Of course not every person with a physical disability is unemployed, but a lot of work places don’t have the right accommodations to even hire people with physical disabilities. “There is sometimes a failure to recognize the social and economic contributions of people with disabilities and a tendency to see only the disability rather than the person. A lack of accommodation in employment, education and transportation can present a further challenge. As a result, persons with disabilities do not always have access to the same opportunities as others, and they are more likely to be socially isolated, have higher rates of unemployment, and live below the poverty line.” (Canadian Heritage)
Canada does provide the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Disability Benefits, which provides a monthly taxable benefit to contributors who are disabled and to their dependent children. But of course it’s not always that easy, there are still eligibility problems and many other factors that make it hard for people living with a physical disability to get the basic money that they need to live day to day.
People who live with a disability have a lot to deal with every day, and it’s not fair to them that they should have to live in poverty just because there not the same as everyone else. People with physical disabilities have a lot on their plate, on top of their medical bills, and other things, they also have to worry about providing for their families and themselves and it’s awfully hard when you have no source of income coming in because you can’t get a job.
-Jessica
References:
http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/sc/cpp/disability/disabilitypension.shtml (Service Canada)
International Disability Rights Monitor, ‘Regional Report of the Americas’, 2004
http://www.canadianprofessionals.org/about.htm#top
http://culturecanada.gc.ca/pgm/pdp-hrp/canada/abl-eng.cfm
Great post Jessica!
ReplyDeleteI like the stats you found about unemployed persons with physical disabilities, I wish I could have found them for one of my blogs! I think it's great that the CPP exists, but like you said, it's just not enough. Especially when caring for others and living with a disability.
Kelsey
I agree with you when you say its not fair, and that people should be looked at as equal; the fact that men are still employed with a physical disability over women. I think this will always be a disadvantage for women, having to live with a physical disability makes it more of a challenge to live with and harder to make ends meet. CPP may not be enough to live on.
ReplyDeleteGood job!
Samantha
I agree with your post! Like you said, disabled individuals have enough to deal with and the last thing they need to be worried about is ending up living in poverty. We do not do enough for our disabled population, CPP is great, but just enough to make ends meet. I honestly couldn't believe the stats, 26% unemployment rate for disabled individuals, that is so sad.
ReplyDeleteShauna Richardson
Good post Jessica! I agree with you. It is a sad that people with disabilities do not have as much assess to employment as people without.It is good that CPP exists but unfortunately it is not enough. I find it disturbing and unfair that some employers seem to only see the disability and not the person. This is disheartening because they can make valuable contributions to a workplace. Businesses need to be inclusive and open to allowing people with disabilities to gain employement and work towards elimination of barriers like discrimination, education, training and transportation.
ReplyDeleteLori
I find the government is trying to take action on behalf of disabiled and unemployed people because i have seen campaigns adds for this issue. Maybe the govenment should put a policy in place to make business hire a diabiled person?
ReplyDelete-Kerri
Nice post Jessica, Society does tend to see people with disabilities as lacking in abilities and this is something that needs to be changed. Just because they are lacking in physical capability doesn't mean that they're lacking in their mental capacities. They are still capable of making good workers and they shouldn't be put into situations where they are unable to support themselves because people don't think they are capable of a job.
ReplyDelete- Jody