1 00:00:01,301 --> 00:00:03,436 A home. It's something we all need. 2 00:00:03,436 --> 00:00:07,073 But for too many, having a safe place to make a home is out of reach. 3 00:00:08,108 --> 00:00:10,810 The challenges can seem insurmountable. 4 00:00:10,810 --> 00:00:14,014 And yet, each and every day, people are coming together 5 00:00:14,014 --> 00:00:17,951 to provide safe, quality and affordable housing for those in need. 6 00:00:18,685 --> 00:00:20,820 Welcome to Let's Talk Housing. 7 00:00:20,820 --> 00:00:23,023 I'm your host, Mita Naidu. 8 00:00:23,023 --> 00:00:26,259 Join us as we listen to and learn from people in British 9 00:00:26,259 --> 00:00:32,065 Columbia who are creating strong, inclusive communities where everyone can thrive. 10 00:00:42,709 --> 00:00:46,513 Hello and welcome to season five of Let's Talk Housing. 11 00:00:46,513 --> 00:00:49,149 I'm your host, Mita Naidu. 12 00:00:49,149 --> 00:00:51,351 As we begin today's podcast episode, 13 00:00:51,351 --> 00:00:55,055 I'd like to acknowledge that I'm recording from the unceded and unsurrended 14 00:00:55,221 --> 00:00:56,389 land of the Halkomelem 15 00:00:56,389 --> 00:00:58,491 speaking peoples. 16 00:00:58,491 --> 00:01:00,126 Also for transparency, 17 00:01:00,126 --> 00:01:03,830 this episode is being recorded in January of 2025 18 00:01:04,064 --> 00:01:06,800 and reflects the issues and priorities of that time. 19 00:01:08,268 --> 00:01:09,502 Today, on Let's Talk 20 00:01:09,502 --> 00:01:12,472 Housing, we are joined by Brad McCannell, 21 00:01:12,472 --> 00:01:16,076 VP of Access and Inclusion at the Rick Hansen Foundation. 22 00:01:16,910 --> 00:01:19,879 Doug Tennant, CEO of UNITI, 23 00:01:20,046 --> 00:01:23,049 and Jewels Cressman, Community Advocate. 24 00:01:23,349 --> 00:01:25,585 We'll be talking about accessible housing 25 00:01:25,585 --> 00:01:28,588 and its importance and impact in community. 26 00:01:29,389 --> 00:01:31,825 This is Let's Talk Housing. 27 00:01:31,825 --> 00:01:35,095 I'd like to open the conversation by hearing a bit about what 28 00:01:35,095 --> 00:01:38,164 inspired each of you to focus on accessible housing. 29 00:01:38,932 --> 00:01:41,401 What brought you to this place? 30 00:01:41,401 --> 00:01:43,837 Doug, what drew you to this field? 31 00:01:43,837 --> 00:01:45,371 Yeah. Thanks, Mita. 32 00:01:45,371 --> 00:01:47,841 I got involved with this 34 years ago 33 00:01:47,841 --> 00:01:51,244 when I met my stepdaughter, Krista, who has down syndrome. 34 00:01:51,878 --> 00:01:53,279 She was three at the time. 35 00:01:53,279 --> 00:01:55,615 I was aware that there was discrimination 36 00:01:55,615 --> 00:01:58,618 but I wasn't aware at how pervasive it was. 37 00:01:59,452 --> 00:02:03,823 Things such as, people protesting her going into her school 38 00:02:03,823 --> 00:02:06,893 as the first person with a developmental disability in the school. 39 00:02:06,893 --> 00:02:11,464 And so that sort of shifted my paradigm on life and gave me a focus. 40 00:02:11,464 --> 00:02:15,368 And over the past 34 years, I've worked as a volunteer, 41 00:02:15,368 --> 00:02:18,404 as a frontline worker, and now a board member. 42 00:02:18,404 --> 00:02:22,775 And now in my current position for the last 13 years is the CEO of UNITI, 43 00:02:23,209 --> 00:02:26,846 and UNITI is the partnership of three not for profit organizations, 44 00:02:26,846 --> 00:02:28,248 one of which, 45 00:02:28,248 --> 00:02:31,651 supports people with developmental disabilities and acquired brain injuries. 46 00:02:32,018 --> 00:02:37,724 And we found about 20 years ago, that there just wasn't 47 00:02:37,924 --> 00:02:40,927 the same housing options for people with developmental disabilities. 48 00:02:41,227 --> 00:02:46,733 And so that became part of our mission was to create, and, maintain 49 00:02:46,733 --> 00:02:50,403 and run housing that would be inclusive to the entire community. 50 00:02:50,436 --> 00:02:51,704 That's the short version. 51 00:02:51,704 --> 00:02:52,639 Right. Right. 52 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:56,009 And I know it's more complicated than that, but it's 53 00:02:56,709 --> 00:03:00,914 beautiful to hear that your passion was ignited by family for this work. 54 00:03:01,481 --> 00:03:03,149 Thank you for sharing that story. 55 00:03:03,149 --> 00:03:06,052 Jewels, what about you? I'd love to hear your story. 56 00:03:06,052 --> 00:03:09,489 Why is accessible housing such a meaningful cause for you? 57 00:03:10,423 --> 00:03:13,059 When I joined a housing co-op 58 00:03:13,059 --> 00:03:16,796 in Coquitlam, I have served on the board three different times. 59 00:03:16,829 --> 00:03:19,399 I'm currently the outgoing President. 60 00:03:19,399 --> 00:03:24,103 As we dissolve and go into a new co-op under the name Packard Housing Co-op. 61 00:03:24,704 --> 00:03:28,942 When I came in here, I was using a scooter because I had a disability 62 00:03:28,942 --> 00:03:29,375 at the time. 63 00:03:29,375 --> 00:03:31,444 They weren't really sure what was going on, 64 00:03:31,444 --> 00:03:34,847 but I needed a scooter and then a wheelchair. 65 00:03:35,215 --> 00:03:38,384 And for a long period of time, I was unable to do 66 00:03:38,851 --> 00:03:41,854 outside activities without the assistance of a wheelchair. 67 00:03:42,255 --> 00:03:44,891 Then my health improved somewhat. 68 00:03:44,891 --> 00:03:49,662 But it was important for me to have an accessible unit. 69 00:03:49,662 --> 00:03:53,866 So I was switch from what was a regular unit to an accessible unit. 70 00:03:54,467 --> 00:03:59,138 And you were talking about how is that impacted my life? 71 00:03:59,138 --> 00:04:04,043 And I have to say, one of the things that is funny is people assume 72 00:04:04,043 --> 00:04:07,547 that because I'm in an accessible unit, I must use a wheelchair. 73 00:04:08,481 --> 00:04:10,550 So I get some kind of nasty comments 74 00:04:10,550 --> 00:04:13,553 occasionally, like, why do you have an accessible unit? 75 00:04:14,187 --> 00:04:16,489 You look fine. There's nothing wrong with you. 76 00:04:17,657 --> 00:04:19,392 And they're not nice about it. 77 00:04:19,392 --> 00:04:22,061 I'm not talking about people that are polite and are interested. 78 00:04:22,061 --> 00:04:22,929 I'm talking about people 79 00:04:22,929 --> 00:04:25,932 who think that they know what they're talking about and they don't. 80 00:04:26,199 --> 00:04:28,067 And so they can be quite rude 81 00:04:28,067 --> 00:04:31,371 and a little bit uppity, and then you just have to use it 82 00:04:31,371 --> 00:04:33,473 as a teachable moment and go, oh, wait a second. 