Now, that's out of the way, I'd like to get back to telling you stories and my lived experiences. After all, my blog is now called "Shayne's mixed bag". There's a reason for this. It's so that I have more to write about, rather than keeping it on one topic. Anyway, read on to find out partly what I've been up to for a few years. I have been working for a non-profit organization for about 5 years or so, working with people with Autism, Down Syndrome, and other disabilities. As much as I love the work I do and it's rewarding, I am feeling like a change is coming and I'm hoping that change will be in the IT sector as I love my technology...my girlfriend gets annoyed by all that I buy as she is not into tech that much. In the past two years, I've focused my attention on getting myself into a new fully accessible van. This process has been very slow due to the pandemic, which has slowed everything down. First and foremost, I took a medical leave off work due to medical reasons. This lasted about five or six months before returning to work through the Zoom platform. While it has been nice working from home, I've definitely learned that I would prefer to be out in the community as much as I can talking to people and networking. I'm sure most people feel this way. I started working with a non-profit organization in BC, called Neil Squire Society.
They offer a program called "WorkBC Assistive Technology" which helps people with disabilities get the equipment they need in order to remove barriers in the workforce. This program has great intentions, but it falls short in a situation that the world is in right now. The program would assist me in getting upwards of $40,000 for the conversion I had my first consultation meeting with them in 2019 to discuss what I do for work and what kinds of barriers I face getting to and from work. Once I got a letter of employment, they needed my financials, medical documentation, policies from work, and so on. As I was super excited about this process I got all the documentation for them as quickly as I could. It still took about two weeks or so. After everything was in order and I explained the reasons why I needed a wheelchair accessible vehicle, they asked me to get pre-approved for a loan. I called and asked two companies for a loan. One said no, but the other said "yes, we will get you a car loan." I was approved...Yay!
A short while after, I was directed to go to a rehab centre where we needed to discuss whether I need a rear-entry or a side-entry conversion. As they get the funding through the BC government, they will go with the cheaper route, almost every time. The side-entry conversion is $40,000, whereas the rear-entry conversion cost $17,000. From a government's perspective, it makes sense for them to pay $17,000 for the rear-entry conversion so they can pay for two conversions, instead of one. The side-entry conversion costs $40,000. From a person that has to pay nearly $60,000 for a vehicle, it makes sense to get what I need/want. I don't know about you, but I want to be beside the driver, instead of in the rear-view mirror.
The rehab centre and I have been working together to determine which conversion I'd like. By this point in the process, I made up my mind which conversion I want and I wouldn't get anything less. For this to happen, we needed to figure out the reasons behind wanting/needing the side-entry conversion that relates to barriers getting to and from work. This has been super challenging, but we have what we need in order to submit the application to the Ministry. Right now, I am waiting for the rehab centre to send me some documentation to review before sending the entire application off to the Ministry. After this process is finished, I'll wait for the Ministry to review and approve my funding application. To remove even more of a barrier, I am asking for your generosity to help the fundraising goal of mine. Thanks for reading and I hope you'll consider donating
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