YOU | A Well-Deserved Award for Shelley!

PHOTO COURTESY: VICKY RYDER

We’ve always considered our friend Shelley Stewart to be a winner and now she’s received a major award to prove it.

In 2005, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act [or AODA ] became law. Under this landmark legislation, the government of Ontario developed mandatory accessibility standards that identifies, removes, and prevents barriers for people with disabilities.* The AODA applies to all levels of government, nonprofits, and private sector businesses and Ontario was the first province in Canada to implement such an act.

Putting together the standards for AODA and assuring that everyone understood its importance was certainly no easy task. It required the unwavering determination of many individuals in communities both large and small, from across the province.

One such individual involved with AODA is long time Scribbles pal, Shelley Stewart.

In the City of St. Catharines, Shelley has been a member of the Accessibility Advisory Committee since 1999. She was instrumental in the formation of the advisory committee and getting the key players such as council, city staff and volunteers on board. Shelley has been co-chair of the advisory committee since 2006. Although Shelley's disability is a visual one, she has a vast understanding of most disabilities.^

SHELLEY WITH CURRENT WORKING GIRL REESE (LEFT) &
ON OF SHELLEY'S PAST COMPANIONS, FOZZIE. 

Shelley has provided accessible customer service training to the City of St. Catharines staff, volunteers, Mayor, councillors and commissioners. She took an active role as part of the close caption video, “Accessibility in St. Catharines”^

Shelley has been volunteering since 1991 with the CNIB. She jumped right in after losing her sight due to diabetes, as a means of helping her get through her own loss.^

She always sees the positive in everything. With her attitude she breaks down barriers and changes people's attitudes. People's perceptions of "the blind" have changed due to Shelley's award winning attitude.^

Shelley will always take any opportunity for an impromptu chat to inform others about accessibility. Be it educating a taxi driver about guide dog use, advocating bus drivers about the importance of audible stop announcements, training new volunteers about the legislation or assisting others with their own vision loss, Shelley is a true ambassador to many. ^

GETTING LOTS OF KISSES FROM REESE

Shelley is an excellent public speaker and group facilitator and is always willing to share her knowledge and personal accessibility experiences with others. She has a tremendous sense of humour and a special way that always gets the message across.^

Shelley's use of guide dogs helped pave the way and demonstrate the use of service animals for both those who themselves require the skills such animals provide and for the general public, whose well-meaning desire to ‘help’ the visually impaired and their guide dog, can sometimes become more of a hindrance.

In celebration of its 10th anniversary in 2015, the AODA presented awards of excellence to outstanding individuals whose achievements have surpassed all expectations and acted as a model to others.

On Mon. Nov.30th, Shelley was one of two people in St. Catharines to receive such an award.

Way to go Shelley. Seeing all the stuff you’ve done really blows my mind and makes me even more grateful that somehow you’ve still always had time to get together with me over the years.

[LEGEND FOR ABOVE POST: * means text from www.accessontario.com ^ means text taken from Shelley's AODA nomination indo, as written by Julie Morris and Mary Jane Waszynski.  Paragraphs with no * or ^ written by Scribbles. ]

SCRIBBLES VIDEO:  Shelley's Appearance on local Morning Show

It was a few years ago when ever busy Shelley agreed to appear on CHCH-TV's 'Morning Live' program.  In this clip, Shelley shows us the preferred method of walking and guiding someone who is visually impaired, how she knows the dollar amount of the bills in her wallet and how to pour a hot (or cold) beverage without over-pouring.

Definitely worth a look!

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