Lack of accessibility a growing concern in Saint John, advocates say

A Saint John group says the city needs to do a much better job on accessibility.

The city’s ability advisory committee held an open house on Wednesday to get feedback from residents.

Committee chair Marisa Hersey-Misner said there are a lot of areas of concern for people with disabilities.

She said there are systemic barriers in education, housing, employment and transportation, but that even obvious quality-of-life issues have been neglected.

“A lot of safety issues regarding sidewalks, crosswalks, [lack of] audible pedestrian signals, and accessible parking has been a real issue in the city and it’s just right across the board.”

Growing population

People living with disabilities are a growing population in New Brunswick.

According to Statistics Canada, 35.3 per cent of New Brunswickers have a disability, the second-highest rate in the country.

Still, the province has lagged behind when it comes to addressing accessibility issues, said Hersey-Misner, who is legally blind.

“I’ve heard from several individuals that have been part of our committee that had lived elsewhere, such as in Newfoundland and Ontario and so forth, and they just can’t believe how far behind we are at getting things accessible in in our communities,” she said.

Rania Malik, executive director of Hire Potential, which helps people with developmental disabilities find employment, said there are plenty of barriers.

“They can’t afford housing — 95 per cent of the folks we work with live below the poverty line,” said Malik. 

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Residents, community groups and municipal leaders gathered for a town hall-style session to talk about reducing barriers for people living with disabilities.

The city has been getting better in finding employment for people with developmental disabilities, but she still encounters pushback from time to time.

“We do work with a lot of employers that are open to accommodation and can see that … the folks that we work with can do the same work as anybody else. It’s really just about creating a really strong job match.

“But yeah, every now and then you do run into an employer that is not really interested in accommodating or, you know, has that ableist attitude of, ‘We already have somebody with a disability,'” said Malik. 

There are organizations that are working on this, she said, including Mentor Ability, which creates opportunities for job shadowing for persons with disabilities. 

“And there’s also a Rethink Ability, which has done wonderful work providing training for employers to learn about different types of disability and what it actually looks like. So I think that education piece is really important and it helps lead to things like full participation, equal opportunities and empowerment.”

Hersey-Misner said she believes the reason the province is behind when it comes to accessibility is ableism and a lack of legislation.

She hopes the experiences that are shared at the open house will prompt the city to make some changes.

“There will be a report … all the information that’s gathered … will be put forth in a report,” said Hersey-Misner. 

“It will go to common council, government agencies and the organizations that support persons with disabilities.”

There are also plans for symposium on Dec. 3 at the Public Library for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, with more events planned for next year, said Malik.

“We’re really trying to make this more of a year round thing. We don’t want inclusion to be kind of relegated to one week or one month.”