.Welcome to BCANDS Disability Services!
If you are here on our website looking for disability case management services and assistance for either you, a family member or a client, you probably already know that many Indigenous persons living with a disability, within British Columbia, often find navigating and accessing services through the various disability and health systems an often a tiring, complex and difficult process.
Here’s the good news, we’re here to help! You are not alone.
Indigenous persons living with a disability very often find themselves unable to successfully get to the help, support and services that they need. This can happen for many reasons; sometimes it is the complex nature of their individual needs, the lack of community and local resources, geographical location, discrimination, and dealing with the feelings of being overwhelmed by it all. We hear this often from our clients who reside both within Indigenous communities and in British Columbia’s urban and rural settings. Because of this, we often see many Indigenous persons who are living with disabilities are “falling within the gaps” of today’s disability, health and social services service models.
BCANDS Indigenous Disability Case Management
BCANDS works as the lead in Disability Management when a single or multiple group of organizations and agencies are involved with a particular individual and their disability related needs. This eliminates the potential of duplicating services and assists to alleviate anxiety for our clients, their families and support systems, who may already be experiencing stressful and challenging conditions.
BCANDS assists and supports our clients, as able, acting as a liaison / lead between various service agencies and our clients to address their needs and obtain or develop a variety of health and disability services. A very few types of these services include, but not limited to; provision of mobility equipment, adaptive technology, assistance with Disability Tax Credits, accessing CPP Disability benefits and appeals, PWD applications, housing issues, travel assistance including travel arrangements which are not covered through Non Insured, assessments, etc.
BCANDS also works with clients through Correctional facilities, working with the correctional facility’s case managers to assist in the identification and provision of community related services and supports including but not limited to; housing, employment, counseling and so forth for the individual transitioning back into community.
Client related funding matters is often an area we assist in. Who is paying for what? What are we eligible for? Is there any way we can get help and if so where do we even start to look? It can be so frustrating and exhausting especially for a person or family that is already struggling.
This is where we come in…. Let us see if we can help.
BCANDS does not provide direct funding to clients or funding to cover costs related to our client’s disability needs, however, we may be able to identify, develop and access potential funding resources that may be available.
The British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society (BCANDS) provides disability/health related support, assistance, referral, information and more, through comprehensive and coordinated individual client services.
To assist us in meeting our client needs, BCANDS works respectfully, together, with individuals, their families and other agencies, in a culturally aware and safe manner, to come up with an individualized and achievable plan to address our clients disability related needs and to help ensure their success.
This work includes coordinating and working with a variety of Indigenous and non-Indigenous health and disability related programs/services and professionals, Aboriginal, provincial and federal governments and community based agencies from across British Columbia.
Although BCANDS provides support and assistance in a variety of areas and through a variety of methods, it is important for the individual requesting services, their family and associated agencies to know that we do have our limitations and our expectations, which include that;
- BCANDS is a non-political organization;
- BCANDS does not provide legal opinions, interpretations, recommendations or advice;
- BCANDS does not provide medical opinions, interpretations, recommendations or advice;
- BCANDS does not provide, nor tries to access services and supports that are not related to our clients disability related needs and the client / BCANDS established case plan;
- BCANDS is not a funding organization and does not provide funding assistance to clients nor purchase or provide disability related equipment, supplies, home renovations, home support services, etc. BCANDS works with individuals and their support systems to, as much as able, find and develop appropriate resources and services that will address the individual’s disability related needs;
- BCANDS does not normally write correspondence in relation to any client to the media, politicians, community leadership or others;
- BCANDS disability services are accessed on a voluntary basis by the individual, their families or through associated organizations. As such, clients or their guardians are required to be active in all aspects of their case plan development, the agreed to activities within, and willing to provide and / or complete all required information necessary for BCANDS services and those services provided by external agencies which the individual may be requesting to access and in a timely manner.
- BCANDS disability services are centralized through our main office. Travel to meet individual clients, families or agencies in person is not always possible due to financial restraints, client location and the sheer number of clients BCANDS that serves.
BCANDS is the only Indigenous organization of it’s type, not only in British Columbia, but across Canada. BCANDS offers a rather eclectic range in services, as individual and unique as our clients and their needs.