83 00:04:33,473 --> 00:04:35,441 Not all abilities are different 84 00:04:35,441 --> 00:04:40,880 abilities, as I call them, are visible and so just because they look fine to 85 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:44,384 you doesn't mean I don't benefit from having, 86 00:04:44,851 --> 00:04:48,855 a bathtub that's got accessible bars all around it. 87 00:04:49,088 --> 00:04:51,891 I have a wider space to be able to change and do things. 88 00:04:51,891 --> 00:04:55,795 If I ever need to go back into my wheelchair, I have that access, etc. 89 00:04:56,262 --> 00:05:00,800 And so it's been a positive opportunity for me personally 90 00:05:01,167 --> 00:05:05,305 to learn about the challenges that come both in and out of 91 00:05:05,772 --> 00:05:09,275 using some sort of mobility aid and also just personally 92 00:05:09,275 --> 00:05:12,445 navigating the world with different abilities. 93 00:05:12,445 --> 00:05:13,846 So that's kind of my story. 94 00:05:14,781 --> 00:05:17,283 Well, first, I'm glad you've got that unit. 95 00:05:17,283 --> 00:05:18,618 Thank you. 96 00:05:18,618 --> 00:05:21,287 And it's very interesting when we think about 97 00:05:21,287 --> 00:05:25,158 invisibility and who gets erased as a result. 98 00:05:25,491 --> 00:05:26,993 Right. 99 00:05:26,993 --> 00:05:29,495 We'll dive into that more. 100 00:05:29,495 --> 00:05:31,130 Brad, tell us a story. 101 00:05:31,130 --> 00:05:32,098 Tell us your story. 102 00:05:32,098 --> 00:05:33,800 Oh, gosh. My story. 103 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:37,070 I've been quadriplegic for 44 years now. 104 00:05:38,271 --> 00:05:42,075 And this whole accessibility thing is a second career for me. 105 00:05:42,575 --> 00:05:45,578 I spent 25 years in the television business, 106 00:05:45,778 --> 00:05:49,716 and in 1990, 107 00:05:49,882 --> 00:05:53,686 I owned and operated the second largest production company west of Toronto. 108 00:05:53,686 --> 00:05:55,655 So we were a very busy group. 109 00:05:55,655 --> 00:05:58,558 And I got a call from my old friend Rick Hansen, 110 00:05:58,558 --> 00:06:02,228 and he asked me if I'd be interested in being the Project Manager 111 00:06:02,228 --> 00:06:05,431 for the largest congress and exposition on disability ever held, 112 00:06:05,431 --> 00:06:08,434 at least to that point. It was called independence 92. 113 00:06:09,235 --> 00:06:12,305 And as a producer, I thought, this is great, I'll go do this. 114 00:06:13,239 --> 00:06:15,108 And I went there and I was, 115 00:06:17,043 --> 00:06:18,344 up till then, I 116 00:06:18,344 --> 00:06:22,382 wasn't part of the community of people with disabilities, I was injured, 117 00:06:22,849 --> 00:06:26,285 I got rehab, I went back to work... 118 00:06:26,285 --> 00:06:29,956 I was a busy guy and life was good, but I had no exposure to people 119 00:06:29,956 --> 00:06:32,959 with disabilities whatsoever until this conference. 120 00:06:33,126 --> 00:06:35,661 And this conference was 2700 121 00:06:35,661 --> 00:06:38,631 delegates from 93 countries around the world 122 00:06:38,698 --> 00:06:41,701 with every conceivable disability you can think of. 123 00:06:42,468 --> 00:06:47,106 And in that conference, I met Justin Dart, who was one of the founders of the ADA. 124 00:06:47,473 --> 00:06:50,309 I met Henry Enns from Disabled Peoples’ International. 125 00:06:50,309 --> 00:06:53,312 I met Laurie Beachell, part of the independence movement, 126 00:06:53,780 --> 00:06:56,983 and I was blown away by the fact 127 00:06:57,283 --> 00:07:00,520 that there was so much to be done and so few people doing it. 128 00:07:01,087 --> 00:07:04,090 And actually Henry and 129 00:07:04,257 --> 00:07:07,260 Laurie Beachell looked at me and said, you should be here. 130 00:07:07,260 --> 00:07:10,163 We need people who know how to communicate. 131 00:07:10,163 --> 00:07:14,667 And so at the end of that conference, I wrapped up my television 132 00:07:14,667 --> 00:07:18,271 production company and sold it to the highest bidder and then opened up 133 00:07:18,871 --> 00:07:20,006 Canadian Barrier Free 134 00:07:20,006 --> 00:07:23,543 Design, the first professional access consulting firm on the West Coast. 135 00:07:24,177 --> 00:07:26,546 And from there I went on to... 136 00:07:26,546 --> 00:07:31,451 I specialize in large public events like the Olympics and the Paralympic Games 137 00:07:31,451 --> 00:07:34,454 and those kinds of things and airports and stuff like that. 138 00:07:34,454 --> 00:07:37,323 But my whole exposure to that community, 139 00:07:38,291 --> 00:07:38,991 suddenly I 140 00:07:38,991 --> 00:07:42,228 just recognized how we were being held back 141 00:07:42,862 --> 00:07:45,865 and we were being held back mostly by the built environment. 142 00:07:46,165 --> 00:07:47,099 And that had to change. 143 00:07:47,099 --> 00:07:49,302 So I was the guy to do it. 144 00:07:49,302 --> 00:07:51,804 So just airports and just the Olympics. 145 00:07:51,804 --> 00:07:54,373 Oh gosh. No. 146 00:07:54,373 --> 00:07:56,542 Those are not small things, Brad. 147 00:07:56,542 --> 00:07:59,312 Well, I had the great pleasure of being on the 148 00:07:59,312 --> 00:08:02,315 International Paralympic Committee access working group. 149 00:08:03,049 --> 00:08:06,352 So that was determining the access to be provided at all 150 00:08:06,352 --> 00:08:09,856 venues and all events for the Paralympic and Olympic Games. 151 00:08:10,623 --> 00:08:14,961 So that led me into everything from corner stores to bakeries to... 152 00:08:15,895 --> 00:08:20,967 The interesting thing I found is when it was the 2008 Games in Beijing, 153 00:08:20,967 --> 00:08:25,872 and then the 2010 games here in Vancouver, we were able to put 200 people, using 154 00:08:25,872 --> 00:08:29,208 wheelchairs on the side of a mountain to watch a downhill ski race. 155 00:08:29,208 --> 00:08:31,277 Nobody had ever done that before. 156 00:08:31,277 --> 00:08:34,180 But whether it was the big, big projects or the little corner bakery, 157 00:08:34,180 --> 00:08:37,250 the one thing they all had in common is they knew what accessibility 158 00:08:37,250 --> 00:08:40,386 meant to them, to their organization. 159 00:08:41,087 --> 00:08:42,688 And that's one of the things that's really important. 160 00:08:42,688 --> 00:08:44,891 Access is not black and white. 161 00:08:44,891 --> 00:08:45,925 It's gray. 162 00:08:45,925 --> 00:08:48,928 And how it affects your organization is critically important. 163 00:08:49,161 --> 00:08:50,963 And it's the same in housing. 164 00:08:50,963 --> 00:08:53,966 That's the same in commercial retail space. 165 00:08:54,634 --> 00:08:57,637 Knowing how it affects your operation 166 00:08:58,004 --> 00:09:01,340 is the only way you're going to know what the return on investment is, 167 00:09:02,074 --> 00:09:05,978 whether that's cash profit or employee benefits or whatever it is, 168 00:09:07,046 --> 00:09:09,482 the only way to take that is to take it personally. 