The annual inclusion chain formed outside Kelowna's city hall today. The message to the community is that we have people with different abilities who want to be part of our community.
The chain of people hand-in-hand stretched a block long.
The image sends a few messages out to the general community. For one, there are more people with these kinds of challenges than you might think. And secondly, our community could do more to include them.
"The goal is to showcase the diversity in our community," said Pathways Abilities Society spokesperson Adam Less.
"There are a lot of people living in our community that want to live independent fulfilling lives," he continued. "It means living on their own, it means working in the workforce and Pathways is here to help support that."
So how are we doing when it comes to inclusivity? Less said there are two ways to answer that.
"It's great in the sense that today from where we were 20 years ago we do have people working in the workforce and that's terrific. The downside is that we need more."
So the call goes out to employers who might have room for someone with diverse abilities to join their ranks.
"The first step is to contact Pathways and they can develop a customized employment plan," said Less. "That could mean a two hour or three hour job a week for one of these individuals who simply want to get out and work."
Mayor Colin Basran began today's event by declaring October "Community Inclusion Month" in the City of Kelowna.
