DRC Victoria News

Joy and celebration are the two primary emotions felt today by many Canadians with disabilities as the Government of Canada ratifies the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) at the United Nations. Canada today pledged to be governed by the CRPD, the newest international human rights treaty which boldly articulates a human rights framework for addressing the exclusion and lack of access people with disabilities have encountered in Canada and in all societies. Click here to read more.

OurTownEarth.com™ is the first-ever social networking website of its kind, created by and for persons with disabilities, their families and friends.

Through customized profiles, you can easily navigate through unique neighbourhoods of homes, buildings and parks, uncovering expansive resources and services including entertainment, education and entrepreneurship while communicating with like-minded individuals.

It's a unique challenge: Diagnosing and treating immigrants with depression, anxiety and other diseases of the mind. Columnist Margaret Wente talks to a renowned British psychiatrist who's come to Canada to help

Canada's growing population of immigrants and visible minorities face mental health challenges that are often very different from those of other citizens.

A few weeks ago, a very unassuming and very modest British lady took the world totally and literally by surprise and she did it with such ease! Man did she ever do it in grand style! Now that she has done so, the gurus and pontiffs are taking the time to ponder and wonder. As for me, I was very happy for this lady and why? Because the world had totally judged this song bird by her looks but as soon as she had belted out the first few notes of her rendition of "I dreamed a dream" everything changed in an instant! Shocker or shaker? Neither of the above. Why?

VANCOUVER - A new study is warning the health-care community to be vigilant for signs that young people may be deliberately hurting themselves short of attempting suicide.

A survey of Victoria youth aged 14 to 21 found 16.9 per cent of those interviewed - about one in six - reported self-harming behaviours, from cutting, scratching, hitting and burning to taking excessive amounts of medication or illegal drugs.

Scientists from Ryerson University are working on a chair that would allow the deaf to 'hear' music.

In a small Toronto tavern next week, people who cannot hear will crowd into the room to experience music.

The unusual concert, in what organizers say is the first ever concert for the deaf, is a rather public experiment by those who specialize in the science of music, who will use computers to translate audio signals into tactile sensations, along with visual projections that mimic the tempo of the music.

The Registered Disability Savings Plan is a savings plan designed specifically for people with disabilities in Canada. The first of its kind in the world, this new tax-deferred savings vehicle will assist families in planning for the long - term financial security of their relatives with disabilities. See www.rdsp.com for more details.

The Ministry of Housing and Social Development, formerly Employment and Income Assistance, has made some changes to the regulations and policy that cover monthly reporting requirements for people receiving the Persons with Disability benefit.

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The BC government wants to force homeless people dealing with mental health issues into shelters but this idea has not been received positively by municipal officials and advocates.