169 00:09:09,482 --> 00:09:12,485 And that's what I've been trying to get people to do now for 170 00:09:12,685 --> 00:09:15,688 almost 30 years in the access business. 171 00:09:15,988 --> 00:09:19,458 So, Brad, I think that's the perfect segue to talk about the impact 172 00:09:19,458 --> 00:09:21,360 of the Rick Hansen Foundation. 173 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:24,797 Tell me about what the organization has done so far 174 00:09:24,797 --> 00:09:27,967 to meet evolving, accessible needs over the years. 175 00:09:28,534 --> 00:09:32,605 How do you ensure your programs remain relevant and impactful? 176 00:09:33,806 --> 00:09:37,076 Well, the foundation has been around for 35 years. 177 00:09:37,510 --> 00:09:38,811 Maybe more than that now. 178 00:09:40,079 --> 00:09:43,282 So we've taken a national and international approach. 179 00:09:43,849 --> 00:09:47,320 We're a unique position to bring organizations open 180 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:50,323 for people with disabilities to go to the corporate world. 181 00:09:50,590 --> 00:09:50,890 And that's 182 00:09:50,890 --> 00:09:54,260 something that Rick Hansen can do that perhaps nobody else can do as well. 183 00:09:54,727 --> 00:09:58,297 And so that's been a real key to what we've been moving forward 184 00:09:58,364 --> 00:10:02,501 to try to bring that knowledge forward and to integrate 185 00:10:03,002 --> 00:10:06,906 the needs of people with disabilities into the every day 186 00:10:06,939 --> 00:10:10,910 thinking of of bureaucrats, of government, of corporate people. 187 00:10:11,677 --> 00:10:12,945 But what we realized, 188 00:10:13,913 --> 00:10:16,248 I was brought into the foundation ten years ago 189 00:10:16,248 --> 00:10:19,919 to develop the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification Program, 190 00:10:20,586 --> 00:10:24,657 and what we recognized was the built environment was the key 191 00:10:25,191 --> 00:10:28,160 to the success of all the other pillars of accessibility, 192 00:10:28,961 --> 00:10:31,464 whether it's employment, transportation, 193 00:10:31,464 --> 00:10:35,167 communications, web access, they all rely on the built environment. 194 00:10:35,835 --> 00:10:38,838 Even if you're working from home, you're in a built environment. 195 00:10:39,105 --> 00:10:42,742 So, the bottom line was, without accessible 196 00:10:42,742 --> 00:10:46,812 destination, accessible transportation was not as important. 197 00:10:47,413 --> 00:10:50,016 And even the best HR program in the world wouldn't work 198 00:10:50,016 --> 00:10:51,717 if I couldn't get in the building. 199 00:10:51,717 --> 00:10:54,153 So the built environment became our focus. 200 00:10:54,153 --> 00:10:55,621 Along with the school program. 201 00:10:55,621 --> 00:10:58,624 Our school program is really important to us, but the Built 202 00:10:58,624 --> 00:11:01,761 Environment program, what we had to really do is 203 00:11:03,262 --> 00:11:06,465 get industry to recognize the return on investment. 204 00:11:06,465 --> 00:11:11,037 It's just laying there and they're just ignoring, and help them understand 205 00:11:11,103 --> 00:11:15,074 this isn't about more regulation is not about more red tape. 206 00:11:15,708 --> 00:11:18,611 It's about you. It’s about your family. 207 00:11:18,611 --> 00:11:19,912 It's about your mom. 208 00:11:19,912 --> 00:11:22,281 So the the built environment became a focus. 209 00:11:22,281 --> 00:11:25,685 We recognize that the industry has evolving needs as well. 210 00:11:25,951 --> 00:11:27,520 The demographics are changing. 211 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:28,988 The industry needs are changing. 212 00:11:28,988 --> 00:11:31,057 All this stuff has to come together. 213 00:11:31,057 --> 00:11:34,560 And it's all about the practical application of universal design 214 00:11:34,560 --> 00:11:37,563 and delivering that is in our DNA. 215 00:11:37,897 --> 00:11:40,900 Can I ask you to define universal design? 216 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,369 Universal design is not a thing. 217 00:11:43,369 --> 00:11:44,236 It's not a prescription. 218 00:11:44,236 --> 00:11:46,372 It doesn't tell you how wide a door should be. 219 00:11:46,372 --> 00:11:49,942 It doesn't tell you anything about what you should do for acoustics. 220 00:11:51,310 --> 00:11:54,313 There are a set of principles developed by Dr Greg Rice 221 00:11:54,313 --> 00:11:57,316 back in the early 1980s. 222 00:11:57,349 --> 00:11:59,552 And the idea is quite simple. 223 00:11:59,552 --> 00:12:03,556 If you've made an environment work and functional and safe for young people, 224 00:12:03,989 --> 00:12:07,827 and work for older adults and seniors, everything else in the 225 00:12:07,827 --> 00:12:09,095 middle would work itself out. 226 00:12:10,262 --> 00:12:11,564 So these are principles. 227 00:12:11,564 --> 00:12:13,699 Universal design is an approach. 228 00:12:13,699 --> 00:12:16,669 It's a way of looking at a built environment. 229 00:12:16,669 --> 00:12:20,740 And once you start seeing barriers to people with disabilities, you can't stop. 230 00:12:20,740 --> 00:12:23,743 And that's our great advantage. Yeah. 231 00:12:23,943 --> 00:12:26,312 When people go through our course, 232 00:12:26,312 --> 00:12:28,748 you can just see the lights go on. 233 00:12:28,748 --> 00:12:31,984 Now, when an architect discovers that a handrail 234 00:12:31,984 --> 00:12:34,987 is not just for support, but it's actually navigation, 235 00:12:35,588 --> 00:12:38,257 it tells people with vision loss where the landings are. 236 00:12:38,257 --> 00:12:40,359 Tell them where the path of travel 237 00:12:40,359 --> 00:12:43,462 is. By wrapping that handrail around, it says, come with me. 238 00:12:43,462 --> 00:12:46,766 I'm going to keep you safe and that's why it's so important 239 00:12:46,766 --> 00:12:49,769 that they meet that code and that they follow that. 240 00:12:49,935 --> 00:12:52,638 But when they take the course, they see the penny drop. 241 00:12:53,773 --> 00:12:56,242 It's not like, okay, I checked a box. 242 00:12:56,242 --> 00:13:00,446 I did number one of the seven principles I've got. 243 00:13:01,580 --> 00:13:03,816 It's a way of looking at things, 244 00:13:03,816 --> 00:13:07,720 it's a way of shifting the culture to see what we really need 245 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:10,890 in the built environment is just a broader user base. 246 00:13:10,890 --> 00:13:14,260 Right now, everything's designed for 18 to 55 year old males. 247 00:13:14,894 --> 00:13:17,496 How did that happen? 248 00:13:17,496 --> 00:13:18,998 Not the majority of the population. 249 00:13:18,998 --> 00:13:22,668 So universal design is an approach. 250 00:13:22,668 --> 00:13:24,537 It's a set of principles. 