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Our Vision - People with developmental disabilities as leaders and partners in a world without barriers










 

 


        
 

June 11, 2007 – Truck Mart Employer of the Year
Slave Lake Scope, August 5 th , 2006 – Brian Keller
June 20, 2006 – Arlene Milner
June 19, 2006 – Wilfred Carby
June 9, 2006 – Signature Supports 50 th Anniversary
Paulette McGinnis, March 9, 2006
Garfield's Hair Care/Ernie Quenneville, June 14, 2005
Wilf Carby, May 2005
Lucas & Ronna-Lee Batty, June 2004
Paulette McGinnis, May 2004
Paulette McGinnis, January 2004

Workplaces honoured for becoming more open to inclusion
 KEVIN CRUSH
 Herald-Tribune staff
Monday June 11, 2007

 Two years ago when Kelly Montgomery first gave Jonathan Miller his job at TruckMart, he saw a shy, nervous young man who would barely say a word.

Today, despite having a developmental disability, Miller has been promoted several times and is a key member of the shop. It's a remarkable change for someone Montgomery describes as having not wanted to be a part of the real world two years ago.

“Now here he is, part of the real world and he fits in perfectly. It just took a little time and effort and understanding on everybody's part and now he fits in perfectly and interacts with all the guys. Every morning he makes sure he talks to everybody before he goes to work. He says good morning to everybody and everybody appreciates that,” said the TruckMart owner.

It has been great working at TruckMart, said Miller, whose duties range from washing parts to helping run the shop.

“They've been so nice at TruckMart,” he said.

“They are good guys to work with.”

People with developmental disabilities were once shunned from the workforce. They weren't believed to be able to hold down jobs but today that attitude is changing.

Inclusion in the workplace is becoming more and more common and Susan McKenzie, chief executive officer of the Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) Northwest Alberta Community Board, says employers often reap just as many rewards as the workers.

“They get maybe a richer workforce and they get a better understanding of some of the challenges that people have,” said McKenzie.

“Certainly what I have heard from employers is that it is a more human work environment. People with disabilities bring an enthusiasm to the work because historically they have not had positions, so they bring a whole focus and attention to the work that maybe wasn't there.”

On Saturday, the PDD board handed out its annual awards, including an employer-of-the-year award for TruckMart.

“They've created a space for him and also Jonathan has created a space for himself in terms of the relationships that he has developed,” said McKenzie

Sixteen other businesses were also recognized for their dedication to inclusion in the workplace. That is just so important, said McKenzie.

“For people who have been marginalized, the opportunity to contribute to community like you and I do is huge. It makes them feel part of things and it makes them feel like they have a contribution.”

Having inclusion is the right thing to do, said Montgomery.

“Everyone needs a job and self-worth. That's important in society in order to have everybody self-sustaining and carrying their own weight. Nobody wants to be a burden on society and Jonathan has come out of his shell, which is good. He's grown as a person, not only as an adult but as a person.”

Montgomery says it can take a little longer to train Miller but it's not a big deal because once he's trained, he's a member of the team.

And Miller says he's happy to be part of that team.

“I'm really glad to be working there.”

Recognition for supporting, inspiring disabled
 By Mark Rieder
Peace River Record Gazette

