Rules - Do They Respect the Elderly?
Sunday, January 31, 2010
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I live in a building that is joined to a nursing home, but it is owned by a separate property owner. The building is nice and bright. It is also secure. For the most part, so is the nursing home.
However a disturbing trend seems to have been taking place over the last few years. Funding to the nursing home has been cut back and rules, set to make life easier for the employees, have been slowly creeping in. The thing is, I don't think they're stopping to think about what they are really saying. To me, it is not promoting an atmosphere of respect for the seniors who live in the home.
What does this have to do with accessibility you ask?
Well, in some ways it does not directly impact me. But in other ways it does. I say this because over the last several years cost savings measures has resulted in fewer answers to phone call enquiries, a requirement to self-serve more often, and a requirement for me, a wheelchair user, to free up time to meet the schedule of the supports I have to depend upon. In the last 3 or 4 years my life has become less and less of my own.
Gone are the social meeting places, gone is the sports club for the disabled, gone are the accessible taxis, and recently, gone are several Access Buses. The societal trend seems to be one of cutting funding to places where those who are least able to compensate for the loss of supports, are going to be the most impacted.
Our ability to enjoy all that Ontario has to offer, as per the Human Rights Act, and more recently, the AODA (Accessibility for Ontarian's With Disabilities Act), is actually less, not more.
To illustrate I took a picture of a sign that was posted in our elevator. It is one that seems to foster disrespect, rather than respect.
To be honest, I was so glad to see one of my neighbours write the letters UN in front of the word friendly. My gut reaction was to write, "do not feed the animals" because it reminded me of the signs you see in the zoo. Their toned-down method of getting the point across is a lot better.
For those using screen readers, the text has also been typed here.
respect-sign.jpg)
(UN)FRIENDLY REMINDER:
Tower Residents may not
smoke in the Rideaucrest
smoking hut
and
Please do not give Rideaucrest
Residents matches and lighters.
Thank you.
Please read my other Blogs:
Transit: http://wheelchairdemon-transit.blogspot.com
Health: http://wheelchairdemon-health.blogspot.com
However a disturbing trend seems to have been taking place over the last few years. Funding to the nursing home has been cut back and rules, set to make life easier for the employees, have been slowly creeping in. The thing is, I don't think they're stopping to think about what they are really saying. To me, it is not promoting an atmosphere of respect for the seniors who live in the home.
What does this have to do with accessibility you ask?
Well, in some ways it does not directly impact me. But in other ways it does. I say this because over the last several years cost savings measures has resulted in fewer answers to phone call enquiries, a requirement to self-serve more often, and a requirement for me, a wheelchair user, to free up time to meet the schedule of the supports I have to depend upon. In the last 3 or 4 years my life has become less and less of my own.
Gone are the social meeting places, gone is the sports club for the disabled, gone are the accessible taxis, and recently, gone are several Access Buses. The societal trend seems to be one of cutting funding to places where those who are least able to compensate for the loss of supports, are going to be the most impacted.
Our ability to enjoy all that Ontario has to offer, as per the Human Rights Act, and more recently, the AODA (Accessibility for Ontarian's With Disabilities Act), is actually less, not more.
To illustrate I took a picture of a sign that was posted in our elevator. It is one that seems to foster disrespect, rather than respect.
To be honest, I was so glad to see one of my neighbours write the letters UN in front of the word friendly. My gut reaction was to write, "do not feed the animals" because it reminded me of the signs you see in the zoo. Their toned-down method of getting the point across is a lot better.
For those using screen readers, the text has also been typed here.
respect-sign.jpg)
(UN)FRIENDLY REMINDER:Tower Residents may not
smoke in the Rideaucrest
smoking hut
and
Please do not give Rideaucrest
Residents matches and lighters.
Thank you.
Please read my other Blogs:
Transit: http://wheelchairdemon-transit.blogspot.com
Health: http://wheelchairdemon-health.blogspot.com
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