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MLAs show support for local CNIB efforts

The Brandon Sun - 10/29/2018

In recognition of Disability Employment Awareness Month, a pair of Westman MLAs toured the CNIB office in Brandon on Friday to see how people with disabilities can work when given the necessary tools.

Penned as "Take Your MLA to Work Day," Brandon East Progressive Conservative MLA Len Isleifson and Riding Mountain PC MLA Greg Nesbitt met with the staff at CNIB, a non-profit organization that helps people affected by blindness, including registrar and administrative assistant Apryl Thacker, who has nystagmus, a condition where the eyes make repetitive and uncontrolled movements, and hypoplasia, or an underdeveloped optic nerve.

Originally from Portage la Prairie, Thacker worked in casual jobs back home before coming to Brandon and finding work with CNIB.

She said the biggest challenge for her was knowing whether an employer could accommodate her disability.

"Definitely when I came here I was worried about being able to see the eye reports from the doctors -- their writing -- and cheques that come in from donations are in very small print, so that was a concern of mine."

But with the help of a large-print keyboard and a program called ZoomText, Thacker is able to magnify the print on a given document and view an enlarged version of it on a computer screen.

Using this type of technology has allowed Thacker to work at CNIB for nearly six months.

"Often times, employers aren't aware of the capabilities persons with disabilities -- people with vision loss -- and aren't aware of the accommodations that can be made so that someone like Apryl, who does have vision challenges, is able to be as effective as a sighted person can in that position," said Dan Vodon, foundation programs and vision rehabilitation manager at CNIB.

Unlike the rest of the country, Vodon said vision loss rehabilitation services aren't fully funded and the organization has asked the government for approximately $275,000 to cover all vision loss services across the province.

"They're being subsidized by charitable dollars and we would like to see that all fall under the health-care continuum," he said.

The tour was organized by Career Connections Inc., an agency that helps secure employment for people with disabilities, together with the Manitoba Supported Employment Network which held similar events across the province.

Thacker was able to find work at CNIB through Career Connections and Isleifson said people need to know more about organizations like it.

"Because when we look at issues or situations like Apryl's, it's just a success story," he said. "It shows that there are no barriers and that's what we as a society need to do is eliminate as many barriers as possible. So I'm impressed with Apryl's ability to put her sight issues aside and be very successful with what she's doing."

Asked what the province can do to support organizations like the CNIB or Career Connections, Isleifson said it's about creating opportunities and staying up to date with different government programs.

"As MLAs, we can certainly assist by pointing them in the right direction of where grants are for programs like this. So to me, a lot of it is communication and just to stay in touch with the government, or the local MLAs, just so we can continue to assist them."

"I think as a province and as a government we certainly want every Manitoban that wants to be employed to be employed," Nesbitt said, "and anything we can do to help agencies create employment is something we should certainly be continuing to support moving forward."

» mlee@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @mtaylorlee

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