Inclusive Communities
An Inclusive Community is a community where its citizens and members feel safe, respected, and comfortable in being themselves and expressing all aspects of their identities. It is a place where each person shares a sense of belonging with their fellow members.
Why is inclusion important? It’s the way in which all people with intellectual disabilities experience their right to full participation and have the opportunity to make their contributions as citizens.
Community Living Ontario is proud of the work we’ve done to further inclusion. Over the past ten years we have focused on:
- Building inclusive school cultures
- Building inclusive communities
- Creating inclusive organizations
This work has been part of the national Community Inclusion Project funded through the federal Department of Social Development. Each province and territory across Canada has identified priority areas and developed strategies to include the people in their communities.
We have developed these resources:
An inclusive school culture - indicators of success
The purpose of Inclusive School Culture is to motivate school communities to promote, create, and sustain inclusive environments. It is designed to help all stake holders including students, educators, parents and guardians, support staff and administrators to feel they belong to and fully participate in the life of the school.
Engaging people in building inclusive communities
This planning guide (book) is designed to help community leaders develop a plan to nurture a more inclusive mindset and behaviour in their towns, cities or neighbourhoods. It is targeted to all those who might feel excluded because of abilities, race, culture, circumstances, gender or sexual orientation.
A focus on inclusion for organizations supporting people with intellectual disabilities
The intent of this tool is to encourage and help those organizations supporting people who have an intellectual disability to build a culture, policies, systems and practices that lead to inclusion within the organizations and in the community. It identifies the critical success factors that must be in place within the organization in order to be inclusive and build inclusive communities.
