People with disabilities in the Kenora and Rainy River districts soon will have a new tool to help them find programs and services geared toward their needs.
DIAL 2003 is a new directory produced through a partnership of Northwest Independent Living Services (NILS) and the Northwest Trade and Adjustment Board (NTAB).
“We identified that there was a lack of information in the Kenora-Rainy River District for those that have disabilities,” said NTAB rep Joe Kozak. “This directory was a project that came out of that.”
The project also received support from the Kenora District Services Board and the Atikokan Economic Development office.
DIAL 2003 (Directory for Independent and Accessible Living) lists roughly 240 organizations across the district—and beyond—which provide various services to the disabled.
Some 1,000 copies have been printed and will be available in Fort Frances starting Thursday (Nov. 20) at noon at the Civic Centre. Kozak also will be on hand there to talk about the directory and answer any questions.
“Anyone can come out to talk about the project,” he remarked.
The directory already has been launched in Kenora, Dryden, Red Lake, and Atikokan. “So far, from the people I’ve heard from, they really like the directory. It’s handy,” Kozak said.
“It deals with aboriginal services, advocacy, education, financial aid, housing. It’s quite diverse,” he noted. “It’s trying to be all-inclusive so all that information is there at your fingertips.”
One of the benefits of the directory will be to provide people with disabilities with more options when looking for services. Some people on social assistance often can’t afford to make long distance calls to find out about certain services, Kozak noted.
“You can now maybe find an organization that has an 800-number and get that information or that service that you never knew was out there,” he explained.
“If someone was newly disabled and they needed to find out where they could get some financial income or support, they would be able to go into this directory and find out what organization or what programs are out there, be they government or private, that could provide some financial assistance,” Kozak added.
Another situation might involve someone who is disabled who wants to go back to work.
Kozak said some organizations can help put together a “return to work action plan,” to help with skills development, and help determine if the person is eligible for a wage subsidy.
Another benefit of the directory will be to identify which services are available in the district and which are not.
“It’s going to hopefully get the service-providers engaged to finding out more information about what other services are out there so they’re not duplicating,” he said.
“Also it will identify what’s not out there.
“I’m encouraging partnerships,” Kozak stressed. “‘You provide this service, I’ll provide that service.’ We hope to engage all those professionals that are out there to work together with those who are on social assistance or don’t have any funding or support.”
The directory has been in the works for about a year now, and a committee invited 700 organizations to put a listing in it. Only 240 responded by the deadline.
Kozak is hoping the positive feedback on the directory will encourage more organizations to participate—if and when a second edition comes out.
NILS already is looking into securing funding for a second directory.
Kozak said DIAL 2003 comes with a questionnaire for users to fill out to identify errors or to suggest improvements. Plans also are in the works for a Web site.
“So if you have MS or have a spinal cord injury, or autism or whatever it may be, you can come online and find out answers. there will be links to different services and programs and agencies,” Kozak said.
“We’re really looking forward to this. It’s an exciting project,” he added.
(Fort Frances Times)
Fort Frances Times
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