Connecting on-line

For your convenience, we have provided a list of funders, services providers and community groups that we frequently work with. Please call our Family Services Coordinator for more information about other community resources or topic areas such as education, transition planning, employment or recreation. Call (604) 299-4001 or email info@posabilities.ca 

Funders, Service Providers, Community Groups

Ministry of Children and Family Development
http://www.mcf.gov.bc.ca

Community Living British Columbia
http://www.communitylivingbc.ca

Ministry of Housing and Social Development (MHSD)
http://www.eia.gov.bc.ca

Other MHSD departments of interest:
Ministry of Housing and Social Development Partnership Agencies
Office for Disability Issues (Social Development Canada)
Disability Benefits (Human Resources Skills Development Canada)
Subsidized Social Housing (BC Housing)
Vancouver Foundation (Disability Supports)
WorkAble Solutions

Home Adaptations for Independence Program
The Home Adaptations for Independence (HAFI) program helps low-income seniors and people with disabilities finance home modifications for accessible, safe and independent living. For more information, visit BC Housing’s website or call 604.646.7055.

BC Assocation of Community Living  – Provincial resource for news, event listings and campaigns.
Visit www.bcacl.org to learn more, and sign up for the e-news.

Fraser Health Authority
Services range from hospital care, to community-based residential, home health, mental health and public health services. For more information, or to learn about developmental disabilities and mental health support please visit http://www.fraserhealth.ca

Simon Fraser Region Crisis Advisory Group, www.sfcrisis.wordpress.com 

This group brings together stakeholders in the Simon Fraser Region which includes Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge. The purpose of the group is to identify and plan for crisis at individual, organizational, and systemic levels for adults with intellectual disabilities.

Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children – Family Services (BC Children’s Hospital)
http://www.bcchildrens.ca

Provincial Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
http://www.mcf.gov.bc.ca

Autism Society of BC
http://www.autismbc.ca

Autism Community Training
E-news updates and a variety of community resources for persons with autism. Some info on this site will be of interest to all persons with disabilities.
http://www.actcommunity.net/

Cerebral Palsy Association of BC
http://www.bccerebralpalsy.com

Down Syndrome Research Foundation
Some of the family support and children’s programs are open to individuals with various abilities.
http://www.dsrf.org

BC Epilepsy Society
http://www.bcepilepsy.com

Family Support Institute of BC
A provincial network of parent volunteers who serve as Resource Parents for others who also have a child with a disability. http://www.familysupportbc.com This organization has created a database to assist families with finding caregivers: http://www.supportworkercentral.com

The Jo Dickey Foundation
Supports individuals  with mental or physical challenges through small grants to help improve a person’s quality of life. For more information, contact Nina Pickburn at 604-875-6516.
http://www.jodickeyfoundation.ca

Kickstart Disability Arts and Culture
Producer of the Wide Angle Media International Film Festival, supporting disabled artists.
http://www.kickstart-arts.ca

Vancouver Parents Transition Group
A group of families who have ‘been there, done that’ that meets monthly to provide assistance and information to families with youth who are ages 14-17 and preparing for the transition to adulthood and changes in support services.  Everyone is welcome, and it is not necessary to live in the Vancouver area to participate.
http://www.vptg.ca

Burnaby Community Resources

Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion/Host of UNTAPE
To sign up for the weekly e-news of events and resources for families in the Burnaby area, contact family.services@gobaci.com . To participate in a family blog filled with helpful tips and advise, visit http://untape.org

Burnaby Family Life
Offers over 100 programs to members of the community. They range from counselling to childcare and from homelessness outreach to parenting support groups.
www.burnabyfamilylife.org

MOSAIC
Offers settlement services to a wide range of newcomers in the areas of employment, language and family needs.
www.mosaicbc.com

 

Coquitlam (Tri-Cities)/New Westminster Community Resources

Contact the Simon Fraser Society for Community Living (Family Support Worker, rlenobel@sfscl.org) to sign up for an email list serve for local events. The association also produces a quarterly newsletter, “Simon Says.”

To join ‘A Social Life,’ a group for young adults with disabilities (caregivers meet too) in New Westminster, contact S. Frey and visit www.asociallife.net  for scheduling and details.

Delta/Richmond Community Resources

REACH Parent Support Network – Contact parentnetwork@reachdevelopment.org to join an email based info exchange. Supports for individuals of various disabilities, across the lifespan.

Richmond Society for Community Living – Contact to learn about various groups hosted by the organization: self-advocates committee, socials for young adults with developmental disabilities, and a new group for individuals with Aspergers. For more information, contact the Family Resources and Respite Coordinator, 604-279-8245.

Richmond Centre for Disability – Activity based programs for youth and adults with disabilities. For more info visit www.rcdrichmond.org or call 604-232-2404.

Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows/Katize Community Resources

For information about services to families of young children, contact the Family Support Worker or read the newsletter: http://www.ridgemeadowsecd.ca/documents/Spring2011ECDQuarterlyNewsletter2.pdf
For youth and adults, look for programs in these Parks and Leisure Guides: www.mapleridge.ca or www.pittmeadows.ca or call Maple Ridge – 11925 Haney Place, (604) 467 7322 or Pitt Meadows – 12027 Harris Road, (604) 465 2452.

Personal and Financial Planning for persons with disabilities

Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN)
Information to aide in financial planning for a person with disabilities
http://www.plan.ca and http://www.rdsp.com

RDSP Resource Centre
Information and assistance with tax matters and Registered Disability Savings Plans for persons with disabilities.
www.rdspresource.ca

Nidus Registry, www.nidus.ca
For information about supported decision making, creation and registration of Representation Agreements in British Columbia.

Legal Resources for British Columbians, www.clicklaw.bc.ca
A source of application guides for various services, information sheets, free on-line legal courses, workshops and speaker events as well as a toll-free listing of numbers for whom to call for law related help and an advocate directory for all of BC. The web-site includes a ‘solve problems’ tab, assistance with legal problems including your money, family, daily life, safety and community (extensive information on disability issues.)

List of Free and Low Cost Resources

This resource list includes links to financial, healthcare, transportation, food, recreation, other goods and helplines.

Canada Revenue Agency -Tax and Disabilities issues
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca

Advocacy Support

BC Coalition of People with Disabilities:
Individualized Funding Web-Based Resource Centre
www.bccpd.bc.ca

BC Association for Community Living
http://www.bcacl.org