Recipients of Manitoba Accessibility Fund work toward removing barriers for people with disabilities

The Manitoba Theatre for Young People is among 37 recipients of a provincial accessibility grant that will enable them to implement American Sign Language interpreters for deaf and hard of hearing patrons, and audio description services for blind and low vision patrons. 

The recipients include municipalities, non-profit organizations and businesses who can receive up to $50,000 through the Manitoba Accessibility Fund for a project that works to remove barriers, create awareness and support compliance under the The Accessibility for Manitobans Act, which was introduced in 2013. 

"It's wonderful to be able to have the resources now to pursue a lot of the work we are going to do with this grant," said Debra Zoerb, the managing director at the theatre. 

"We believe that access to theatre helps develop healthy, creative, inspired and engaged young people and that all children and youth in Manitoba deserve to experience these joys," she said during an announcement event at The Forks on Monday. 

She said the theatre, which was funded $20,000 for the project, aims to reflect all communities in Manitoba and meet people where they are. She anticipates the accessibility services will roll out over time and be completed by the spring. 

The Forks, located at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, is another grant recipient, and will be using nearly $35,000 in funding for an audit into any accessibility gaps as the landscape changes seasonally. 

"This audit is all-encompassing, covering what's here inside the Forks Market, outside on the pathways around the site, in our parking lots, around public art pieces across the site, and of course, in winter, all the way down to the River Trail," The Forks communications and marketing manager Zach Peters said. 

The Forks partnered with the Manitoba League for Persons with Disabilities, who have completed a summer review and will continue their work facilitating the audit this winter, he said. 

Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine, who's responsible for accessibility and gender equity, said the province provided $825,000 in grant funding to 37 recipients out of 190 applications this year. 

"From providing accessible materials in libraries to removing barriers at events, training employees and launching public awareness campaigns, even providing accessible supports to survivors of gender-based violence, you are making creative and critical transformative change across our province," Fontaine said to the recipients present at the event. 

Accessibility: 'A key building block'

The minister also presented Abilities Manitoba — a previous recipient of the Manitoba Accessibility Fund — with the 2024 Manitoba Accessibility Award for their social media campaign Barrier Town. 

The campaign included a series of short videos using humour to depict a fictional town where people with disabilities face barriers in their daily lives. It employed individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to share their lived experiences, Fontaine said. 

Abilities Manitoba executive director Margo Powell said it's a "tremendous honour" to accept the award touting the successful campaign that ran in 2023 and aimed to broaden people's understanding of what accessibility means. 

"People with disabilities continue to be denied equity far too often and Abilities Manitoba wants to be part of meaningful and significant change and we know that accessibility is a key building block on that pathway," Powell said. 

Liam Frain, one of the actors in Barrier Town, said opportunities like this have led him to pursue more acting roles in the future to fulfil his dreams. 

"I have Down syndrome so it's kind of hard for me to get a job or do other things, so this film that I did, it's kind of emotional on my end," Frain said. 

"People with disabilities can do amazing things," he said, adding that he played a role in the 2023 comedy film Champions which highlights the trials and triumphs of a basketball team of players with intellectual disabilities.

"I am glad we did what we did for everybody in the province," said Sherry Schumardo, another actor in the social media campaign. 

"This was my first time acting, but I feel like I'm good in front of the camera," she said. 

The Manitoba Accessibility Fund was launched in 2021 and is managed by The Winnipeg Foundation. It has provided nearly $2.5 million in grant funding within the province.