Barrier Free Manitoba

Winnipeggers with disability are among those particularly hard and frequently hit by poverty.

Indeed, 20.6 per cent of people with physical and/or mental disabilities live in poverty compared to 15.5 per cent of people without physical and/or mental disabilities. People with disabilities experience lower educational attainment and labour force participation rates compared to people without disabilities. Barriers include inaccessible education and training programs, systemic discrimination, and workplaces that fail to accommodate their needs.

In short, many disability issues are also poverty issues. Similarly, many poverty issues are also disability issues.

That's one of the reasons that BFM is proud to have endorsed Make Poverty History Manitoba's (MPHM) call for the City of Winnipeg to develop and implement a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy.

We were very pleased to see that MPHM's call provided prominent attention to disability issues, particularly in the area of transportation and in the recommendation at the City:

"Champion accessibility rights by playing a robust leadership role in fulfilling and exceeding the City of Winnipeg’s obligations related to the Province of Manitoba’s Accessibility for Manitobans Act (AMA)."

MPHM's call was released on May 2nd when it was also endorsed by six other disability-focused organizations:

• Abilities Manitoba
• Canadian Mental Health Association, Manitoba and Winnipeg
• Cerebral Palsy Association of Manitoba
• Epic Opportunities
• Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities
• New Directions for Children, Youth, Adults and Families

We can download a PDF of the call by clicking here.

For more information on the call, please visit: https://makepovertyhistorymb.com/campaign-goals/establish-a-target-and-timeline-for-reducing-poverty/

We also invite you to sign a petition to Mayor Brian Bowman at: https://makepovertyhistorymb.com/winnipeg-without-poverty/