251 00:13:24,537 --> 00:13:27,740 But by itself it's not going to change the world. 252 00:13:27,940 --> 00:13:30,176 Education and culture shift is going to take that. 253 00:13:30,176 --> 00:13:34,213 That lens is critical in how we think about housing 254 00:13:34,213 --> 00:13:37,583 and how we think about buildings and how we think of development. 255 00:13:37,616 --> 00:13:41,287 Doug, what's the perspective of UNITI when it comes to addressing 256 00:13:41,620 --> 00:13:44,824 unique housing needs, developmental disabilities? 257 00:13:44,824 --> 00:13:46,692 You know, what have been the pressing needs? 258 00:13:46,692 --> 00:13:46,992 Yeah. 259 00:13:46,992 --> 00:13:50,896 And I just wanted to say to start that 260 00:13:50,896 --> 00:13:54,633 our main building in South Surrey, Administration and Services building, 261 00:13:55,234 --> 00:14:00,072 worked for and received the gold standard from the Rick Hansen Foundation. 262 00:14:00,072 --> 00:14:04,910 And it was a really useful thing to go go through in terms of learning 263 00:14:05,377 --> 00:14:07,346 sort of that universal design. 264 00:14:07,346 --> 00:14:10,616 And as an organization that supports people with developmental disabilities 265 00:14:10,950 --> 00:14:14,787 and acquired brain injuries, many of whom also have physical disabilities... 266 00:14:15,621 --> 00:14:20,125 It was a really useful process for us to go to. 267 00:14:21,927 --> 00:14:24,930 I’d sort of add, from our perspective, 268 00:14:25,531 --> 00:14:30,236 what we have found is that there's a paradigm of disability, 269 00:14:30,236 --> 00:14:33,339 particularly around people with developmental disabilities, where 270 00:14:33,772 --> 00:14:36,742 there's a role that they exist to receive help. 271 00:14:36,909 --> 00:14:38,911 And it's a very charitable model. 272 00:14:38,911 --> 00:14:41,814 And as Brad said, we find 273 00:14:41,814 --> 00:14:45,684 when we talk with people and listen to people, that in fact, 274 00:14:46,585 --> 00:14:49,722 they want to have everything that everybody else has. 275 00:14:49,722 --> 00:14:53,525 And so we look at our role as supporting people with 276 00:14:53,525 --> 00:14:57,029 developmental disabilities to have the same access to housing, 277 00:14:57,029 --> 00:15:01,634 to have the same variety of housing as everybody else in the community has. 278 00:15:01,634 --> 00:15:06,805 One way to sort of make this clear is that when 279 00:15:07,206 --> 00:15:10,109 people in the general community think about people with developmental 280 00:15:10,109 --> 00:15:14,546 disabilities in housing, quite often it is about 281 00:15:15,147 --> 00:15:20,452 people with developmental disabilities still living in institutions. 282 00:15:20,452 --> 00:15:22,087 It's about the idea that, oh, well, 283 00:15:22,087 --> 00:15:25,124 you have a developmental disability, then automatically you want a roommate. 284 00:15:26,392 --> 00:15:29,428 The idea that a person with a developmental disability, 285 00:15:29,428 --> 00:15:33,732 the first home that they move into after their family home is their forever home. 286 00:15:34,166 --> 00:15:36,001 And that's not the experience of most people. 287 00:15:36,001 --> 00:15:39,505 Most people go through a variety of different housing as they progress. 288 00:15:39,905 --> 00:15:43,008 And so we look at it, UNITI is listening to people. 289 00:15:43,208 --> 00:15:44,843 What is it you want for housing? 290 00:15:44,843 --> 00:15:46,946 And that's why we actually started developing housing. 291 00:15:46,946 --> 00:15:48,380 We're not developers. 292 00:15:48,380 --> 00:15:52,184 We became a developer because there wasn't the type of housing that was needed. 293 00:15:52,184 --> 00:15:55,554 And ironically enough, that type of housing was just like housing. 294 00:15:56,255 --> 00:16:00,559 That was welcoming to people with developmental disabilities. 295 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:04,430 So we sometimes try to make things strange and weird, 296 00:16:04,430 --> 00:16:06,332 but in fact, at the end of the day, 297 00:16:06,332 --> 00:16:09,335 our job is to support people with developmental disabilities 298 00:16:09,501 --> 00:16:13,072 to have the same opportunities for housing as everybody else. 299 00:16:14,373 --> 00:16:15,140 Right. 300 00:16:15,140 --> 00:16:18,143 You're filling a gap. You're filling a need 301 00:16:18,310 --> 00:16:21,013 that people just didn't take into consideration because they weren't 302 00:16:21,013 --> 00:16:21,947 listening. 303 00:16:21,947 --> 00:16:25,250 Jewels, you're someone that also directly engages with the community. 304 00:16:25,751 --> 00:16:28,754 What are you hearing from individuals and families? 305 00:16:29,722 --> 00:16:31,156 I just think about our place here. 306 00:16:31,156 --> 00:16:33,359 We were built in 1981. 307 00:16:33,359 --> 00:16:36,128 We have 170 units, but there's only four 308 00:16:36,128 --> 00:16:39,365 accessible units, what they term accessible units. 309 00:16:39,365 --> 00:16:44,536 My corridor from the front door to go around the corner 310 00:16:44,536 --> 00:16:48,774 into where the bedroom door is, is such a sharp corner 311 00:16:49,208 --> 00:16:52,578 that you can't help but take off the drywall on the corners, 312 00:16:52,578 --> 00:16:56,982 because there's no bumpers on the corners. It wasn't built with the proper 313 00:16:57,116 --> 00:17:02,721 concept of what a person with different abilities needs in order to live 314 00:17:03,022 --> 00:17:06,392 and enjoy their home the same way anybody else does in the other units. 315 00:17:06,792 --> 00:17:09,161 But also the community is looking at things like, 316 00:17:09,161 --> 00:17:13,699 since we've got the BC Accessibility Act that's come in, we have changes. 317 00:17:13,699 --> 00:17:16,068 And I had a member come to me recently with something. 318 00:17:16,068 --> 00:17:17,970 I was so grateful she mentioned it to me. 319 00:17:17,970 --> 00:17:20,072 She is visually challenged. 320 00:17:20,072 --> 00:17:24,043 And so at night when she wants to come in our back entrance 321 00:17:24,410 --> 00:17:27,312 through the loading zone area, when she gets dropped off for a ride, 322 00:17:27,312 --> 00:17:31,250 she can't use it because even though there's lighting, it's not adequate 323 00:17:31,250 --> 00:17:35,521 for her to be able to safely navigate the sidewalk to get into the back door. 324 00:17:35,754 --> 00:17:39,291 So she goes to the side entrance and comes in that one instead. 325 00:17:39,525 --> 00:17:41,160 And that doesn't have an automatic door. 326 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:43,128 It's further away from where she is, 327 00:17:43,128 --> 00:17:46,298 and I don't think it feels quite as secure for her either. 