 Peace River Record Gazette — For a small community, Peace River has more than its fair share of residents who support people with developmental disabilities. Last month, the Town of Peace River was awarded for the public transit system and how it helps disabled people. The local Saan store was also recognized for their role in employing the disabled.
Wanda Laurin, director of Peace Citizens Recycling Society, was nominated for the Persons with Developmental Disabilities organization's Dreamweaver Award.
But perhaps the most inspirational awards the organization hands out is to people with developmental disabilities who are role models for others.
Arlene Milner of Peace River was nominated for the Leadership Award. She has been able to turn her life around and is in a position where she wants to help others achieve the same.
Her advice to others is to never give up on what they want out of life.
“I would say just keep up what you're doing and your goals will be achieved,” said Milner.
Kathy Lambert, who nominated Milner for the award, said she is impressed with Milner's giving nature.
“Arlene is just overall a pleasant person that people enjoy being around and she never holds back,” said Lambert, “She's always trying to help someone in some way and that's one of her biggest accomplishments.”
One way Milner works to achieve her goals is her involvement with the Persons with Developmental Disabilities self-advocacy committee.
“The self-advocacy committee is individuals with disabilities who want to see improvements in their lives,” said Lambert. “They discuss what issues are important to them and what changes they would like to see.”
Milner said the strength of the committee is how everyone works together to find answers to the issues they deal with.
“I think it's just the conversations, getting everybody's input in what we're talking about -- getting everybody's ideas,” she said. “For example, if we want to get funding we have to try and figure out how we're going to go about that.”
Lambert is proud of what Milner has been able to accomplish. Milner is seen as someone who represents what the leadership award is about.
“From when she first came in the agency until now it's incredible the things she's overcome and that's why we felt she was so deserving of this award, She is a very positive member of the community,” said Lambert.
Despite her commitment to the projects she is involved with, Milner was surprised to be nominated. Especially since she received a similar award last year.
“It was unexpected, because last year I ended up getting Person of the Year and when I got this (nomination) it was kind of shocking,” she said.
Milner is well aware that her success is tied to the help she receives from others as well.
“As I say to the other workers, if it wasn't for them helping me out I would still be in debt,” she said.
Lambert believes each advance Milner makes leads to another.
“I think she's enjoyed some of the success ... and that's what keeps her going,” she said.
Lambert also recognizes the availability of services as a way for each success to happen.
“The new transit system, that was a huge thing for us to see. It enables our clients to get out independently,” she said.
For Milner, part of the trick is being able to react to new challenges and overcome them.
“I'm just going one day at a time,” she said. “I just take it as it comes.”

An Inspiration: Carby's dedication to work garners award consideration
By KEVIN CRUSH
Grande Prairie Herald-Tribune staff

With a warm personality and dedicated to work, Wilfred Carby is an inspiration to many.

He was born with cerebral palsy and his words are slurred but Carby hasn't let it stop him, not even at age 66. He wants to work and enjoys putting in a hard effort to get the work done right. After all, it is what his proud mother wants.

"Because my mom said to work hard," said Carby in his Swanavon home.

Carby was one of the top four finalists in the provincial Norm McLeod Community Inclusion Awards in the leadership category earlier this month. The awards recognize people with developmental disabilities who live, work, learn and participate in their communities.

"I got the award for my job," said Carby with a huge grin on his face.

At an age when most people are looking to leave work behind, Carby has been picking it up.

Three years ago after leaving his mother's home in Spirit River and coming to Grande Prairie , he knew he wanted to work for a living. During the summers, he delivers papers for the Herald-Tribune, but has to let it go during the winter because his wheelchair can't handle the snow.

Even when he's not working, Carby is an engaging and inspiring person.

"Wilfred is a very outgoing pleasant personality when he's out in the community, whether he's in church or out in the community, he's very responsive to the public, so he was recognized for that as well," said Brenda Prince of Tiger Homes, which provides personal and medical assistance to Carby.

"His greatest achievement is despite his disability and his age he was still able to successfully hold down his job with the Daily Herald-Tribune which was delivering papers on Route 71."

Carby deserves all the recognition he is getting, said Susan McKenzie, chief executive officer of the Persons with Developmental Disabilities Northwest Alberta Community Board, who nominated him for the award.

"He's an inspiration. He is so involved in Grande Prairie . He's so positive and he smiles and he's a delight to be around. He's such a shining example of a person with a disability who can make a room move."

No matter what, Carby has always managed to find a way around his disability and doesn't let it stop him, said McKenzie. He does have wonderful staff and family to support him but it is his personality and willingness to work that has helped him along.

"It's a matter of those relationships around him but it is Wilf's personality that pulls people in and engages him."

He also received letters of support from St. Paul 's United Church minister Mark Malek and former Herald-Tribune reporter Kristy Lesh, who wrote about him in 2005.

Carby received a certificate for being one of the finalists at a ceremony in Edmonton on June 7. Attending the ceremony created a new love for him: Travel.

"It was fun. Now I want to go to Calgary , to the Stampede," he said.

But he may not be able to get there this summer because of work.

While he had to give up route No. 71 during the winter because his wheelchair can't get through snow, last week he was successful in getting a new route for the summer with the Herald-Tribune, No. 8, which is in the same area.

A CELEBRATION OF ACCEPTANCE: GP AND DISTRICT MENTALLY HANDICAPPED ASSOCIATION CELEBRATES 50-YEAR ANNIVERSARY
 By Kevin Crush, Grande Prairie Herald Tribune
Friday, June 9, 2006

Decades ago, there was nothing for mentally handicapped kids like Dale Edgar.

