I'm here on behalf of Independent Living - Montreal, and we're here as employees with disabilities. I am the program coordinator, and we thought we would share very briefly our stories that we thought would be helpful, what we've learned, and our suggestions.
For me, there were three things that hindered my success. One is access to information. For example, I only learned about a program in Quebec that turned student loans into bursaries four years after I was eligible. For people who had little support or for whom finances were a big problem, that could have prevented them from going to school, because of lack of employment.
The other thing I think is really important to mention is to note how professionals can have a massive impact in the lives of people with disabilities, particularly when you're young and you don't really know what your abilities are, because you don't have the same experiences as a teenager who worked at a summer camp, let's say, or who worked wherever else.
There are amazing people who impact in a positive way, but for example, when I went to register and apply for a college program, I was told, “Oh, with your disability that program would be virtually impossible; try going into business.” I was also told two years later, at 18, that there's pretty much no employment you can do until you have at least a bachelor's degree. When I asked that if I tried to find employment in this area could I get ZoomText, could I get services, he basically told me after seeing me for 15 minutes that he didn't think my personality was conducive to that job and that he could not support my request.
The last thing I have to say is how important experiences are. It leads to networking and it leads to self-confidence and self-esteem, so find different ways to do it. Obviously, employment is crucial, and to get there, maybe be on a board of directors, be a volunteer, and find innovative ways to do that. I've actually been told both at a summer job employment and here at Independent Living - Montreal that it was my extracurricular activities and my other experiences that were not paid that actually made them consider hiring me.
I'll pass it on to Rose-Marie Wakil.