Skip to main content

'Be a part of something': SaskAbilities highlight disability awareness month

In the City of Regina, the month of October has been officially declared Disability Employee Awareness Month (DEAM).

Mayor Sandra Masters proclaimed the announcement at an event at SaskAbilities.

“It’s a privilege and an honour to celebrate the significant contributions that individuals with disabilities bring to the workplace,” Masters said.

DEAM was first celebrated in Canada in 2010.

It’s a time meant to promote the importance of inclusive workforces, as well as recognize businesses who have hired people experiencing disability and facing other barriers.

“We all have skills and talents and we’re all deserving to contribute. Everybody needs a purpose,” said Raelynne Doka, Program Manager at SaskAbilities.

“I think contributions look different for different people, but they are contributions nonetheless.”

Whitney Haddad worked with SaskAbilities to find employment. It took months to find the right fit.

“I came here to figure out what I wanted to do. I wanted to have a better future with jobs. It was hard to find a job myself,” Haddad said.

Employers also attended the event. Many who have hired employees facing barriers created by disabilities.

“It is the smallest adjustments that make a world of difference,” said Elle Grzeda, owner of Elle’s Cafe.

“These people want to be there, they want to be a part of something, and they are going to work so hard and be so ecstatic just to be there.”

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan dies at age 65

Shane MacGowan, the singer-songwriter and frontman of 'Celtic Punk' band The Pogues, best known for the Christmas ballad 'Fairytale of New York,' died Thursday, his family said. He was 65.

opinion

opinion Don Martin: With Trudeau resignation fever rising, a Conservative nightmare appears

With speculation rising that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will follow his father's footsteps in the snow to a pre-election resignation, political columnist Don Martin focuses on one Liberal cabinet minister who's emerging as leadership material -- and who stands out as a fresh-faced contrast to the often 'angry and abrasive' leader of the Conservatives.

Ontario doctors disciplined over Israel-Gaza protests

A number of doctors are facing scrutiny for publicizing their opinions on the Israel-Hamas war. Critics say expressing their political views could impact patient care, while others say that it is being used as an excuse for censorship.

Stay Connected