E Yost Presentation to SP COUNCIL AGM 2019

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Calgary Service Provider Council 2019 Annual Meeting Presentation ELAINE YOST REFLECTS ON WHERE WE’VE COME FROM

Minister Sawhney, honoured guests, and fellow service providers. Minister Sawhney it is with great appreciation that we welcome you and thank you for coming to our Calgary Service Provider Council AGM. We are very happy you are here. We hope you will have the time and opportunity to meet some of the passionate and committed leaders who are here today. We also want to emphasize our willingness and desire to support you, to share our knowledge and experience with you. We also want to provide you with the opportunity to learn about the challenges we face, the rich Calgary history, and to get to know the amazing people who are part of this sector -the individuals we support, the families, the agencies, our staff and our government PDD department. A 50-YEAR JOURNEY IN THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY In reflecting on my involvement over the past 50 years, it is with a very grateful heart that I share some of my thoughts about where we have been and where we are going. There is so much to say about the journey of families and individuals, agencies and staff, the Calgary community and the provincial government. There is so much to learn from each other in our various roles and responsibilities.

Having been actively involved in the world of disability for the past 50 years, there are so many highlights and challenges to share. Overall, it has brought clear meaning and purpose in my own life and I have such appreciation for the wonderful friendships and relationships that have developed and grown as a result. I am thankful that I live in Alberta and that most of our life as a family has been here. I appreciate the opportunities that I have been given and for the joyful and fulfilling work I have been able to do for the past 33 years at OPTIONS. STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF TWO MOTHERS I am thankful that 67 years ago two mothers, both of whom had sons with Down Syndrome, met to discuss and share their journey, their frustrations and their hopes for their children. At the time in Alberta the prevailing belief was that individuals with disabilities were “defective” and “feeble minded” and a drain on society. Those two moms believed their sons were not defective or feeble minded, that they could learn, and they had strengths that could be developed. They were unwilling to follow the advice of the medical profession and put their sons in an institution. We stand on their shoulders.

I am grateful that in 1953 a “school” began in Christine Miekle’s kitchen and in 1954 the Calgary Association for Retarded Children was formed. The courage of those two moms is a shining example to us all that we sometimes need to challenge existing beliefs in order to move things forward. A MEDICAL MYSTERY AND CARING COMMUNITY I am grateful for the birth of my first son, Michael in 1969, and my second son, Sean in 1972. As a result of Michael’s needs, we were introduced to a wide variety of experts in the medical field. Because Michael was diagnosed along with 28 others in the world with a syndrome called CoffinLowry, we became involved with genetics, diagnostic radiology, neurology, endocrinology, urology, immunology, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, pain management, palliative medicine,

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