The Disability Rights Coalition (DRC) is an advocacy group made up of people with disabilities, their friends and family members and dedicated professionals and was formed after the Nova Scotia government failed to implement the recommendations in the Kendrick Report; a report commissioned by the Nova Scotia government and prepared by Dr. Michael Kendrick in 2001. We are a cross-disability coalition of individuals and over 32 organizations across Nova Scotia, which is committed to promoting the equality interests of all persons with disabilities. Since 2001, we have advocated for the Province to stop institutionalizing persons with disabilities, and to fund the community supports necessary for persons with disabilities to claim their rightful place in society.
As an organization, we filed a complaint to the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, along with three individuals who had been unnecessarily institutionalised by the Province, to bring the systemic human rights concerns forward concerning the approximately 1500 Nova Scotians with disabilities waitlisted by the Province for social services to live in the community, as well as individuals who are unnecessarily institutionalised in psychiatric hospitals, regional rehabilitation centers and other facilities funded by the Province.
The Disability Rights Coalition argued in the Human Rights hearing that the Province discriminates by warehousing hundreds persons with disabilities in segregated, remote, old institutions and denying persons with disabilities the supports they need to lead integrated lives in the community.
We support the human claim of the three individuals who had been warehoused in a locked psychiatric ward in one case for 17 years despite there being no medical or legal reason to keep them there. If you are interested in reading more about the complaint click here.
The Disability Rights Coalition:
This is an important message from the Disability Rights Coalition about Human Rights and the Unlawful Exclusion and Segregation of People with Disabilities.
- We believe in the rights of people with disabilities as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
- Everyone can be supported to live in the community
- No new government dollars should be used to develop large congregate settings to warehouse people including oversized group homes or institutions.
- Best practice that respects human rights should prevail, which means person-centered planning be established to honour individual choice and control.
THIS IS THE TIME: OUR VOICES NEED TO BE HEARD!
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