Developing support for disabled persons

ASHOKA FELLOW, VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

Al Etmanski is weaving a safety net for people with disabilities, allowing them to cope with the loss of their care-giving parents and the unpredictable changes in government-funded support services. His organization, Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN), has created an infrastructure that systematically builds community, while dismantling the obstacles inherent in the social systems that control publicly funded services for the disabled. Al is providing options for people with disabilities, creating a system which supports their urgent and long-term needs.

Al often delivers seminars to lawyers and financial planners on disability law, community and service organizations, better preparing them to serve families with disabled relatives.

Speech Topics

• Social Safety Net
• Inclusive citizenship - eliminating the asterisk beside disability
• The Disability 'Market'