Dec 3rd - International Day of Persons with Disabilities

How is Social Enterprise supporting persons with disabilities in Ontario?

And how could it be doing more?

December 3rd (today) is the International Day of persons with disabilities. Today, aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the inclusion of persons with disabilities in every aspect of life.

In 2006, CCEDNet undertook a research initiative designed to identify areas for policy improvement related to social enterprises which employ persons in receipt of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). A recent policy forum sponsored by Ontario‟s Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) (Randolph Group, 2006) indicates that there is increased interest in the province to explore public policy options for supporting social enterprises. Thus this research may be particularly significant at this time.

Four goals were established for the research:

• To expand the knowledge of policy challenges facing social enterprises which employ ODSP recipients
• To strengthen models of employment and training service delivery to recipients of ODSP
• To facilitate peer learning of social enterprise practitioners and ODSP employment service delivery agents
• To improve income security programs across Canada through conducting high-quality research on services and programs delivered to low-income people with disabilities living in the province of Ontario.

To learn more about social enterprises potential in helping persons with disabilities - download the study  here