There weren't any schools or support groups and help was virtually non-existent. His mother, Sadie Edgar, recalls being told that kids like Dale only lived to be 15.

That wasn't good enough for her. She wanted something better for her son.

"He wasn't really stupid, let's put it that way. I thought he could be taught and I thought he should be given the chance to be taught. That's how it got going," said Edgar, now 89.

"I didn't know but I thought to give him a chance, give them a chance."

Giving Dale a chance gave birth to the Grande Prairie and District Mentally Handicapped Association, and 50 years later, it is still going strong and still giving kids and adults alike a chance at being a full part of the community, and developing acceptance within the community.

"It took 50 or 60 years, but what happened with Sadie's work, her dream, her beginning, culminates into a community that has a very wide acceptance for people with disabilities," said Barry Bucknell, executive director of the association.

On Thursday, the association celebrated its 50th anniversary, bringing back Sadie Edgar as one of its founding members. What started as a program in the basement of the Masonic Hall has turned into a full association that helps kids get placed in schools, and helps find jobs and day programs for adults.

Looking around at the modern office building the association now occupies in the Richmond Industrial Park, Edgar can't believe the program she helped start has grown so much.

"I never dreamt of this at all," she said.

"This is something, really. It's amazing. I didn't know that it was so big and has been growing. They have things for these children to do."

Back in the 1950s when Edgar wanted something more for her child, she travelled to Edmonton to meet Winnifred Stewart, who had started a school for the mentally handicapped there.

She was encouraged to return to Grande Prairie and start a school here. With programs beginning in 1956, the first school finally opened in 1959.

It was a time when Edgar found herself being the janitor, bus driver, and secretary-treasurer.

Over 50 years from its humble beginnings, many people have been helped because of what Edgar helped found.

"It's just something that you had to do," she said. "If you were going to do it you had to get in there and do it. I never thought of so much backup but everyone was willing to join."

A change for the better started to take place in the community, said Bucknell. Where once before people with mental handicaps were left without help, the community began to accept and integrate them.

"For many people the community option was developing, there were schools and then day programs like at Swan Industries when they opened in the 1970s, and we continued to build on that with residential options as well as business opportunities. We have full competitive employment in many places and people today are quite integrated into their Grande Prairie community, which is really quite an achievement for the whole community not just the association," said Bucknell.

The association celebrated its 50th anniversary with the official launch of its Community from this Side: Murals and Mirrors website. Compiled and written by Brenda Mansfield, the website details the histories of the schools, the association, and the people who were a part of them.

It is also a living history where people can add their own story to it.

The theme of Murals and Mirrors is apt, said Bucknell.

"The idea of murals is that continual story, but the idea of the mirror is that so often stories are reflections of us. That's exactly what you see here. If you look at what's up on the wall here, the old names that have been associated with this organization, things have changed.

"People are not viewed any longer as being perpetual children, for instance. Constantly in need, for instance. Those are reflections of us, not of them."

The website can be found at www.gpdamh50.ca.

Celebrating Northern Women Society
By Celebrating Northern Women Society
2006 Award Recipient – Paulette McGinnis

The Celebrating Northern Women (CNW) Society hosted their annual awards banquet in Grande Prairie in March. The PDD Northwest Alberta Community Board congratulates self-advocate Paulette McGinnis for being one of the recipients of this prestigious award. Below is the profile that the CNW Society has of Paulette on their website.

Paulette McGinnis is being celebrated for her self-advocacy work and the positive benefit it has had for people in our community with disabilities. Paulette began her career as a receptionist at Specialized Employment Resources, later becoming the receptionist at Independent Living Services. She now works as both Administrative Assistant and Community Support Worker for the Accredited Supportive Living Society.

Paulette also serves as Chairperson of a non-profit organization called "Leadership Today", a provincial organization that helps people with disabilities develop leadership skills--and a program she was once enrolled in herself. She also chairs an advisory committee called "Northwest Advocates in Action" which advises the Northwest Alberta Community Board for People with Developmental Disabilities (NWPDD) on how to provide the best supports for people with developmental disabilities.

In 1989 she joined the Grande Prairie Kakwa Toastmasters and has since facilitated self-advocacy workshops throughout the Peace, and been a presenter and MC at various conferences and events. She has also been a researcher in various self-advocacy projects. She continues to show by her example that people with disabilities can speak for themselves and as a result, build their self-esteem and confidence.

