Every Monday, Club Inclusion in Halifax runs a leaders in training program for their members.
Club Inclusion provides day programming to adults and youth with intellectual or developmental disabilities. The program is in its fifth year and teaches essential leadership and employment skills to members and puts them into action right away.
“It’s an opportunity for the folks that we support to develop really important and meaningful skills in regard to things like leadership, ways that they can help support their friends out in the community,” says Isaiah Doucet, an employment and development specialist with Prescott Group.
This week, members learned about consent, boundaries and respecting each other’s personal space.
Member Gaby McNeil says the messages learned during the morning lesson are something she feels strongly about.
“One important message is always ask somebody in a wheelchair before touching it, because it’s an extension of their body,” she says.
Heather McNamara, who is also a member at Club Inclusion, says consent is really important to learn.
“What we learned today (was) about asking people if we can be in their space. Ask if we can give them a hug or handshake and if they say no, well that is your personal space, and we talked about boundaries,” she says.
The day starts with teaching and then some members go out and volunteer in the community while others put their new skills to use.
“A lot of people are really tactile learners and need to experience what you are doing and really get your hands involved to really understand what you have been learning about, so that’s why we try to put what we have learned into practice as soon as we can,” says Doucet.
One way the members apply their skills is in the form of both an active and quiet game.
“We started off by playing a fun game where we had pylons on our heads and we had to knock them off and we all understood that that game was OK because we all consented to people being in our personal bubbles like that,” says Doucet.
They also teach resume building and interview skills as part of the program which helps prepare the members for the work world.
“We learn a lot about pre-employment training and those really important employment skills so that the members can have as much success as possible in the workforce,” says Doucet.
The members take home a lot more than just hands-on experience.
McNamara has been a member for a number of years and now helps others. She encourages them to take part in programs and activities.
“It warms my heart that I get to help the other members,” she says.
Tegan Bielawski has also been a part of the leaders in training program since it started and finds great value in participating in the activities and volunteer opportunities.
“It helps members from the club and Prescott that come over belong and have somewhere they can be where they can be themselves, because that’s how I feel,” says Bielawski.
For others, like Graham Robertson, it also brings joy to be involved with the club and the program.
“Good inside, when I go home,” he says.
Doucet says every year the program gets bigger and better, and he really sees growth in the members that attend.
“It’s always so great to see the growth of the members in the span of the year and really see the confidence start to develop and see the folks really be able to run these programs in such a successful way to make sure everybody has fun and that everyone feels included,” says Doucet.
The leaders in training program wraps up for the year in June and registration for the summer programming is open now.
The program will kick back off again in September for its sixth year.
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