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Between You andMe By Ruth Chanibers. About U.H.GiO. May.lintroduce you to Christine Livington, a Community Development worker for Durham, Peel and York? A graduate of Durham College in public relations she works for the United Handicapped Groups of Ontario (U.H.G.O.) which is funded by the federal government with a grant from the Secretary of State. The grant lasts for one year that is until March 30 1980. We hope there will be an extension as making contacts and getting a few organizations off the ground takes time and Christine would like to work with groups, individuals and the public in general. There are many obstacles to be overcome to make people aware. The key project; three priorities of almost equal status. The first; to make the public aware of the abilities of the physically disabled not the disabilities. To point out the obstacals in their path, the inaccessibility to public facilities, to emplôyment and social life. Even if they are intellectually capable they are often automatically barred because of their disability. The second priority;: to work with member groups through U.H.G.O.; to be a resource source for-them; to help them with P.R. if a campaign is to be undertaken or just to help wherever the need arises. The third priority will be to work with groups who are not affiliated withU.H.G.O. and to start new groups on an equal basis. There are not any groups in Whitby. The handicapped must have a problem in this area but certainly not at our Municipal Building on Rossland Road or at our Library. I:urge you all to take a tour of both these buildings and look at them through the eyes of the disabled-you will be very proud. Mrs. Roberts, Mayor Gartshore's secretary very kindly took us around the Town Hall today and pointed out all the features we were hoping to see and we were not disapointed. From both the north and south doorways, throughi thebuilding a wheelchair can very easily be manipulated. The long ramp from the southern entrance to the main lobby seems to-be almost a one to twelve grading which means twelve feet out for every foot down. It seemed a bit steep totme but there are always employees who would be more than happy to take a few steps to walk along side a wheelchair to, if need be slow it down. A poor example I am told of grading is at Sheridan Mall where the grading is one in four. In this case it might mean great speed down the ramp and right through plate glass doors or whatever might be at the end of the ramp. All the offices are easily accessible from the ramp as the floor at these points is quite flat. The washrooms are just as they should be. The elevator has an up and down button at a low level with a logo on it. As for the Council Chamber nothing could be improved upon, it's perfect. If the handicapped realize this they might enjoy going to meetings or other functions and I'm sure would be most welcome. I have not seen parking facilities in Whitby; that is a space allotted for the disabled to park near the entrances of public buildings. Oshawa City Hall has this and Christine persuaded Durham College to put in three I think she said. She finds that these spaces are often used by other people without the logo on their windshield which means she often has -to park some distance away. None of our malls o shopping centres of any size have these spaces. I have seen them all over the States as the Americans give great thought to this sort of thing. All government buildings built since 1975 must have one accessible washroom. This includes schools if not over three stories, these ar exempt. Any restaurant with a seating capacity of more than two hundred people must be made accessible which means ramps if needed, a washroom with all the qualificaions, low counter tops, space between tables for wheel chair and always one phone at a lower level than usual. This should be a must everywhere and the Bell Telephone is doing something about this and we hope they will do more. Courtesy phones for taxies ar generally not accessible. These are often seen in grocery stores. Grocery and department stores are not set up for the handicapped with the execption of newer stores which may be built with this in mind. At this point in time there is a great deal of help for children who are disabled but when the magic age of eighteen arrives then they have a difficult time. Very few sources or outlets where help can be found. this is why Whitby needs help in setting up a group. Won't you please hèlp? Please phone Christine, 571-3221 or phone me, 728-2103. We will try to help, answer any questions and so on. If merchants or anyone else needs logos for doorways or whatever contact Chris and she will be glad to help you. Premises must be inspected before the logo can be used and Christine can do this. Tim Uuksulainen, 571-1489 will help too if you call him. Whitby will have a Handi Transit bus donated by the Rotary Club; target date, October 1, 1979. Maybe Service Clubs can give some thought to budgeting a certain amount every year so that we can be assured of a continuation of this service. These buses are used by quite a number of people. In Oshawa there are 1400 trips a rnonth, some of these of course are return trips. The cost to the rider in this case, the disabled, $l.00 or WHI sometimes $1.50 dependent I'm sure on the distance. The handicapped are wonderful employees. They have a dedication, a loyalty, little absentism, very low accident rate and low turnover. Vocational Rehabilitation a branch of community Services will pay to make place of employmert accessible. Within reason of course. Accessibility, the key word it seems is not in the Bill of Rights. Therefore there is no comeback if an employer refuses to hire anyone with a physical or impaired health problem. I must add though that I feel every employer must be able -t choose his own employees without any interference from government. The employer has rights too. It works both ways. Christine was stricken with polio at three years of age. She is able to walk with the aid of a leg brace but must wear socks or stockings to protect her skin. She has a family, a little girl of ive, keeps house, shops and does all thethings a homemaker must do. She scuba dives, plâys badminton on occasion, paints and does ma.ny other things. When possible she drives up to Lake Rossçau to scuba dive on the weekendsJIhis gives you an idea of the determination of someone who could have given up long ago. She has-had thirteen operations, many to lenghten one leg a few inches as muscles shrink when not _used.' Operations on her other leg to replace muscles which no longer functioned. Once more limited space so please call if yoù want more information. Just one more thing. Bathroom doors must open out of course to allow a wheel chair to go through. Builders and contractors please take note. Most bathroom doors are 24" to 27" wide. Other doors are 32" wide. Why? So to end this somewhat odd note I hope now to write an article on the Whitby Public Library in the near future after having a visit with Mrs. Hope Brown. There is help there of all kinds for the sick, the blind and the lame. MANDEF BROCK E WH1TBY ~S RATTAN STN 668-6551 Il- - mn. TBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 1979, PAGE 5 Y oungcampers get out Campers from the Dur- ham YMCA have just com- pleted the first series of overnights for this camping season. All participants took part in a one week preperatory program which taught them the necessary skills. Camp Francais (ages 5-l2) and Junior day campers (ages 6-8) camped out for one night at the Heber Down Conservation Area while senior day campers (9-15) returned to Camp Batty for a two night program. Campers were treated to open fire meals, lots of sunshine and fun programs. Our Canoe Safety and Ad- venture Program bas retur- ned from their first five day outtrip of the summer. Al canoeists took part in a five day training program, utili- zing national standards for safety and skill develop- ment. The outrip was over a thirty-five mile route in the Bala region which presented the canoeists with a variety of challenges. All reports indicate that the fishing was good and the good great! There are still openings in many of our programs. For further information on the .previously mentioned camps plus Creative Arts and Sports Camp, pa'rents should contact the Durham YMCA at 668-6868. Hitch-NPlow TRAILER HITCHES and ACCESSORIES Hwy.2 OS Y r Burns 1ndustrial Dr. Ui . SHAWA G own Motors 111 Industril Dr. Unit 6 Consumers Dr. PHONE FIND THE PRO'S I M661819 WIi 1 Vb WIP% uni t