Toronto’s Mayor John Tory has lent (not given) his support with a Proclamation for for Awareness Day:
(I’m sorry there’s no written transcript for the image)
Continue reading
Posted in Accessibility, Community, Disability, Environmental Sensitivities, Health Care, Housing, Human Rights, Policy
Tagged allergies, asthma, CFS/ME, chemical sensitivity, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, ecopsychology, EHS, fibromyalgia, fragrance-free, human canaries, IAQ, invisible disabilities, MAID, MCS, multiple chemical sensitivities, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, proclamation, suicide, video
I saw an announcement on fb from a city agency that was opening up an arena to allow homeless people a place to shower, and they were also providing soap, shampoo, and other necessities.
“People who are homeless or precariously housed in (the city) relied upon bathrooms and showers in public facilities. But, they have closed their doors during the pandemic. There are now free showers and washrooms open daily at (the) Arena.”
Homelessness is something far too many human canaries are intimately familiar with, since there are so few accessible, medically safe housing options available when our ‘sensitivities’ become disabling. Many human canaries are precariously housed too.
Graphic image text description:
Everyone welcome.
Toothbrushes, shampoo, soap, and more provided.
Free showers & washrooms
———————————————————————-
ACCESSIBILITY QUESTION:
Is the soap and shampoo fragrance-free so that people with environmental ‘sensitivities’ could also access the space?
MAY is MCS/ES Awareness Month
—
I was (due to MCS/ES related accessibility barriers) homeless myself for a year, and the need to shower did not go away. I know several homeless canaries now, one who just a few days ago was discussing her attempts to create a shower outside the van she is living in, so I asked the fb page a question about accessibility for homeless canaries.
Here’s what happened:
Posted in Accessibility, Air Quality, Disability, Environmental Health, Environmental Sensitivities, Fragrance, Human Rights, Medically Required Housing, Policy, Public Health
Tagged accessibility barriers, accessibility standards, allergies, asthma, chemical sensitivity, fragrance-free, homeless, human canary, IAQ, invisible disabilities, MCS, multiple chemical sensitivities, shower
May is MCS Awareness Month, and there’s a new fb page just for this!
MCS Awareness Month https://www.facebook.com/MCSawarenessmonth/
If you are on fb, please go “like” the new page, and then click on ‘following’ to choose “see first” so that you can see all the curated material that will get shared over the course of the month, making it easy for you to ‘like’ and share the posts with your fb (and other social media) circles.
As many have noted, much of the world has had to adopt a ‘lifestyle’ much like we human canaries and other people with disabilities have been living for years, albeit without so many of the additional challenges that disabilities and chronic illnesses bring to surviving daily life.
It would be nice to think that this small taste of what we have been living for a long time will bring about more compassion, empathy, and changes of heart that will inspire people to remove accessibility barriers and welcome us in the world when everyone else is released from isolation.
To that end, we need people to know we exist, as more often than not, there is little to no understanding, or it is trivialized. Sharing info on social media is known to create change, so let’s all be a part of making a better, healthier, and accessible world for everyone. ♥
p.s.
Please leave a comment here if you know of any other groups or people who have organized events or material for MCS (and related) Awareness Month 2020, so that we can all support each other.
Posted in Accessibility, Action, Community, Disability, Environmental Health, Environmental Sensitivities, Health Promotion, Human Rights, Inspiration, Support
Tagged allergies, asthma, awareness month, chemical sensitivity, EHS, environmental illness, GWS, invisible disabilities, MCS, migraines, multiple chemical sensitivities, Sick Building Syndrome, TILT, toxic brain injury
From Arts AccessAbility Network Manitoba:
On May 1st, 2020 Marie LeBlanc’s Exhibition, “Air on the Side of Caution” will be available to view in full on AANM’s website (aanm.ca) and we will be posting one image from the show everyday on this event page.
Guest Post from Marie LeBlanc:
There have been several articles in the news lately about the experiences of people who have been forced to endure quarantine or social isolation due to the coronavirus.
