June 26, 2025
By Yona Lunsky
Community. That is the word my Special Olympics Canada calendar highlights for this month.
June is a special time. In Canada, it is when we transition from barely-spring to full-on summer, the kind of weather where you want to jump in the lake. Everything is green and in bloom. It is also National Indigenous History Month, and Pride Month, and it is bookmarked between AccessAbility Week at the end of May and Disability Pride Month in July. In so many ways, June feels like a time to celebrate community.
I found it hard to write this blog because I found myself busy with the very thing I was trying to write about. My calendar was filled with meetings and community events, some in person, some virtual, some close to home in Toronto, and others very far away in Northwestern Ontario, a beautiful part of my province I had never been to before.
But all of these events brought me back to that word on my kitchen calendar: Community. What it means to feel part of one. How we build it. And the barriers that can get in the way.
Setting the Stage for Community
The month began with the 40th anniversary celebration of the Centre for Independent Living Toronto (CILT). The email invitation clearly set the stage, letting everyone know what to expect and how access needs would be met. Once I arrived, there were people to help with wayfinding, ramps, signage for accessible restrooms, and attendant care for anyone who needed it. There were sign language interpreters and closed captioning for the speeches. For folks who needed or preferred a quieter and/or more ventilated space, there was an outdoor courtyard with tables and a live video stream of the speeches. There were also pronoun stickers for our name tags and so many food options that reflected health, cultural, and religious needs. Most importantly, it was welcoming and fun. And everyone felt included. By addressing access needs from the start, CILT created an event where everyone could fully enjoy themselves and connect with others. *Read more about CILT and its 40th anniversary celebration.*
Soon after, we held our second Brain Health-IDD Summit. This virtual event brought together everyone involved in our two brain health projects. We shared updates from multiple perspectives, broke into small groups to talk about what the initial findings meant to each of us, and discussed how we can continue this work and reach as many people as possible. I was struck by how many people have been impacted by our program (364 course participants to date and 20 team members), even though most of our work together has been online. And I was proud of the leadership shown by people with disabilities and families who have been guiding this work. *Learn more about the Brain Health-IDD Program and upcoming courses for adults with IDD, family caregivers, and service providers.*
Virtual meetings are not for everyone, but they do remove barriers: they eliminate travel costs, offer accessible recordings with closed captions and transcripts, and allow people to participate who might find travel and/or large in-person meetings difficult. When I think back to the early days of the pandemic, videoconferencing technology was a significant barrier for many. But both the technology and our confidence have improved, making it easier to work, connect, and build community online.
Learning from Northern Communities
From there, I left my home community of Toronto and travelled north. From Thunder Bay, we drove to three rural and remote communities: Dryden, Sioux Lookout, and Fort Frances. We were warmly welcomed in each place and spent time learning about how the Community Living organizations and the broader communities support people with developmental disabilities as they age.