328 00:17:46,732 --> 00:17:47,800 But it is. 329 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:50,803 There is a security camera, so I think 330 00:17:50,869 --> 00:17:56,175 although there have been shifts and I'm very grateful for the work 331 00:17:56,175 --> 00:17:59,912 that's being done, the Accessibility Act coming into play and all these things. 332 00:18:00,245 --> 00:18:04,249 I still think there's a great deal more work that needs to be done for sure. 333 00:18:04,716 --> 00:18:06,618 Yeah, it definitely sounds like that. 334 00:18:06,618 --> 00:18:10,389 And we're talking about individuals at this point, but people in families, 335 00:18:10,389 --> 00:18:11,824 people with extended families. 336 00:18:11,824 --> 00:18:14,660 Right. There's different needs there as well. 337 00:18:14,660 --> 00:18:18,330 Building on that, how do we ensure that 338 00:18:18,330 --> 00:18:22,701 housing design addresses both physical and developmental disabilities? 339 00:18:22,868 --> 00:18:27,873 Doug, we know this past summer, construction began on Harmony Apartments, 340 00:18:28,173 --> 00:18:31,110 which is a development designed to offer affordable 341 00:18:31,110 --> 00:18:34,113 and inclusive housing for a diverse group of residents. 342 00:18:34,513 --> 00:18:37,816 Can you share what design considerations went in mind? 343 00:18:38,150 --> 00:18:39,384 I can compare the two. 344 00:18:39,384 --> 00:18:42,654 So we built Chorus in 2016. The first 345 00:18:43,222 --> 00:18:46,225 purpose built rental building in Surrey in about three decades. 346 00:18:46,558 --> 00:18:51,530 And at that time we were like, okay, how many adoptable units do we have to build? 347 00:18:51,530 --> 00:18:52,331 And it was four. 348 00:18:52,331 --> 00:18:55,334 So we said, well, we'll do double, we'll build eight because 349 00:18:55,334 --> 00:18:58,337 that's what we believe in. 350 00:18:58,670 --> 00:19:01,173 And it was a very sad experience with Chorus 351 00:19:01,173 --> 00:19:04,176 because of the 71 homes, 352 00:19:04,443 --> 00:19:07,980 20 were for people with developmental disabilities. 353 00:19:08,213 --> 00:19:12,618 And it turned out that none of them really had any serious physical disabilities. 354 00:19:12,618 --> 00:19:16,221 And so, they didn't need the adaptable units, which was great. 355 00:19:16,221 --> 00:19:18,524 So we were like, okay, well, we've got eight adaptable units. 356 00:19:18,524 --> 00:19:19,391 That's awesome. 357 00:19:19,391 --> 00:19:22,694 We can now have people with physical disabilities move in. 358 00:19:23,162 --> 00:19:26,698 But when we looked out there and we tried, the problem was 359 00:19:26,698 --> 00:19:30,169 there was a disconnect between the adaptable unit 360 00:19:30,469 --> 00:19:33,872 and the rent that we needed to get for those units. 361 00:19:34,139 --> 00:19:37,976 And because we were using our funding, 362 00:19:38,076 --> 00:19:39,311 that was a building built largely 363 00:19:39,311 --> 00:19:42,948 with our funding, to support the tenants with developmental disabilities, 364 00:19:43,382 --> 00:19:47,119 we couldn't address that gap and rent for people with physical disabilities. 365 00:19:47,119 --> 00:19:48,020 And it was very unfortunate. 366 00:19:48,020 --> 00:19:50,389 In fact, at the end of the day, it was just one gentleman 367 00:19:50,389 --> 00:19:55,294 who actually came from Kelowna who needed the adaptable unit and used it. 368 00:19:55,294 --> 00:19:58,864 And the other seven, we had to just rent out to the general population. 369 00:19:58,864 --> 00:20:01,033 So that saddened me at that time. 370 00:20:01,033 --> 00:20:04,536 What I like about the Harmony Project is it's 371 00:20:04,536 --> 00:20:07,806 part of the Community Housing Fund with BC 372 00:20:07,839 --> 00:20:11,710 Housing and was supported by BC Housing, and that comes with requirements 373 00:20:11,710 --> 00:20:17,449 to have six adaptable units, but even better, six accessible units. 374 00:20:17,649 --> 00:20:20,419 So we're going to have 12 in total and six of them accessible. 375 00:20:20,419 --> 00:20:24,957 I love that. We are still going to have the same percentage of homes for people 376 00:20:24,957 --> 00:20:29,361 with developmental disabilities, but because also the way the rents are set up, 377 00:20:29,361 --> 00:20:34,366 where 20% are going to be at shelter rate, so those are likely to be people 378 00:20:34,366 --> 00:20:35,667 with developmental disabilities, 379 00:20:35,667 --> 00:20:38,670 but then 50% of the rents are at rent geared to income. 380 00:20:38,770 --> 00:20:42,841 And that means that we will be able to use the adaptable 381 00:20:42,841 --> 00:20:46,111 and accessible units for people who actually need that. 382 00:20:46,111 --> 00:20:48,747 And I'm very happy for that. 383 00:20:48,747 --> 00:20:51,250 So it's a better setup. 384 00:20:51,250 --> 00:20:54,253 That’s a very novel concept actually. 385 00:20:54,653 --> 00:20:55,821 To be able to move 386 00:20:56,888 --> 00:21:00,525 around where you need to be with those subsidies in place, yeah. 387 00:21:00,525 --> 00:21:01,026 Yeah. 388 00:21:01,026 --> 00:21:04,029 And it makes us accountable as a landlord as well 389 00:21:04,296 --> 00:21:08,734 that people aren't choosing us just because we have a subsidy, 390 00:21:09,134 --> 00:21:12,371 but they're choosing us because we're good landlords, which we are. 391 00:21:12,371 --> 00:21:14,740 Right, right. Exactly. 392 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:17,409 Brad and Jewels, like what other factors? 393 00:21:17,409 --> 00:21:18,577 We're talking about income. 394 00:21:18,577 --> 00:21:22,114 What other factors do you think are important to creating housing 395 00:21:22,114 --> 00:21:25,584 that fosters independence and belonging and a sense of community. 396 00:21:26,451 --> 00:21:29,388 Having access to resources and having someone 397 00:21:29,388 --> 00:21:32,724 within the community that you're part of or that you're representing 398 00:21:33,025 --> 00:21:38,096 that has the knowledge base of knowing where to go and who to connect with. 399 00:21:38,330 --> 00:21:42,000 And for me personally, being involved in the community and different committees 400 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:44,336 and stuff that I'm involved in, it's been really beneficial 401 00:21:44,336 --> 00:21:48,740 because it's helped me to connect with a lot of different types of people 402 00:21:48,740 --> 00:21:50,242 that are doing community work 403 00:21:50,242 --> 00:21:54,479 in the Tri-Cities area, and so I've been able to, for my members 404 00:21:54,479 --> 00:21:57,783 and for people in the community, be able to say, hey, I've met this person. 