We have tried to make drug and alcohol counsellors aware of the needs of persons with disabilities and be aware of issues like accessibility when we run our programs.
People with disabilities, particularly women, are often perceived as either happy, humble and accepting of all that happens to them, or embittered, blaming everyone else for their situation and lashing out indiscriminately. We must continue to raise respect for persons with disabilities in our society, through public education awareness programs, so that we can change public attitudes about violence and abuse and make it completely unacceptable.
It is important that reform and improvement of the educational system continue to be a priority of the government. However, it is equally important that the needs of students with disabilities, particularly those with fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effect, are also addressed. Funding for equipment, special needs assistants, and programs must not be eliminated if we are to effectively educate all students and significantly decrease the drop-out rates.
People with disabilities are often physically as well as economically dependant on their aggressor. Therefore, they may be extremely reluctant to testify against their abuser. As stated previously, court support services, such as community-based victims assistance groups have helped reduce some of the fear, confusion and isolation of some victims. We must continue to encourage the development of programs such as these and volunteers should always be made aware of the special needs of persons with disabilities.
There is a variety of information available which reinforces to victims that they do not have to live in violent situations. Through mediums such as pamphlets and posters, people are told where to access services and what they can do to help stop the cycle of violence. But very often, victims with disabilities do not receive this information. We would strongly encourage the use of braille, sign language and audio-visual formats of such material to help make it accessible to everyone.
Many victims of abuse are unable to speak for themselves. We should encourage professionals, such as special needs assistants, police officers and social workers, to recognize signs and symptoms of abuse in a person with a disability so that it does not go undetected.
It can be physically exhausting and emotionally draining for a care giver to meet the needs of a person with a disability. Most communities have very limited respite care services. Care givers must often go months and months without any kind of break. Thus, care givers become tired and frustrated and have very little energy left for other family members. This can sometimes lead to abusive situations. The respite care policy being developed by the departments of Health and Social Services can help eliminate this kind of scenario.
Finally, in the NWT, there are a limited number of employment programs which are specially designed for person with disabilities. For example, the NWT Council for Disabled Persons administers a very successful employment program. This is an essential service as other employment services are not able to meet the needs of clients with disabilities as effectively. Funding for these programs must not be eliminated.
The needs of persons with disabilities were not specifically identified in the Building a Strategy for Dealing with Violence in the NWT document. However, the NWT Council for Disabled Persons was very pleased to be invited to make this presentation. Although we have a long way to go, awareness of disability issues in the north continues to increase. The council hopes that as some of the strategies for eliminating family violence in the north are implemented, these issues are always taken into consideration. We are available for disability awareness training and to answer any questions or concerns at any time.
Lastly, I would invite all the Members to visit some of the facilities for people with disabilities in the north and listen to some of the stories of violence or abuse of the residents who live in these places. We have people in group homes in Yellowknife and every single one of them has been abused. Every single one. I would also invite you to visit the schools in every single community in the north and realize the numbers of children with fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects and think about what kind of future lies ahead for them if we don't do something to increase programs and services available to people with disabilities. Thank you.
---Applause