Rights Accessibility Diversity
A number of Infant Development Consultants from the Aboriginal and Mainstream Infant Development Programs have been providing in-person and virtual sessions for families on caseload. Infant massage is a beautiful gift of offering nurturing touch to babies that benefits not only the infant, but also the caregiver and family.
The Langley LIP is an exciting development in our community spearheaded and led by Langley Community Services Society. Inclusion Langley Society is proud to be a partner in this initiative.
What are Local Immigration Partnerships?
Local Immigration Partnerships (LIPs) are funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to develop and implement plans to improve immigrant and refugee settlement and integration. LIPs are community planning tables that include community agencies and institutions representing local government, settlement and community agencies, education, business, parks, recreation and culture, policing, libraries, volunteerism and others.
What will the Langley LIP do?
The partnership table will enhance stakeholder and community knowledge of the contributions and assets newcomers bring and the challenges they face. It will play a vital role in identifying immigrant needs and service gaps. It will support service coordination to avoid service duplication and to fill service gaps and assist stakeholders to adapt programming and policies.
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Mark Castillo, ILS Supervisor of Quest Program
In April 2020, with funding from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Langley Local Immigration Partnership (LLIP) was established. This group has been initiated to develop and implement plans to ameliorate immigrant and refugee settlement and integration to the community.
It has been an honor for Mark Castillo (ILS Supervisor of Quest Program) to be selected to be a part of Immigrant Advisory Council. It is comprised of several immigrants that represent two Langley communities, range of countries of origin, length of time in Canada, age and gender. Their main task is to provide feedback to the LLIP and its work. Experiences and learnings are also being shared from their previous and current circumstances in Langley or if necessary, Canada.
The Snoezelen Room provides a customizable multisensory environment. Through the use of soothing sounds, captivating aromas, tactile experiences, visual input and more, children and youth of all ages and abilities can benefit. Snoezelen can be used to calm, to stimulate and/or to work on specific developmental skills.
Inclusion Langley Society’s Child Development Services is extremely proud to be one of the first in Western Canada to offer Snug Play in our playground. This innovative system was designed for use by all ages, from infants to youth. The movable components allow children to use their imagination and creativity, independently or working together, so that it is never the same play experience twice.
ILS is currently partnering with Compass Co-Housing to design and develop a new co-housing community in Langley. Originating in Denmark in the 1960s, co-housing frequently takes the form of apartments or townhouses, with shared amenities typically including a community kitchen, dining area, workshops, guest room and more.
A co-housing community is an intentional community, started, designed and managed by the people who will be living there — everyone has a say in how the community is managed.
During the early stages of any cohousing community, a development company is created. Members contribute funds to the company, becoming both a shareholder and a director of the company. The funds members contribute will be applied to the price of the unit they later select, and the order in which members join the company is the order in which they will select their units. Once development is completed, the development company is dissolved and a standard strata corporation is formed.
ILS intends on purchasing two units in this nurturing and supportive community.
In 2018, following negotiations with BC Housing, Community Living BC and Inclusion Langley Society purchased a home in the Brookswood area of Langley with the intent to renovate it for two gentlemen. Today the men are enjoying life in their own renovated separate suites.
In 2019, in partnership with BC Housing Newlands underwent extensive renovations to better meet the needs of the 4 men residing in the home. The house is now open concept with wider doors and hallways, a modified bathroom and easier outdoor access.
Also in 2019, Five Corners, again in partnership, was renovated and upgraded to meet the men’s needs. Renovations included the bathroom, electrical and air conditioning.
Murrayville Residence
In 2020, after months of negotiations CLBC agreed to ILS purchasing a house for two gentlemen. Upstairs the bathroom has been made wheelchair accessible and a lift has been installed in the garage. Downstairs, a full renovation is underway to convert the basement into a separate suite.
Bell Park Residence
In 2021, ILS was served notice that a house that the Society was renting had been sold. After an extensive search, ILS has now rented a house that is better suited to the needs of the lady who was experiencing accessibility challenges in her previous home.
Employment First
YouthWorks is an Inclusion Langley Society funded service for young adults between the ages of 16-19 years of age. YouthWorks was developed as there was a recognized gap in supports to young adults with diverse abilities who want the opportunity to have summer employment. YouthWorks is now in its 12th year of service delivery, the service was so successful that it now provides youth not only the opportunity and supports to secure summer employment but has expanded the support for ongoing part time paid employment.
Impact is an innovative three-year pilot project to support early interventions and improve employment outcomes for transitioning youth with disabilities.
L.I.F.E is a unique “user driven” service that is directed, evaluated and modified by the individual who is receiving services. L.I.F.E was conceptualized over a 5 year period, it involved the input and testing of the service by individuals, families, service providers and stakeholders. The service explores and creates flexible and responsive personalized supports with a focus on gainful employment, community connections, building meaningful relationships, pursuing lifelong learning opportunities, personal health management as well as explorations of future housing and support options. L.I.F.E. measures the difference it makes in a person's life beyond achieving goals and is driven by the individuals who use the service. L.I.F.E. responds to the natural rhythm of a person's life and adjusts over time in response to their changing goals and needs.