Many other people are worried about having to stay at home for a couple of weeks, without access to their regular activities, because they have never had to think about what it’s like, but some of us (indeed millions around the world) have been forced to stay confined and isolated, sometimes for most of our lives! Our stories are seldom told, and when they are told, they’re often dismissed as anomalies and quickly forgotten.
When I saw the following articles, I felt the need to add a different perspective.
Posted in Accessibility, Environment, Environmental Health, Health Care, Policy, Public Health
Tagged accessibility, allergies, asthma, chemical sensitivity, coronavirus, environmental sensitivities, invisible disabilities, isolation, MCAS, MCS, ME/CFS, multiple chemical sensitivities, quarantine, social distancing, solitary confinement, toxic trespass
I’m sorry you have to experience this, but am glad that it is just a temporary experience for you and your family. I personally know how difficult it is (times 1000 or more).
Hopefully if you actually do become ill, it will pass quickly and there will be no lasting effects.
It is more than likely that most of you will have all the medical assistance, food, toilet paper, and everything else that you will need to have available to deal with basic creature comforts and needs, so it will be just the habitual and a few social comforts that are temporarily disrupted for you.
Did you know that more than a few people are not as fortunate, and experience this kind of segregation full time, with no vacations, with few, if any of the relatively easily accessible (to most) basic amenities? And they aren’t criminals!
Say what?
Posted in Accessibility, Community, Environmental Health, Environmental Sensitivities, Fragrance, Health, Human Rights, Public Health
Tagged accessibility barriers, allergies, chemical sensitivity, fragrance-free, hazardous air pollutants, human canary, invisible disabilities, MCS, multiple chemical sensitivities, quarantine, social isolation, systemic discrimination
If you are in or near Jasper, Alberta anytime between February 29 and March 7, please check out Marie LeBlanc’s Endangered Human presentation at Jasper Community Habitat for the Arts. I have seen some of it, and it’s very powerful.
Are you on facebook?
If so, please check out and follow the
They share memes with accompanying information for people with chemical, fragrance, and environmental ‘sensitivities’.
This is one of my absolute favourites!
Image description:
A fair skinned woman is growing out of a terra cotta flower pot. She wears something white and sleeveless. She has long wavy hair that is surrounded by several pink flowers of varying sizes. Her head is tilted to one side and that arm is holding up one of the flowers between her ear and her forehead.
Image text:
If you were meant to smell of fragrance you would’ve been a plant.
Be fragrance free, it’s what nature intended.
#No Fragrances #No Essential Oils SOS #Back to Basics
Direct link to this specific fb post:
https://www.facebook.com/fragrancefreerevolution/photos/a.107251783966059/192533602104543/
“Accepting the leadership offered by the Task Force on Environmental Health to address the health care system, proactive change can begin immediately at all levels of society including federal, provincial, and municipal governments and public departments and agencies.
These would include, but are not limited to, public transportation providers, school boards, and the private sector.”
screenshots
of the report recommendations
with source added
The Legal Rights and Challenges Faced by Persons with Chronic Disability Triggered by Environmental Factors
From ARCH Disability Law Centre and the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA), September 2019
“3. Conclusion While there has been significant research and study into barriers to include persons with EH disabilities, critical obstacles remain.
Seeking help in the health system, trying to find and/or retain adequate housing or employment, entering public spaces, shopping, or using public transportation, limit the inclusion of persons with EH disabilities in our communities.
Much more needs to be done to acknowledge the significant hurdles faced by persons with EH disabilities.
Posted in Accessibility, Air Quality, Disability, Environmental Health, Health Care, Housing, Human Rights, Policy, Pollution, Public Health
Tagged allergies, ARCH, asthma, autism, barriers, cancer, CELA, chemical sensitivity, education, employment, environmental sensitivities, federal, fragrance-free, IAQ, jobs, marginalization, MCS, MCS/ES, multiple chemical sensitivities, municipal, non-toxic, poverty, provincial, scent free, shopping, stigma, toxic chemicals, transportation, universal design, VOCs
