Nelson Raposo, Shineeca McLeod and PC Peddle and Jason Maher from ConnectABILITY.ca

By: Tara Bates

At the end of June this year, the Self-Advocates Council asked the Toronto Police Service to attend a talk about how to better communicate with people with disabilities. The SAC members were eager to start a partnership with the Toronto Police and have their voices heard. The talk was a great success and started an ongoing partnership between the Self-Advocates Council and the Toronto Police.

In September, SAC members invited Police Constable (PC) Jason Peddle, Vulnerable Persons Coordinator from the Toronto Police to 20 Spadina Road to be a part of a video they wanted to make. PC Peddle graciously accepted the invitation to be a part of the video. The purpose of the video is to talk about the newly formed partnership between the police and SAC members, and to talk about the conversation they had in June. SAC members Nelson Raposo, Shineeca McLeod and Mark Miller all had the opportunity to have a conversation with PC Peddle on camera to talk about the conversation they had in June, the partnership and share their personal stories. ConnectABILLITY’s Jason Maher agreed to be the filmmaker and director of the day.

PC Peddle talked about how excited he and the police service are to continue working with the SAC. SAC members’ input at our June discussion is directly impacting the 2019 training curriculum that all officers receive at the training academy. Also, SAC has been invited to attend a town hall meeting with the Toronto Police in November. SAC members talked about what this partnership means to them and how some now feel much more comfortable approaching and speaking to a police officer.

Great job, Self-Advocates! You’ve started a GREAT partnership that will be very helpful in forging a new future for individuals labeled with an intellectual disability and their relationship with the police.

For information on SAC contact Sue Hutton at:

shutton@cltoronto.ca