The British Columbia Employment Network (BCEN) is a consortium of local and regional service providers delivering services to youth and adults with intellectual disabilities. Collectively, we support thousands of citizens in a variety of community inclusion and employment services. Our member’s services cover a majority of the Province. Since our inception in 2007, our primary goal has been to increase employment outcomes for youth and adults with intellectual disabilities. The BCEN is joined in our efforts by representatives of Inclusion BC and Community Living British Columbia. Dan Collins, CEO of Inclusion Langley Society, has chaired the Network since its inception.
Members of the BCEN include:
- AimHi Prince George
- Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion
- Chilliwack Society for Community Living
- Community Living Victoria
- Delta Community Living Society
- Inclusion Powell River Society
- Inclusion Langley Society
- North Shore Disability Resource Society
- PosAbilities Association of BC
- Richmond Society for Community Living
L to R : Alex Eriksson, Karen Fermaniuk, John Aldag (former Liberal MP), Christian Burton (Summer Jobs Participant), Carla Thiesen, Jane Robertson
The ILS Home Share & Adult Respite team were awarded a contract with Canada Summer Jobs in both 2019 and 2020 to support a youth with a disability to access paid employment for 16 weeks. The Member of Parliament for Langley/Cloverdale, John Aldag, visited our offices in 2019 to recognize Canada Summer Jobs candidate, Christian Burton and the ILS staff team. Canada Summer Jobs continues to prioritize youth with disabilities and non-profit organizations for this important partnership.
Health and Safety
On March 17, 202O (revised April 6, 2020), ILS implemented its Pandemic Continuity Plan in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The following organizations were used as references;
- World Health Organization
- Government of Canada
- BC Centre for Disease Control
- Fraser Health
- Vancouver Coastal Health
The plan provides information and resources on COVID-19, infection prevention and control, types of training available, detailed action and communication plans and a plan for recovery. In addition, the plan outlined the supports that will be provided to an individual should they become exposed or infected with COVID-19. Staff training was made available to all staff on Routine Practices, washing of hands, sanitizing, donning and doffing personal protective equipment (PPE) and social and physical distancing.
The plan has received recognition from Fraser Health, the Ministry of Health and CLBC not only for the plan itself but also for the Society’s rapid response to exposures and positive cases. Prior to contact tracing occurring, ILS has already implemented droplet protocols and isolation red zones.
Inclusion Langley Society is exceptionally proud of the efforts made to adapt and pivot after the declaration of the pandemic and provincial emergency. We are proud of our comprehensive Pandemic Plan, as well as equally proud of our many employees who continued to provide direct support to individuals and families despite the presence of COVID-19 in our community.
Below is a sampling of the ways we maintain continuity of service:
- We were able to support approximately 75 employees to work from home. This pivot included the purchase of significant information technology, as well as work-from-home protocols to guide staff.
- We rapidly deployed our administration team to work from home and maintained all businesses processes, including payroll, remotely.
- We shared weekly communications from the leadership team with all staff keeping then informed and engaged and sharing protocols and procedures to keep them safe. We produced customized signage and safety posters for display in all our workplaces.
- We appointed an individual to research, search and procure PPT that was made available to all employees, contractors, and families in need. Required PPE supplies were delivered rapidly to all locations (including family homes) requiring supplies.
- We redesigned our workplaces to enable continued direct services to as many individuals as possible in our Community Inclusion Services, including expansion of service delivery times to include evenings and weekends.
- We delivered groceries and supplies to individuals and families home bound because of the pandemic or experiencing a family member with a covid-positive test in their household.
- We supported employees and contractors experiencing hardship due to covid positive results or exposures with groceries, supplies and financial assistance where required. We checked in daily with these folks to ensure they were safe.
- With colleague organizations, we advocated for access to hospitals ensuring essential visitor status protocols were developed and honoured by our Health Authorities.
IDP Beginner Signs & Songs
The COVID-Pandemic resulted in the Infant Development Program creating an innovative approach to sharing valuable information with families in an easily accessible way. Beginner Signs and Songs is a series of handouts and pre-recorded videos that families can view at their own pace on a private Facebook group to learn simple signs, songs and rhymes to aid in encouraging their child’s communication and overall development.
Stay at Home Activities
The pandemic involuntarily made some of the families and individuals stay home. This, however, did not stop ILS supporting people who are not comfortable to go out of their houses. A group of supervisors brainstormed together and came up with ideas that could help stay home individuals be productive, physically active and basically lessen the boredom that they were experiencing.
Activity bags were put together and these included art materials, physical activity guide, planting stuff and some candies to help release some endorphins. Individuals and families were ecstatic and quite please to receive the goodie bags and most of the individuals participated in the activities.
Community Partnerships
Inclusion Langley Society has working relationships with many organizations in our local community, provincially and federally. Many of these relationships are built on a shared vision that supports the inclusion of all citizens in community life. The Community Works document is part of our Accessibility Plan which identifies those relationships and its impact.
