Barrhead resident Cathy Smith says her experience working in the health care and child services fields and as a parent of a child with a rare disability will serve her well in her new role as member on Premier’s Council on the Status of Persons with Disabilities.
Smith was appointed to the council in late September following a two-day orientation session at the Alberta Legislature.
The 14-person council started in 1988 with a goal of providing information and advice to the provincial government regarding ways to improve the lives for people living with disabilities.
Smith applied to be a member of the council after finding out through her association with the Blue Heron Support Services Association in early June. In August, she learned that she was going to be named to the council, but it didn’t become official until their first session when Alberta’s Lieutenant Governor Lois Mitchell appointed her through an Order of Council.
It is through dealing with her daughter, Paula’s difficulties arising from a condition called Angelman Syndrome that Smith first started to take an interest in finding ways to help people with disabilities. Angelman Syndrome is a genetic disorder that affects the nervous system and causes physical and intellectual disability.
In Paula’s case, who is now 40, it means she has the cognitive abilities of an 18-month-old and has mobility issues.
“She can walk, but with support, because she has a problem with her depth perception and finds it hard navigating curbs or uneven ground,” she said, adding as a result of her disability she needs 24-hour care, which she receives through Blue Heron. “Trying to provide for her needs as she grew up. All the trials and tribulations, battles and the doors closed in my face,” Smith said. “If I can make it easier for someone traveling in the same path I have taken I would love to do that. This [council] gives me the opportunity to do that a bit.”
In addition to working with her daughter and trying to find the appropriate supports, Smith also has experience working with people with a multitude of disabilities on a volunteer basis, and provided respite care in three different provinces, Ontario, New Brunswick and Alberta.
“I also tried to set up a couple of programs for special-needs kids through parks and rec. in the Toronto area, where I’m from,” she said, adding with varying levels of success.
When Smith moved to Barrhead in 2003 she began working at Blue Heron as a personal support worker helping people with disabilities on a professional basis. In 2006, Smith moved on to work with Alberta Children Services in Barrhead’s North Central Child and Family Services office.
“I was working as a contract administrator which basically means I helped people secure services for children and families in need,” she said.
As for what her duties with the council will actually entail, Smith said she is not exactly sure.
“So far we’ve only had the one meeting and a good part of that was spent in finding out what the Premier’s Council actually does. Plus, we needed some time to get to know each other as a group,” she said, adding while there are a few members of the council who have been on the council for a number of years, the majority are new.
However, from what she understands, the main role of the committee is to provide people with a voice.
“We reach out to our communities through various ways, whether it is talking to individuals or groups, so we can bring their concerns, back to the council and then forward them on to government through the minister [Ifran Sabir, Community and Social Services]. “That way the minister has a better understanding of what the actual persons with disabilities needs are and what they feel needs to be addressed.”
People wanting to pass on their comments and concerns can reach Smith at 780-667-1750 or [email protected] or [email protected]. More information about the Premiers’ Council on the Status of Persons with Disabilities can be found online at www.humanservices.alberta.ca/PremiersCouncil.
