In the fall of 2009, we officially launched the BC Personal Supports Network (BCPSN). Our goal is to make it easier for people with disabilities to find the personal supports (or disability supports) they need. BC has a complex array of programs and services for people with disabilities and we're here to help people navigate through it.
Our Network consists of groups and community organizations, across BC, who have come together to help people access personal supports, including equipment and assistive devices, as well as sign-language interpreters or attendants. Our vision put the needs and desires of the client first. You can read more about this client-centred approach by reading a summary of the Participation Model (http://www.bcits.org/docs/Participation Model Summary.pdf).
The Hub of the Network is the BC Association for Individualized Technology and Supports for People with Disabilities (BCITS). BCITS acts as the administrative hub for the BCPSN and is accountable to the Network Partners Council that meets monthly.
Click here to contact our Network Partners (http://www.bcits.org/bcpsn/partners.htm#partners) or Super Navigators (http://www.bcits.org/bcpsn/partners.htm#navigator).
Network members will share resources and expertise so that a person with a disability can enter any "door" in the Network and be connected to the “navigation” process. Navigators in the Network will provide advice and practical support to help guide you toward your goals.
We'll meet you wherever you are: at the very beginning of coming to grips with disability or needing help to refine a plan to become more independent.
EATI (http://www.bcits.org/bcpsn/home.htm) is our first project and it has a specific mandate to help people find personal supports to meet their employment-related goals (volunteering can be an important step toward employment).
BCPSN will add more projects and services as we grow. New organizations are joining the network every week and we are seeking ways to: pool our resources, secure funding opportunities and identify how we can best assist people with disabilities toward full participation–in their employment, social, recreational or other pursuits.
As the network expands, if we can't find the supports for you, we will register that as an unmet need. This will help us to understand the programs or supports that we need to develop in the future to serve people with disabilities.
East Kootenay Local Community Implementation Group Canadian Red Cross Help Equipment Program Voice: 250-426-7568
Keremeos Measuring Up Team measuringup@hotmail.com Voice: 250-499-5017 Contact: Kelly McKay or Heather Walkus
BC Personal Supports Network Toll free hotline: 1-877-333-7554 Fax: 604-326-0176 Email:EATI@bcpsn.org Postal mail: EATI, 9007 Shaughnessy St., Vancouver, BC V6P 6R9
We'll be expanding and adding more services as we grow. Please stay tuned to these pages for updates.
The BC Personal Supports Network is supported by the Kinsmen Foundation. Funding for the EATI project is provided by the Province of British Columbia, through the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Agreement.
