Traditionally May is MCS and MCS/ES Awareness Month.
After decades of awareness raising, it’s time to move on to welcoming action and accommodation, don’t you think?
Are people with MCS/ES, often referred to as Human Canaries, actually welcome in this world?
If you are a person with MCS/ES, please share in the comments if and how you are being accommodated and welcomed (or not) in this world.
If you are a person who doesn’t have MCS/ES, please share in the comments how you are accommodating and welcoming people with MCS/ES into the world.
A brief account of a seriously “sensitive” to pollution person living in a society where fragranced and toxic products are more important than lives, where disabled lives are disposeable, where it’s now easy to be euthanized (even for for externally imposed and inflicted) suffering, but not to receive support to remove the causes of suffering, causes and conditions that have been made systemic for many people with disabilities.
I’m not a poet and I know it and I wrote it anyway…
What Now? Continue reading
Posted in Accessibility, Air Quality, Community, Disability, Environmental Sensitivities, Food, Fragrance, Health, Healthy Environment, Housing, Human Rights, MCS/ES, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, Pesticides, Policy, Pollution, Support
Tagged allergies, asthma, Bill C7, cancer, chemical sensitivity, Clothing, dryer vents, EHS, euthanasia, fibromyalgia, hazardous air pollutants, human canaries, Human Rights and Disability, invisible disabilities, laundry products, MCAS, MCS, migraines, multiple chemical sensitivities, toilet paper, unwanted, VOCs, Water
Women’s Voices For the Earth are offering those of us who have been harmed by chemical exposures an opportunity to share our stories and experiences.
Has Your Health Been Harmed by Toxic Chemicals?
Share Your Story!
“When you share your experiences, it not only changes people who connect with your story, it also changes you. When people share their personal stories on a social issue, they become more invested in that issue because it is now theirs (Beautiful Rising.org). What’s more, it is contagious: Sharing leads to sharing leads to sharing and helps communities and individuals connect over similarities and differences.
We want to hear from you! Tell us, how have exposures to harmful chemicals impacted your health?
And if you are interested, WVE can also help you amplify your story in the media, or with policy and decision makers.”
Learn more here:
Continue reading
Dear everyone, if you are Canadian, please sign this petition, and no matter where you are, please share this with all the Canadians you know!
e-2729 Petition to the Government of Canada
Whereas:
…
We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
1. Create an international classification of disease designation code in Canada for environmental sensitivities so that those affected may have access to medical care;
2. Include environmental sensitivities as a disability that must be accommodated on all relevant documents and forms in governmental departments and organizations that minister social assistance, housing, medical, and other public services; and
3. Ensure all indoor public spaces are declared scent and fragrance-free.
Posted in Accessibility, Disability, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Government, Health Care, Human Rights, Policy, Public Health
Tagged allergies, asthma, chemical sensitivity, CIRS, EHS, environmental illness, fibromyalgia, fragrance-free, human canaries, IAQ, ICD, invisible disabilities, MCS, MCS/ES, mould, multiple chemical sensitivities, petition, scent free, TILT, video
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
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
Seriously "Sensitive" to Pollution 