Hello. This is Brittany Clayton writing again. I am here to tell you about a fascinating piece of history in regards to the disability rights movement in NewfoudlanJoanne MacDonald and Mary Reed are two advocates for the disability rights movement in St. John’s, Newfoundland. MacDonald is a former Para-Olympian, while Reed is the former executive director of St. John’s’ Independent Living Rsource Centre. When the two friends learned that there was no archive of Newfoundland’s Disability Rights Movement, they set out to create one. According to MacDonald, Newfoundland has a rich and diverse history when it comes to disability rights, so she was sad to see that the University she was attending did not have any archives on it. So far, MacDonald and Reed have created a timeline that starts in 1813. One of the most troubling things that they found was the treatment of and language surrounding those with mental illnesses. They were chained to a wall and were fed from a little tin at the end of a pole.
In the 1970s, there was a real consumer movement and people were working closely together to push the decision-makers for solutions to issues surrounding disability. According to Reed, “It wasn’t a very passive period where people were just accepting care. They were saying there’s got to be something better.” Reed goes on to say “This was happening spottily throughout the country, but it was really strong in Newfoundland.”
This information was taken from a tv programme called “AMI This Week”, which airs on Monday nights at 8:00 p.m on channel 888, (Accessible Media Incorporated) For those readers who read this post and were interested to see what else AMI This Week has to offer, the easiest way to access it is if you have Ignite TV, simply ask it to play”AMI” and it should take you immediately to the channel. Typing “888” on the remote does not work as it accesses the aquarium channel. Stay tuned for more articles on this web site!