates about and promotes policy and legal responses to HIV infection and AIDS that respect human rights.

SOCIETY FOR MANITOBANS WITH DISABILITIES
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Phone: (204) 784-5601
Toll-free: 1-800-282-8041
Fax: (204) 783-2919
Promotes the full participation and equality of persons with a disabilities, and provides a full range of programs and services.

NEIL SQUIRE FOUNDATION
Burnaby, B.C.
Phone: (604) 473-9363
Fax: (604) 473-9364
E-mail: admin@neilsquire.ca
Offers programs and services and develops technology to meet the needs of persons with significant physical disabilities.


EMPLOYMENT SERVICE DIRECTORY:

NEW CHALLENGES / NOUVEAUX DEFIS
Moncton, New Brunswick
Phone/TTY: (506) 862-0050
Fax: (506) 862-0056
E-mail: ncnd@nbnet.nb.ca
Provides vocational and career counselling to clients with disabilities.

ABILITY WORKS EMPLOYMENT SERVICE CENTRE
St. John’s, Newfoundland
Phone: (709) 738-8500
Fax: (709) 738-8585
TTY: (709) 738-8510
Offers persons with disabilities in eastern Canada a full range of free employment services, including counselling, diagnostic testing, assessment and referral. It also helps clients with job matching, interview preparation and résumé writing.

PROJECT WORK
Toronto, Ontario
Phone: (416) 481-2211
Fax: (416) 481-2729
E-mail: projectw@inforamp.net
Provides employability assessment and training opportunity for adults with intellectual disabilities, operating a 29-week Supported Employment Program sponsored by Human Resources Development Canada.

EMPLOYMENT ACTION
Prince George, B.C.
Phone: (250) 564-8044
Fax: (250) 564-8864
E-mail: lorna@paweb.com
Assists people with disabilities to find and maintain employment.


HOW TO CONTACT ENABLELINK:
EnableLink
c/o Canadian Abilities Foundation
489 College Street, Suite 501
Toronto, Ontario
M6G 1A5
Tel.: (416) 923-5948
Fax: (416) 923-9829

GET IN TOUCH!
ask@enablelink.org