'A fall would be disastrous': Disabled Saskatoon woman calls for better winter accessibility
Resident with brittle bone disease says disabled focus groups needed amid climate change, harsher weather
Saskatoon resident Delynne Bortis knew her commute to work Tuesday morning would be particularly difficult.
Saskatchewan got hit with its first major snowstorm of the season Monday night, with much of the province remaining under snowfall and winter storm warnings Tuesday.
Bortis is quadriplegic, which means both her arms and legs are affected by paralysis, and uses a wheelchair. For many, getting around after a major snowfall or in a blizzard can be difficult. For those like Bortis, it can be impossible. She said she's "filled with dread" when she sees a snowy forecast.
Bortis is executive director of Spinal Cord Injury Saskatchewan, which aims to assist people with spinal cord injuries and other physical disabilities in "gaining independence, self-reliance and full community participation."
When Bortis tried to get into her work building Tuesday morning, the swirling snow stuck to the rims on her chair's wheels. When that happens, she said, they get extremely slippery.
"So I was literally trying to come through the door after I got stuck because I could not get grip to come in, and one of my co-workers saw me and thankfully rescued me, brought me to my office and wiped me down with paper towels."
Winter mobility dangers
Elsewhere in Saskatoon Tuesday morning, Tasnim Jaisee looked out her window and knew right away getting to work in her chair would not be feasible. Jaisee has osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as the brittle bone disease. She has had more than 100 fractures in her life.
Getting to school, work and gatherings is always tricky for Jaisee, but in the winter it's even more challenging, not to mention dangerous.
"I do not really have clear visibility of where there may be breaks in the sidewalk or cracks in the sidewalk, or even if a curb cut is properly accessible. You can't fully understand if there is snow covering up a curb," she said.
"It makes it a lot more challenging and certainly a fall would be a disastrous.… So it's very risky. And it does scare me."
Bortis said many Saskatchewan communities need higher quality, more-thorough snow clearing practices for sidewalks, curbs, road crossings and more.
"One of the biggest things is when the graders go by and they pile the snow on the curb cuts," she said. "And I've been in parking lots where they use the accessible stall as a place to dump their snow."
Those with severe spinal cord injuries like Bortis, osteogenesis imperfecta like Jaisee, or other conditions like multiple sclerosis and muscular dystrophy, are not "weight-bearing." That means they cannot support or withstand the weight of something like their own body. This makes the prospect of falling in winter especially frightening.
"They say within six months of having a spinal cord injury, you're basically osteoporotic anywhere that you are not weight-bearing. So of course falling, falling under your chair … so many broken bones. So many broken legs," Bortis said.
Difficulties in smaller towns, northern communities
Bortis said people with physical disabilities in small communities and towns also face barriers to getting places in the snow. Just like in bigger urban centres, ramps are not always cleared and made safe quick enough after a weather event.
Sometimes the roads in smaller communities aren't even paved, making snow clearing more rare. This, Bortis said, can especially be the case in northern communities. She said she has spoken with people who barely leave their homes between November and April.
"Especially if you have the snow and then you have the freezing, you have the thawing and you have the ruts and everything. So it can be extremely, extremely isolating for people in smaller communities."
Lack of internet access in some northern communities can further cut disabled people off from what's happening outside their homes, increasing feelings of isolation.
Consulting disabled people about winter accessibility
Jaisee said consultation is crucial.
"I think it's going to be really important to have people with physical disabilities at decision making tables for how our societies are going to be tackling the effects of climate change and these harsher weather patterns that we're going to be dealing with," Jaisee said, adding that their perspectives are often left out.
"I would like to see more plans from our elected representatives on how people with disabilities will not be left behind."
She said more focus groups would be beneficial, but it's not always simple for those with disabilities to get to meetings, especially if accommodating transportation is not available to them that day.
"It's up to elected representatives to be very cognizant of, when they are inviting us to the tables, are those tables really accessible?" Jaisee said.
She said she would like to see representatives go directly to the homes of disabled people.
"Meeting us at our doors, that is the type of commitment I think a lot of us would appreciate seeing," Jaisee said.
"To have our perspectives understood and to have these types opinions and thoughts included in these conversations, we have to be equitably represented."
Bortis said governments are making some moves to improve accessibility, but that it's "not moving fast enough."
The regulations for the recent Accessible Saskatchewan Act came through in December of last year. Under the act, public sector bodies are required to develop and publicly post their own accessibility plans by Dec. 3 of this year.
Community support needed
Both Bortis and Jaisee said community support is important.
"We don't have everything we want to see from municipal levels of government … provincial. Sometimes it takes the community to kind of step up to kind of show how it can be done," Jaisee said.
Bortis said she thinks the idea of snow angels — people who help with snow clearing for those who can't do it themself — is "awesome." She said neighbours helping clear snow has become less common, and she'd like to see that change.
Jaisee said there is a lot of strength when communities come together to help people with physical disabilities. She said it helps keep them from isolation and is a valued form of care.
She encourages people in Saskatchewan to support people like her by shovelling snow or getting groceries for them during snowstorms and other emergencies.
"Those types of acts of kindness go such a long way to make a difference in the lives of people with physical disabilities."
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