Opening Doors to Accessibility

Opening Doors to Accessibility

From Let's Talk Housing: A Podcast by BC Housing by BC Housing

July 8, 2025 · 35 min · Season 5 · Episode 4

About this episode

This episode explores how organizations are redefining their approach to accessibility to include broader support for various needs.

In this episode, we explore how organizations are redefining their approach to accessibility, broadening their lens and criteria to meet evolving needs. We’ll examine how accessibility has expanded to include not just physical aspects but also support for intellectual and cognitive needs, reflecting a more inclusive approach. Guests: Brad McCannell, VP of Access and Inclusion, Rick Hansen Foundation Doug Tennant, CEO, UNITI Julianne (Jewels) Cressman, Community Advocate About the Rick Hansen Foundation: In 1985, Rick Hansen set out on the Man In Motion World Tour; a 26-month, 34 country, 40,000 km wheelchair marathon. The Tour raised $26 million and changed the way people with disabilities were perceived. The Rick Hansen Foundation (RHF), established in 1988, is part of its legacy. For over three decades, RHF has removed barriers, changed attitudes and funded spinal cord injury research and care. Today, roughly one in four Canadians identify as having a disability, and that number is growing as our population ages. Globally, over 1.3 billion adults identify as having a disability. We’re working on breaking down one of the most fundamental barriers that people with disabilities…

People in this episode

Guests: Brad McCannell, Doug Tennant, Julianne (Jewels) Cressman

Topics covered

  • accessibility
  • inclusion
  • disabilities
  • support services
  • community advocacy

Keywords

  • accessibility
  • inclusion
  • disabilities
  • Rick Hansen Foundation
  • UNITI
  • community support
  • cognitive needs

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Rick Hansen Foundation, UNITI

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