Paulette McGinnis has triumphed over her own challenges to begin building a more inclusive community, and is not only a role model and an inspiration for people with developmental disabilities and her peers in the disability field but for all women.
We are honoured and pleased to include Paulette McGinnis as one of our Celebrated Northern Women.

* Courtesy of Celebrating Northern Women Society (March 9, 2006)

Garfield's Hair Care
By JOHN PIGEON
Local business man honoured for altruism within the community

Peace River Record Gazette  — Ernie Quenneville the owner and hairdresser at Garfield's Hair Care in Peace River received an award from Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) Northwest Alberta Community board recently.

“I was surprised and a little shocked to be receiving the award but it is very nice,” Quenneville said. “It (the services provided for the award) is more of a spur of the moment thing. I am just helping these people out when I can.”

Quenneville received the award for helping people in the community with developmental disabilities by providing reduced hair cut rates, going to individuals houses to cut their hair and helping maintain and operate people with disabilities personal computers.

“Ernie is involved in many different ways in the community of Peace River,” said Susan McKenzie, Chief Executive Officer for PDD. “He has been helping these people out without receiving pay or attention from the public, so we are here to present him with an award for his efforts in this way.”

Quenneville has also received recognition for taking outdated computers and refurbishing them for use by people with disabilities.
The awards are presented once a year.

“There are two community contribution awards and we have nominations from all over the Northwest,” said McKenzie.
“So there were thirty nominations for all the awards.”

Sheila Hiron, a member on the board of directors for PDD was also in attendance to help deliver the award.
“Ernie has been a real inspiration to me,” Hiron said.

The awards were originally supposed to be presented at a party in Grand Prairie but Ernie was not able to attend.

“I couldn't go to the award ceremony. I was working that weekend because of the grad that weekend.”

Amanda Grimm-Novosel and Arlene Milner from Peace River were also presented with the Person of the Year award after they both took steps as individuals making them inspirations for persons with disabilities everywhere.

Dunvegan Gardens also won an award for Employer of the Year. Donna Howick has employed a person with disabilities for over four years as a seasonal employee.
Each year the employee is given an increasing amount of responsibility and hours, as they are able to handle it.

The original award ceremony took place on May 13th.

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* Courtesy of Peace River Record Gazette (June 14, 2005)

Wilfred delivers!
By KRISTY LESH
Herald-Tribune's 65-year-old carrier teaches us valuable life lessons

When most people his age were retiring from the workforce, Wilfred Carby was just getting his start.

The 65-year-old started delivering papers in his neighbourhood last year and as the afternoon rolls around each day, Carby keeps an eye on his watch and when it comes time to sling the sack full of paper over his shoulders, he is all smiles.

"I hope I'm not too old, I'd like to work five more years," he said.

It has become the highlight of his day, getting outside and meeting new people along his route.

"I like to work," he said. "Something to do."

Carby, born with cerebral palsy, has spent all of his life living at home until he moved to Grande Prairie from Spirit River more than two years ago and moved into a house with three other individuals.

While gaining that independence was a feat in itself, Carby wanted more. He wanted to becoming a working member of his community.

"He asked us to help him find a job," he wanted to be outside, so we looked for a paper route for him," said Brenda Prince, of Tiger Homes which provides personal and medical assistance to Carby and helps with the upkeep around his home.

She said Carby completed his own resume and went in for the interview last year.

"Wilf secured the position himself," said Prince.

Every day, with the help of a caregiver, Carby gathers his papers and makes his way along the route folding each one of them and putting it in the mailboxes he can reach. One of the residents along his route even set out a bench and left a rock there so Carby can set it down on his own and place the rock over top so it doesn't blow away.

Carby delivered the route in the downtown area around his home last year until winter. He had to quit when snow started to fly because it is too hard to get around in his wheelchair. But that didn't stop him from keeping himself busy.

"He wanted to work, he still wanted to do something," said Prince.

So over the winter Carby became self-employed baking and selling cookies and cakes.

And when the snow started to clear, Carby wanted to get back on his route. While the route had already been filled, another carrier changed areas to allow Carby to start delivering again in his neighbourhood.

"They actually missed him during the winter," said Kim Chlagsing who cares for Carby and often helps him with his route.

And when he is gone for a few days they are worried about him and wondering where he is. She said Carby has grown equally fond of those along his route.