405 00:21:57,783 --> 00:21:59,084 They're able to help you with this. 406 00:21:59,084 --> 00:22:03,922 Right now, we have an individual who needed assistance with income 407 00:22:03,922 --> 00:22:07,659 in order to continue to live in the co-op because he was disabled, 408 00:22:07,659 --> 00:22:11,596 but he had been supported by his family and they both passed away. 409 00:22:11,596 --> 00:22:13,465 And now he's all of a sudden living on his own. 410 00:22:13,465 --> 00:22:17,803 He's run out of his trust money and boom, how am I supposed to survive? 411 00:22:17,803 --> 00:22:21,540 And he did not have the skill set to be independent 412 00:22:21,540 --> 00:22:22,541 without assistance. 413 00:22:22,541 --> 00:22:26,645 So fortunately, through SHARE, we were able to give him assistance with getting 414 00:22:26,678 --> 00:22:29,247 PWD started, 415 00:22:29,247 --> 00:22:32,818 getting his income support there for himself, 416 00:22:33,118 --> 00:22:34,219 start to work on 417 00:22:34,219 --> 00:22:37,789 other things that he needs to do and get him downsizing to a smaller unit, 418 00:22:37,956 --> 00:22:41,159 which will be more manageable and more in line with his income. 419 00:22:41,426 --> 00:22:46,732 So having the ability to know who to connect with is really important. 420 00:22:47,032 --> 00:22:51,837 So I think one area that we need to grow in is... 421 00:22:52,404 --> 00:22:55,407 You wouldn't want to do... It’s not a fair type thing, 422 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:58,910 but something where there is the ability to 423 00:22:59,444 --> 00:23:02,781 bring together like minded people that genuinely care 424 00:23:03,148 --> 00:23:06,418 about freedom of access 425 00:23:06,785 --> 00:23:10,789 and quality of life for all members of the community that you're part of, 426 00:23:11,123 --> 00:23:14,960 and just bringing people together and brainstorming and also just learning 427 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:17,963 to connect with one another so you know who to reach out to. 428 00:23:17,996 --> 00:23:18,864 Like I have people 429 00:23:18,864 --> 00:23:22,067 that have reached out to me because they knew that I was at a co-op 430 00:23:22,067 --> 00:23:25,070 and might be able to assist someone that needed housing desperately, 431 00:23:25,337 --> 00:23:28,039 or I learned about through Community 432 00:23:28,039 --> 00:23:32,444 Land Trust that they have a fund for women fleeing domestic violence 433 00:23:32,444 --> 00:23:33,745 that are looking for assistance, 434 00:23:33,745 --> 00:23:37,849 paying for their shares to get into a housing co-op or a disabled person. 435 00:23:37,849 --> 00:23:42,320 There are so many resources that of all of us represent 436 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:46,758 different organizations, that we know about because of the work that we do, 437 00:23:46,925 --> 00:23:51,430 but I don't think there's a good cohesive way yet 438 00:23:51,930 --> 00:23:55,934 of connecting those dots to make it more readily available when needed. 439 00:23:56,902 --> 00:23:59,404 Okay, that's definitely food for thought. 440 00:23:59,404 --> 00:24:02,374 And that plays into the future, right, of... 441 00:24:02,374 --> 00:24:05,377 and shaping the future of accessible living. 442 00:24:05,610 --> 00:24:06,945 Brad, what are the trends? 443 00:24:06,945 --> 00:24:08,780 What are we going to be looking for? 444 00:24:08,780 --> 00:24:13,618 Well, just on that topic, let's remember there's two issues here. 445 00:24:13,985 --> 00:24:16,988 One is economic and the other is the built environment. 446 00:24:17,355 --> 00:24:20,025 They are not the same. Not interchangeable. 447 00:24:20,025 --> 00:24:22,561 The accessible dwelling project 448 00:24:22,561 --> 00:24:26,431 that's been booted down the road to 2027. 449 00:24:26,431 --> 00:24:32,637 But if we can start, if every home is built to anticipate the needs of the user. 450 00:24:33,171 --> 00:24:34,906 In other words, be adaptable. 451 00:24:34,906 --> 00:24:39,110 It's not just little portions of a development, not 5%, not 10%. 452 00:24:39,411 --> 00:24:41,046 All of a sudden Jewels and Doug, 453 00:24:41,046 --> 00:24:43,548 they've got much more choice. 454 00:24:43,548 --> 00:24:44,883 They can work... 455 00:24:44,883 --> 00:24:48,687 So the economic issues can be put into almost any development then, 456 00:24:48,687 --> 00:24:51,690 because almost any development would work if they follow the rules. 457 00:24:51,890 --> 00:24:55,393 So that's what's really important is to separate those two issues. 458 00:24:55,460 --> 00:24:58,830 Too often I see like a development design for seniors, 459 00:24:59,331 --> 00:25:02,033 but the only design that went into it is the economic model. 460 00:25:02,033 --> 00:25:05,170 They didn't talk about hallways with 90 degree corners. 461 00:25:05,871 --> 00:25:08,340 You know, one of the things we recommend is just take the corners off. 462 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:10,742 It's those oblique things, right. 463 00:25:10,742 --> 00:25:13,712 We took the corners off to make it easier for people using 464 00:25:13,879 --> 00:25:17,048 mobility devices and not hitting walls and stuff. 465 00:25:17,282 --> 00:25:20,318 It turned out it was a big benefit for people using sign language 466 00:25:20,852 --> 00:25:23,355 as they're walking along, talking to each other 467 00:25:23,355 --> 00:25:25,023 and the 90 degree corner comes up, 468 00:25:25,023 --> 00:25:26,992 inclusion hazards. 469 00:25:26,992 --> 00:25:29,961 But if when that corner was cut off, they could see an advanced 470 00:25:29,961 --> 00:25:31,196 and in a couple of instances, 471 00:25:31,196 --> 00:25:34,199 we put a convex mirror on the wall so you can see what's coming down the hall. 472 00:25:34,900 --> 00:25:37,903 So making the built environment work for everyone... 473 00:25:39,070 --> 00:25:41,006 Now that's the start. 474 00:25:41,006 --> 00:25:43,675 Now the economic model comes into play. 475 00:25:43,675 --> 00:25:46,578 And organizations like UNITI can take over and start 476 00:25:46,578 --> 00:25:49,648 making creative, real, meaningful access for users. 477 00:25:50,048 --> 00:25:54,819 You can't tell me how to make my home accessible because you don't know me. 478 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:57,522 Yeah, I can't use a grab bar. These... 479 00:25:57,522 --> 00:26:00,525 I'm a quad. These don't grab anything. 480 00:26:00,725 --> 00:26:02,561 So there's no grab bars in my house. 481 00:26:03,662 --> 00:26:06,531 If you look closely, you’ll notice one of the bookcases beside the toilet 482 00:26:06,531 --> 00:26:09,534 sticks out about three inches further than it should. 483 00:26:09,801 --> 00:26:12,804 And that's because I lean on it. 484 00:26:12,804 --> 00:26:14,439 That's my grab bar. 485 00:26:14,439 --> 00:26:15,874 You can't know that. 486 00:26:15,874 --> 00:26:18,910 So from building homes for people with disabilities, 487 00:26:19,177 --> 00:26:23,481 the idea that you can create accessible suite for me is ludicrous. 