The Including All Citizens Project (IACP) is a pedagogical model that involves the full inclusion of students with intellectual disabilities into Faculty of Arts (FA) courses at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) in British Columbia for credit and on an equal basis with other students. This model opens the doors of education by making existing university courses environments where all students can participate and succeed. Without adapting the academic foundation and content, the IACP uses the principles of universal design for learning (UDL) to transform teaching and deliver curriculum to a wide range of learners. It is a student-centred learning environment where everyone is included and valued on an equal basis, thereby making it an exemplary learning experience for all. The IACP is one of the first fully inclusive, for-credit university certificate programs in North America.
Including All Citizens Project video
Article: KPU announces first students to graduate in ground-breaking fully inclusive program
Inclusion Langley during Diversity Awareness Month hosts an awards evening to recognize and celebrate over 100 Langley Employers who embraced diversity in the workplace.
Employer Celebration – Pacific Academy Testimonial
In October 2020 Inclusion Langley celebrated Inclusive Employers differently due to COVID-19, instead of an awards night, employers and their diverse work force were recognized in the local Langley Times Newspaper over a five week period. It highlighted the businesses as well as those individuals with diverse abilities.
On Oct 1, 2019 a second campaign took place to celebrate Diversity awareness month, Langley Employers who hire diversely were recognized as businesses who embraced diversity in the workplace by displaying blue balloons.
ILS is committed to seamless transitions and advancing services for youth. Our organization has provided YouthWorks Employment since 2010 and have successfully supported over 200 youth to secure employment. In 2015, ILS partnered with the school district and began providing supports to youth who were eligible for the overage year through the ministry of education. The youth wanted to receive supports in their local communities with a focus on building employment skills which translate into gainful employment, access to ongoing learning and post-secondary education, and life skills development. Since the initial launch, ILS has experienced increasing demands for youth services. To further the advancement and employment outcomes for youth with disabilities or autism spectrum, ILS is taking part in a number of projects such as:
- IMPACT - 3-year project in partnership with UBC
- Work Experience - 1-year project
- FEDS - 15-month project
- TYDE - Providing testing and feedback, In partnership with UBC Okanagan
ILS holds strongly to the value of Community Building: Engaging and contributing to “everyone has a place and role here.”
BC Thanksgiving Food Drive
Since 2017 Inclusion Langley has been partnering with the BC Thanksgiving Food Drive who delivers food and financial support to local food banks throughout British Columbia. All donations collected during our Society wide campaign go directly to the local Langley food banks. The BC Thanksgiving Food Drive organizers use ILS as a benchmark on how to launch a campaign within your organization and amongst your employees.
For the past 15 years, Inclusion Langley Society’s Child Development Services has provided a unique opportunity for families with children with support needs to visit with Santa in a safe and accessible way. This event has grown in popularity over the years, now serving close to 500 individuals (children and parents) over three seatings.
Here is also a link to an amazing highlight article of Breakfast with Santa in the Aldergrove Star!
For the past 14 years, Inclusion Langley Society has held an Annual Wine Tasting event to raise community awareness of the services provided as well as raise funds for programs and equipment. This event has become increasingly popular over the years, attended by close to 200 individuals, raising funds through sponsorships as well as through live and silent auction items.
In the Fall of 2019, the Langley Infant Development Program connected with The Village Langley, Canada’s first ever retirement community for those living with Alzheimer’s and Dementia to create multi-generational opportunities called “Oak and Acorn” events. These groups and visits bring our youngest members of our society together with our retirement community to sing, play and be together.
Talk with me, Play with me, Learn with me is the 3rd video in Langley’s Infant Mental Health public awareness campaign. Designed in partnership with the Langley School District as part of their Welcome to Kindergarten messaging. This video, aimed at parents of school-aged children, highlights the importance that simple everyday interactions can have on the well-being and mental health of children. Presented in a child’s voice and from their perspective, showing what it is like for them when their “big people” are distracted and rushed compared to when we take the time to talk with them, play with them and learn with them.
Our Talent
ILS is committed to the ongoing advancements of employment supports and services to both youth and adult services and has invested in education for our employees. In 2020, we increased our number of Vocational Consultants by 61% and provided 1722 hours of employment training to ILS employees. We continue to negotiate with our funders for additional Vocational Consultants in our services as there is strong evidence that those individual we support who have employment have an increased quality of life.
Inclusion Langley’s Human Resources department plays an important role in providing a workforce that utilizes their skills and talents to help build an inclusive culture that upholds the Agency’s values and assists in the overall success of the organization.
From actively recruiting and onboarding new employees...
To celebrating the opportunity to get together...
2019 ILS Employee Celebration Evening
As well as celebrating milestone anniversaries...
40th Anniversary!
To not forgetting to thank those that depart the Agency after many years of service!
Inclusion Langley values all of our employees and appreciates all the hard work and contributions they make each and every day to provide quality supports to the individuals we serve.
To promoting a safe work environment:
Thank you for taking the time to learn about Inclusion Langley Society
We acknowledge that we are grateful guests on the unceded traditional territories of the Kwantlen, Katzie, Matsqui and Semiahmoo First Nations where we live, learn, work and play.