"He is pretty excited when he sees his customers or when his customers say hi to him," she said.

A resident along the route, Mary Jean Vangenne, said she was glad to see Carby when he started delivering again.

"He's always so pleasant. If anything the paper was always early and always there."

Vangenne said it's incredible what he is doing and she enjoys having him in the neighbourhood.

"I think it's great, anything that gives a person more independence."

Further along the route, residents only had more good things to say about Carby's dedication.

"He's one of the best carriers we've had in the past five years," said Robert Wadey. "He's doing a good job and is obviously a good worker."

At the end of his route, Carby makes his way back to his home and only has one thought on his mind.

"I hope I make a good job," he says with a smile.

Carby has been nominated for the Person of the Year award from Persons with Developmental Disabilities Northwest Alberta Community Board.

The awards are presented each year to individuals with developmental disabilities who have achieved success and overcome barriers in their life, been successfully employed and participated in their community in a unique way.

Carby, who is humble about his efforts is shocked to even have been nominated for the award.

"I can't believe it," he said.

The recipients of the awards will be named at the PDD spring celebration and awards night this evening at the Grande Prairie Inn. The employer of the year and community contribution awards will also be awarded.

* Courtesy of Grande Prairie Daily Herald Tribune (May 13, 2005)


I guess we did a good job
Community leaders honoured with PDD Awards

Lucas and Ronna-Lee Batty

Lucas Batty was just getting off his shift at SAAN store when Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) representative Marla Rhode, called him with good news.

Lucas, along with fellow Peace Riverites David and Maggie Greaves, had won the Person of the Year award.
Batty says he had a pretty good idea of why he was up for an award in the first place.

"I worked hard for it," he said.

"I’ve done a lot over the past number of years for the community."

Ronna-Lee, Lucas’ wife and sweetheart of more than 10 years, met Lucas at a Fairview College program where people with developmental disabilities learn to live on their own.

As a shining example of a work life mixing with a love life, Lucas became her caregiver.

The rest, as they say, is history.

"I think he deserves the award," she said, beaming at her husband. David and Maggie Greaves also received the Person of the Year award.

Married for just over two years, they’ve recently set a goal to save money for their first home.
Maggie says when she found out she won the award, she wasn’t shocked so much as she was happy.

"I was happy. I guess we did a good job."

Maggie says her involvement with the PDD board extends to occasional meetings teaching theclients about living independent lives.

"Sometimes we get together with [the PDD board]. We have meetings with them about things.

“They teach things, like how to look after yourself right and how to budget your money right."
Paul Renfree, chair of the PDD Northwest Alberta Community Board, says awards of this sort are important because they inspire not only the people receiving the awards, but the general community.

"It’s really important to recognize people with developmental disabilities who stand out and who are leaders,” he said.

“It helps us as a society to recognize the potential for all individuals. “It enriches not just their lives, I think it enriches the lives of society in general."

The awards are handed out based on being a strong self-advocate, sharing their skills with others, and being willing to lend a hand to their peers and others in the community.

To illustrate Renfree’s point, Lucas’ mother Annalies is quick to acknowledge the people who have helped him along the way.

When he was in school, special education assistants helped him with one-on-one instruction. After graduating, he joined the PDD board to help promote self-advocacy.
Between volunteering his time with the PDD board, working at his job, and helping take care of his wife, Lucas is a busy guy.

But according to his mother, Lucas wouldn’t have it any other way.

"His dad and I are very proud of him."

Peace River A&W manager Judy Khejmus also received an award for her enthusiasm in hiring people with developmental disabilities. 

* Courtesy of the Peace River Record Gazette (June 29, 2004)

An inspiring effort
By ALISON KENNEDY
Herald-Tribune staff

Paulette McGinnis is teaching people throughout the region exactly how powerful the human spirit can be.

And for that McGinnis, a local self-advocacy specialist, was among the recipients at the Persons with Developmental Disabilities Northwest Community sixth annual celebration and awards night Friday.

The award celebration recognizes the achievements of people with developmental disabilities and those who support them in becoming active independent members of their communities.

McGinnis was presented with a Person of the Year award which goes to individuals with developmental disabilities who have overcome personal challenges and have accomplished their goals.