488 00:26:23,515 --> 00:26:24,783 You don't know me. 489 00:26:24,783 --> 00:26:26,117 So it's better to create a suite 490 00:26:26,117 --> 00:26:29,854 that anticipates the needs of me, or when I move out the next user 491 00:26:30,422 --> 00:26:33,258 and have the infrastructure ready for 492 00:26:33,258 --> 00:26:36,394 the needs of UNITI, the needs of the co-op users. 493 00:26:36,695 --> 00:26:41,232 I think that's actually a very interesting point, Brad, is that once again, 494 00:26:41,232 --> 00:26:44,536 you're pointing out having a space that 495 00:26:44,803 --> 00:26:47,806 is adaptable is key to begin with. 496 00:26:47,939 --> 00:26:49,941 My mother has recently 497 00:26:49,941 --> 00:26:53,011 fallen ill, and I'm navigating that for her. 498 00:26:54,546 --> 00:26:55,180 She lives with me. 499 00:26:55,180 --> 00:26:59,184 So that's another consideration, is families that bring in 500 00:26:59,184 --> 00:27:00,919 or support individuals... 501 00:27:00,919 --> 00:27:02,253 Intergenerational living. 502 00:27:02,621 --> 00:27:04,522 You know, we don't take advantage. 503 00:27:04,522 --> 00:27:06,891 The other cultures do it all the time and we just don't. 504 00:27:06,891 --> 00:27:09,894 And it's so vexing to me. 505 00:27:10,328 --> 00:27:13,465 And that combined with the concept of 506 00:27:14,466 --> 00:27:17,469 we call able bodied people TABs 507 00:27:17,869 --> 00:27:20,572 because you're only temporarily able bodied. 508 00:27:20,572 --> 00:27:22,474 It doesn't matter whether you do a face plant 509 00:27:22,474 --> 00:27:25,510 when you're a teenager, you end up in a wheelchair or you're 65. 510 00:27:25,510 --> 00:27:27,245 You need a walker and a hearing aid. 511 00:27:27,245 --> 00:27:29,014 You will be part of our community. 512 00:27:29,014 --> 00:27:31,116 We're the largest minority group in the world, 513 00:27:31,116 --> 00:27:35,754 and the only one that anyone can join at any moment, whether it's a fall down 514 00:27:35,754 --> 00:27:39,958 the stairs, an illness, car accident, or as they say, if you just get old. 515 00:27:40,225 --> 00:27:43,628 The bottom line is, it's not about somebody else. 516 00:27:44,162 --> 00:27:45,397 It's about you and your family. 517 00:27:45,397 --> 00:27:47,465 It's about your mom. 518 00:27:47,465 --> 00:27:49,501 Exactly. And 519 00:27:49,501 --> 00:27:54,406 I mean, these conversations seem very niche to people sometimes, 520 00:27:54,739 --> 00:27:59,411 but they are really just so broad and so impactful in community. 521 00:27:59,778 --> 00:28:01,346 What would you say to people 522 00:28:01,346 --> 00:28:04,582 who would question the specificity of this conversation? 523 00:28:04,983 --> 00:28:07,719 What would either of you, anyone, say to them 524 00:28:07,719 --> 00:28:11,756 about how important this is for a broader, larger community? 525 00:28:12,257 --> 00:28:16,261 I think when you look at statistics regarding health, mental health 526 00:28:16,961 --> 00:28:20,899 of people that live in communities that have people of different age 527 00:28:20,899 --> 00:28:24,502 groups, you will actually find that they are healthier. 528 00:28:24,769 --> 00:28:28,373 Seniors love to have the ability to see kids around them, 529 00:28:28,506 --> 00:28:31,509 especially those that don't have grandkids that are living close by. 530 00:28:32,343 --> 00:28:36,081 My daughter lives in a unit down the hall from me, my chosen daughter. 531 00:28:36,581 --> 00:28:40,485 She's a wonderful gal and she helps me out quite a bit. 532 00:28:40,652 --> 00:28:44,389 So she comes and helps me with some of the things that I find difficult to do. 533 00:28:44,789 --> 00:28:46,991 And we actually split groceries. 534 00:28:46,991 --> 00:28:51,162 We split the cost of other things because the cost of living is so high 535 00:28:51,496 --> 00:28:52,797 and I'm on a pension, she's 536 00:28:52,797 --> 00:28:55,800 working full time, but we share the cost of food and stuff. 537 00:28:55,967 --> 00:28:59,104 There's other ways, and as a co-op, we've had people mention 538 00:28:59,104 --> 00:29:03,508 maybe we could have a Costco card and go and bulk buy certain things 539 00:29:03,742 --> 00:29:06,611 so that we have the ability to help people that are struggling within 540 00:29:06,611 --> 00:29:09,347 our community. So to me, 541 00:29:10,448 --> 00:29:13,051 the concept of supportive 542 00:29:13,051 --> 00:29:16,621 environment, not just the accessible environment, 543 00:29:16,855 --> 00:29:20,458 but a supportive environment, an environment where you build community. 544 00:29:20,759 --> 00:29:22,594 Whatever development you're part of. 545 00:29:22,594 --> 00:29:26,064 Because truthfully, years ago when I lived in an apartment building, 546 00:29:26,598 --> 00:29:29,601 I could say hi to my neighbours and I knew who they were. 547 00:29:29,801 --> 00:29:31,302 But truthfully, you said hi. 548 00:29:31,302 --> 00:29:32,303 Have a good day. 549 00:29:32,303 --> 00:29:34,472 That was about it. You didn't really know them. 550 00:29:34,472 --> 00:29:37,609 Whereas I've lived in a housing co-op for 27.5 years, 551 00:29:37,909 --> 00:29:42,480 and I know nearly everybody here, and not just because of my role 552 00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:46,818 working on the board, but just in general, getting to know them 553 00:29:46,818 --> 00:29:51,589 because it's a more social environment, it's a more welcoming environment usually. 554 00:29:51,990 --> 00:29:53,558 co-op living. 555 00:29:53,558 --> 00:29:58,129 And so there is a proviso that you must be willing to volunteer in some way. 556 00:29:58,296 --> 00:29:59,864 They want you to participate. 557 00:29:59,864 --> 00:30:03,368 Our mission has to be to keep people 558 00:30:03,368 --> 00:30:06,371 in their communities as long as humanly possible, 559 00:30:06,471 --> 00:30:09,474 to stay in their homes as long as humanly possible. 560 00:30:09,841 --> 00:30:13,411 Even when they have to go into long term care, it should be small facilities 561 00:30:13,411 --> 00:30:15,847 within their community so they can stay there. 562 00:30:15,847 --> 00:30:17,916 And it takes all advantage of 563 00:30:17,916 --> 00:30:21,186 the whole community piece, the intergenerational living piece. 564 00:30:22,287 --> 00:30:22,921 You know, when 565 00:30:22,921 --> 00:30:26,791 grandma can't go see her grandson play hockey at the local arena 566 00:30:27,125 --> 00:30:30,028 because the sidewalks are cracked or the door is too heavy, or 567 00:30:30,028 --> 00:30:33,198 the stairs are too steep, or whatever it might be to keep her away 568 00:30:33,331 --> 00:30:36,334 when she can't go there a little thread breaks, 569 00:30:36,734 --> 00:30:38,303 right? 