Disability Committee Award Bursary

This year, CMHA’s Mental Health Week takes place May 6th to 12th. To mark the occasion, The City of Duncan’s Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Disability Issues, in partnership with Cowichan Valley Mood Clinic is offering a $1000 award/bursary to the senior secondary or post secondary student who submits the winning 1000 – 1500 word essay on the topic of “Meeting The Challenge of Living with a Non-Visible Disability.”

“It is our hope that this essay contest will bring attention to the challenges faced by people with non-visible disabilities,” said Sharon Jackson, Chair of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Disability Issues. “We hope it will be as successful as our walkathon and wheelathon was for people with visible disabilities.”

In the past, the Advisory Committee has hosted a public “walkabout” or “wheelathon” to bring attention to the challenges faced by people with physical disabilities as they move through our built environment. There are just as many, if not more people, who face life while dealing with a non-visible disability such as a mental health issue, MS, sleep disorders, learning disabilities or chronic pain. These people face the extra challenge of not “looking disabled” while sometimes being at a profound disadvantage doing daily tasks.

The essay must be submitted to The Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Disability Issues, c/o The City of Duncan, 200 Craig St., Duncan, BC V9L 1W3 or to duncan@duncan.ca by July 15, 2013.

The winner’s name and essay will be published in the local press.

Full Invisibility Disability Contest Rules are available.

Councillor Sharon Jackson,
Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Disability Issues Chair
City of Duncan