When she was six months old, McGinnis was diagnosed with spinal meningitis and was rendered paralysed on the left side of her body. While the condition presented no shortage of challenges, McGinnis has persevered and now finds herself teaching workshops, chairing an advisory committee, working as a rehabilitation worker, sitting on a Leadership Today board and continuing to spread her message of hope.

McGinnis fondly recalls the day when her mindset changed from viewing everything negatively to looking at situations as new challenges she's ready to embrace. It came after she was coaxed into conducting a workshop.

"I was so nervous because it was my first time teaching a workshop and I didn't think it would work out. Then after I saw the expressions from the people I taught and I saw I was changing their lives, I realized I could keep going on," says McGinnis.

The journey to self-advocacy and awareness for McGinnis has been a long road.

It began when, based on an essay she wrote, she was selected, to join Sandra Mak, executive director of Leadership Today, for a leadership conference in Boston, Massachusetts.

After attending the conference in 2000, she ordered a self-advocacy workshop starter kit and signed a contract with Community Capacity Initiative Funding to teach groups across the region.

The confidence she built through this experience has enabled her to have the courage to expand and redevelop her material. Once the material is revised, she plans to take her message provincewide.

"I feel I need to spread this information - just because someone has disabilities doesn't mean they cannot reach their goals," says McGinnis. "People with disabilities can do better for themselves if they just teach themselves to try new things - it's never as scary as it seems."

In essence, McGinnis is trying to teach people with disabilities to stand up for themselves and speak up for their rights.

McGinnis says receiving the award has given her a real sense of accomplishment.

"It made me feel like I'm doing something that people look up to me," she says.

"Look at me now, don't you tell me I can't do anything. Sure there's time I have doubts but I take the challenges," says McGinnis.

Two other Grande Prairie residents were honoured during the awards night.

Bradley Gorman was also given a Person of the Year award. Gorman has achieved a lot of success in his volunteer placement at Petland, advancing from needing full-time support to only requiring a small amount of assistance with his job over the course of a year. He has also gained a lot of independence by taking the bus to and from work.

Glenda Stride, manager of Petland in Grande Prairie, was presented an Employer of the Year award. In announcing the award, PDD stated that Stride is committed to providing equal opportunities and staff and management of Petland have ensured that all of their employees are included as part of the team.

* Courtesy of the Grande Prairie Daily Herald Tribune (May 5, 2004)

Giving power to the people
PDD conference encourages persons with disabilities to speak up

(Left to rightt) Arlene Milner, Klayton Lilienskold, and Arden Orosz are learning how to be self-advocates through recognizing their rights, taking care of themselves, and getting more involved in the community.

Jen Janzen/Record-Gazette

Self-advocacy guru Paulette McGinnis wants everyone with a disability to learn to speak up for themselves.

The Grande Prairie woman was in Peace River Jan. 13 to teach her group of over a dozen people that people with disabilities are essentially no different than anyone else.
"Just because you have a disability doesn’t mean you can’t do anything."
"Two years ago, I always put myself down," she says.

McGinnis’ inspiration for the self-advocacy seminar -- which has brought her to La Crete and Grande Prairie, with plans to go province-wide -- came from a ‘People Being in Power’ conference she attended in Boston, Massachusetts in 2002.

"I’m realizing now just because I have a disability doesn’t mean I can’t take care of myself. I felt I would learn more about other self-advocacy [techniques] in different countries."

McGinnis knew she wanted to help others fight for their rights, but didn’t know where to start.
Because the conference was an international one, it would help, she felt, to "get together and see what they do in other countries."

The material McGinnis studied at the conference was the material she decided she needed to bring to Alberta.

"In the northwest, we don’t have a strong [self-advocacy] group," she explained.
Arlene Milner was one of the people present at McGinnis’ seminar. She said McGinnis motivated her to "be more independent so I can manage my own money."
Self-advocacy, Milner says, has helped her "be more responsible with work and to get involved in the community".

Klayton Lilienskold says it’s important to speak up for yourself.
"If someone puts you down, tell them you’re the same as everyone else. [By doing this] you can help others in the community."

Arden Orosz agrees with Lilienskold.

"I learned how to be independent. I want to be kind to others, and I want to talk to others who have problems. I want to be involved in social events, and I want to trust in myself and speak up for myself."

Orosz, McGinnis says, has hit the nail on the head.

"I want to teach people they can do whatever they want. You do have a voice, and you can speak up for yourself."

* Courtesy of the Peace River Record Gazette (January 20, 2004).