570 00:30:40,138 --> 00:30:43,141 It distances her from her family, 571 00:30:43,208 --> 00:30:46,211 it distances her from the community and 572 00:30:47,712 --> 00:30:50,515 the whole system starts to break down. 573 00:30:50,515 --> 00:30:53,518 And we need to respect our elders more than we are. 574 00:30:54,552 --> 00:30:57,889 Why can't the bottom two floors of any new condominium 575 00:30:58,289 --> 00:31:01,292 be set up as Long-Term Care Suites? 576 00:31:01,759 --> 00:31:04,762 You know, one of the suites would be dedicated to a resident 577 00:31:04,929 --> 00:31:06,331 in care person. 578 00:31:06,331 --> 00:31:07,332 And the bottom two... 579 00:31:07,332 --> 00:31:10,335 So as you age, you actually move down in your building. 580 00:31:10,869 --> 00:31:13,872 You know, for the building owner, he retains the asset 581 00:31:14,439 --> 00:31:17,442 and undoubtablly some support from the health care system 582 00:31:17,709 --> 00:31:21,212 and return on investment for the owner, its return on investment for the community 583 00:31:21,212 --> 00:31:24,883 is return on investment for the person who's just trying to stay part of their family 584 00:31:25,183 --> 00:31:26,851 without feeling that they're a burden to it. 585 00:31:26,851 --> 00:31:30,655 Yeah, and Jewels and Brad, I think you really nailed it 586 00:31:30,655 --> 00:31:33,658 with your comments about community 587 00:31:33,925 --> 00:31:36,761 and including multigenerational community. 588 00:31:36,761 --> 00:31:39,831 And, you know, historically, people with developmental disabilities... 589 00:31:40,465 --> 00:31:41,933 You talked about a thread, Brad. 590 00:31:41,933 --> 00:31:42,667 There was a cord 591 00:31:42,667 --> 00:31:46,170 that was cut because children were put into institutions and separated. 592 00:31:46,638 --> 00:31:51,109 And now, the joy of a tenant with developmental disability 593 00:31:51,409 --> 00:31:56,047 being able to go to the store, phone their mom and say, hey, mom, I'm at the store. 594 00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:57,282 Is there anything I can pick you up? 595 00:31:57,282 --> 00:32:02,720 Such a simple, simple thing, simple act of kindness that all of us has done, 596 00:32:03,121 --> 00:32:06,557 a person with a developmental disability never having the opportunity to do that. 597 00:32:06,758 --> 00:32:08,893 And now they do. And of course they do. 598 00:32:08,893 --> 00:32:12,430 And that reciprocal relationship between the... 599 00:32:12,764 --> 00:32:15,700 we have no policy in our apartments about 600 00:32:15,700 --> 00:32:18,703 you have to do things together, nothing like that. 601 00:32:18,803 --> 00:32:22,674 But by the very fact that there are people with developmental disabilities 602 00:32:22,674 --> 00:32:25,677 who are part of that housing first of all, it kind of sets, 603 00:32:25,810 --> 00:32:28,813 people choose to move into that place, know that. 604 00:32:29,047 --> 00:32:33,217 So it kind of... that's a bit of a vetting right at the very beginning. 605 00:32:33,251 --> 00:32:36,521 But then the people that are living there, it's just fantastic. Families, 606 00:32:36,521 --> 00:32:39,524 seniors, people with disabilities. 607 00:32:39,557 --> 00:32:43,795 We've had four babies born in the last year, and it's just fantastic 608 00:32:43,928 --> 00:32:45,763 to have a community 609 00:32:45,763 --> 00:32:49,734 that cares about each other and also is completely great 610 00:32:49,734 --> 00:32:53,538 for the business community because people who live in affordable housing, they shop 611 00:32:53,538 --> 00:32:57,375 locally, they don't go to Palm Springs for half of the year. 612 00:32:57,608 --> 00:33:02,046 And if you're shopping locally, so the dollar store or the Safeway, etc., 613 00:33:02,613 --> 00:33:05,883 they love the fact that that building is being built next to them 614 00:33:05,883 --> 00:33:10,221 because they've got 100 people that are shopping at their store. 615 00:33:10,221 --> 00:33:13,391 So it's great for the community, it’s great for the business community. 616 00:33:13,591 --> 00:33:16,561 I would add that we do quality of life 617 00:33:16,894 --> 00:33:20,531 surveys every 3 or 4 years, scientifically verified. 618 00:33:20,732 --> 00:33:22,500 And recently, 619 00:33:22,500 --> 00:33:25,570 they now have an indicator of like the average British Columbian. 620 00:33:25,570 --> 00:33:29,474 And so people without disabilities and the tenants with disabilities 621 00:33:29,474 --> 00:33:33,244 who live in Chorus apartments have a higher quality of life 622 00:33:33,244 --> 00:33:36,814 than the average British Columbian, something that it's very unheard of, 623 00:33:37,448 --> 00:33:40,051 when it comes to people with developmental disabilities. 624 00:33:40,051 --> 00:33:43,021 However, I would also make the argument that if we were to survey 625 00:33:43,021 --> 00:33:46,491 the entire building, everyone who lives in that building has a 626 00:33:46,958 --> 00:33:49,293 higher quality of life than the average British Columbian, 627 00:33:49,293 --> 00:33:53,097 because their greatest worry of British Columbians has been taken off the table, 628 00:33:53,097 --> 00:33:56,634 which is to have safe, affordable housing. 629 00:33:56,667 --> 00:33:58,302 They don't have to worry about that. 630 00:33:58,302 --> 00:34:00,838 Well, this TAB thanks you. 631 00:34:00,838 --> 00:34:02,607 All three of you. 632 00:34:02,607 --> 00:34:04,675 I'm going to use that now. That's a great term. 633 00:34:04,675 --> 00:34:08,946 You’re such a wise panel of experts with lived experience, and 634 00:34:09,414 --> 00:34:13,484 I'm just so grateful for this conversation and your perspectives. 635 00:34:13,718 --> 00:34:15,486 We've barely scratched the surface. 636 00:34:15,486 --> 00:34:18,689 And yeah, there's so much to unpack. 637 00:34:19,223 --> 00:34:20,825 But again, thank you so much. 638 00:34:20,825 --> 00:34:25,196 It's been so great listening to you and hearing your different perspectives. 639 00:34:25,196 --> 00:34:26,230 I really appreciate it. 640 00:34:28,666 --> 00:34:30,334 To learn more about BC Housing, 641 00:34:30,334 --> 00:34:34,439 including how to apply for subsidized housing in British Columbia, visit 642 00:34:34,972 --> 00:34:38,576 www.bchousing.org 643 00:34:38,976 --> 00:34:42,847 You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X. 644 00:34:43,815 --> 00:34:46,717 If you enjoyed this episode, give us a rating. 645 00:34:46,717 --> 00:34:47,919 This will help others find 646 00:34:47,919 --> 00:34:50,521 Let's Talk Housing and join the conversation. 647 00:34:50,521 --> 00:34:54,092 You can subscribe to Let's Talk Housing on Apple, Spotify, 648 00:34:54,125 --> 00:34:55,960 or wherever you listen to your podcasts.