Huron County Extends Gratitude To The County’s Accessibility Advisory Committee During National AccessAbility Week
by Bob Montgomery
This year's National AccessAbility Week runs from May 26th to June 1st and this year's theme, "Forward Together: and Inclusion for All," perfectly aligns with the mission and dedication of the Huron County Accessibility Advisory Committee. The Committee plays a vital role in assisting Huron County Council and participating municipalities in creating more accessible and inclusive communities. Through their vision, guidance, and advice, they have been instrumental in identifying and removing barriers that hinder accessibility.
In 2023, the Huron County Accessibility Advisory Committee accomplished several significant milestones, including:
Conducting 12 site reviews to assess accessibility and recommend improvements.
Hosting the Huron County accessibility awards, which recognized individuals, businesses, and organizations that have implemented exceptional accessible initiatives.
Providing updates and advice to County Council and the Municipal Working Group on new government directives and regulations.
Developing and delivering education campaigns and initiatives to raise awareness about accessibility.
Collaborating with the County's IT department to enhance online accessibility and providing digital accessibility training to all County of Huron employees.
Reviewing and updating the Huron County Universal Design and Accessibility Guidelines in collaboration with the Planning and Development Department.
Celebrating partner municipalities and their projects that remove barriers for accessibility such as the Ashfield Park’s new washroom by the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh and Clinton's Downtown Core Accessibility Improvements by the Municipality of Central Huron.
The County's Inclusion, Accessibility, Equity and Diversity Specialist Sahil Kaushal says Huron County is fully committed to improving accessibility to make a more inclusive environment for everyone. "Over the past year we have made significant strides in enhancing the accessibility of our County properties, as well as reviewing numerous community projects."
Huron County Warden Glen McNeil adds sometimes it's difficult for someone who has never even been disabled briefly through an injury to fully appreciate the challenges a person with disabilities faces. “We need to be very conscious of individuals that are experiencing disabilities and make all of our buildings as accessible as possible, not only to enter, after an individual comes into the building and specifically in the washrooms, and to have the washrooms accessible to all is very important.”
Some surprising statistics from Statistics Canada:
27% of Canadians aged 15 years and older, or 8 million people, had one or more disabilities that limited them in their daily activities.
Persons with disabilities often have multiple co-occurring disability types.
Mental health-related disabilities among youth and working-age adults each increased by 8 percentage points from 2017, representing the largest increase among all disability types and all age groups.
Women are more likely to have a more severe disability than men.
In 2022, 6 in 10 persons with disabilities experienced barriers related to accessing indoor and outdoor public spaces.
To learn more about the Huron County Accessibility Advisory Committee and their ongoing efforts, please visit their website at https://www.huroncounty.ca/administration/accessibility/hcaac/.
Ashfield Park’s new washroom by the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
Some of the Clinton Downtown Core Accessibility Improvements by the Municipality of Central Huron
