BARRHEAD - Woodlands County residents that need special equipment or services because of a disability and will be or are attending a post-secondary program will have the opportunity to offset some of those costs.
County councillors approved amendments to the municipality's Post-Secondary Bursary (6201) Policy at their Nov. 23 meeting that will allow full-time students enrolled at an accredited post-secondary institution to qualify for up to $3,000 in bursaries.
Community and planning services manager Joan Slootweg said the bursary program has existed for several years, but the amendments came about as part of the Community Services Committee's regular review of its policies, in large part due to input from Cheryle Trofimuk.
Trofimuk, who has been hearing impaired since birth, is an advocate for the deaf and hearing-impaired community. During the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, she created a reusable mask with a clear portion to aid people, such as herself, who rely on lip-reading for communication.
Under the policy, students can apply for a $1,500 bursary for their first year of studies. Another $1,500 is available for students in their second year.
To be eligible for the program, an applicant or their parents must be a resident of Woodlands County, own property in the municipality, and have lived in the county for at least five years. Applicants must also successfully complete the classroom portion of the program. To be eligible for a bursary, the student cannot receive any subsidy or wages from their employer while attending school. A maximum of six new two-year bursaries are available annually.
Successful candidates are selected based on a point system. Applicants receive points based on several criteria, including community and school involvement, academic achievement, residency (one point for every year they have lived in the county) and presentation and quality of references.
The amendment of the policy allows students with a disability who received the original bursary to apply for an additional $2,000 in their first year and $1,000 in their second year of study. A maximum of three of these bursaries can be awarded annually.
"This is an important change in the policy," Trofimuk said. "In rural areas, there are so many people with hearing loss, especially in the education field, who lack the resources they need to go on to post-secondary education."
In a study she did while attending Lakeland College, Trofimuk found that in urban areas, 70 per cent of hearing-impaired students had access to specialists or equipment which would allow them to complete a post-secondary program.
"In rural areas, that number is only 10 per cent," she said. "I think this is a wonderful step to help people get the education they need to move forward in life."
Coun. Jeremy Wilhelm asked Trofimuk what she thought of the county's mechanism to change or amend a policy.
She replied that working with the Community Services Committee was a "wonderful experience”.
"To be able to go through the process step-by-step and then get to see your ideas incorporated into the policy was very rewarding," she said.
