Terrace, BC's WIN
Public Sector: Yes
Member of: Prescribed Organization
Accessibility consultant, Melissa Lyon, came to Terrace in February to teach City of Terrace staff about accessibility and inclusion. Approximately 50% of our staff, across various City departments, completed the training. Recordings of the training were also shared with all City staff by email.
The training covered:
– Why accessibility matters
– Provincial legislation surrounding accessibility
– Service providers' duty to accommodate
– The many types of disabilities, many of which are invisible
– Inclusive language
– Ways to improve accessibility in general, and at the City
One staff person said what they learned was "eye-opening" and that they had no idea there was so much to know. Others committed to putting what they learned into practice in their jobs.
While in Terrace, Melissa also toured four City facilities and gave suggestions on how to improve accessibility throughout the buildings. She has also created some tools for City staff – for example, a checklist for creating accessible documents – all of which have been shared with all City staff.
Terrace is a vibrant community, strengthened by its diversity of people and their ideas, skills, and experiences. The City of Terrace is committed to removing barriers that could limit the full participation of our diverse population, and this training and these new resources are helping us on that journey.