OneAbility provides sport, programming for disabled
Acollaborative of community partners is hoping to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities through increased access to sport and physical activities.
OneAbility is a collective group dedicated to providing adapted sport and recreational programming in the Capital Region. The group includes more than 45 community partners who facilitate athletic and physical opportunities for people across the age and disability spectrum.
“Our organization is committed to clientele to stay active,” said Andrea Carey, co-founder of OneAbility. “That’s even more challenging these days as persons with disabilities face even more barriers during COVID-19.”
Only three per cent of people with disabilities participate in moderate physical activity and organized sport, compared with 30 per cent of their able-bodied population.
Staying active is a key determinant of overall health and wellbeing for people with or without disabilities.
People with disabilities typically suffer from sedentary lifestyles with fewer opportunities for participation. The population also includes individuals with stigmatized disabilities — such as mental illness and traumatic brain injuries.
“The pandemic has caused us to pivot, to seek ways to be creative and explore different ways of doing things,” Carey said. “The message for our clients is for a return to play — a return to sport on a local and national level.”
She acknowledged that “it will be a long road back” for some of her clients. Despite rolling out a number of creative alternatives, many clients miss the social, inperson interactions found in programs that have been temporarily curtailed.
She said that throughout the organization’s six and a half years in existence, the collective’s strength has come from harnessing the group’s collective strengths, instead of each of them competing amongst themselves, to achieve collective goals.
The various community partners in the collective identify program needs, create accessible programming and deliver training for people across the age and disability spectrum in Greater Victoria.
The pandemic has resulted in the creation of monthly online forums with a number of guest speakers. The forums allow members to discuss and share stories, receive community support and learn about grants from each other.
The collaborative nature of the organization has resulted in situations where one group would offer inclusive athletic and recreational programming, another with the needed sports equipment and yet another with training for the participants.
The collaborative was awarded a 2020 Collaboration Grant from the Victoria Foundation.
“We are incredibly grateful to the Victoria Foundation for the ongoing support of our OneAbility members,” said Carey. “It allows them the ability of fulfil their various mandates to their clients.’
For more information, go to oneability.ca.