By Justine Kelsie

Spinal Cord Injury Regional Coordinator says organization could use more staff, funds

Aug 18, 2018 | 7:40 AM

An annual inititiave that helps show the struggles of people in wheelchairs had to be cancelled this year. With planning and coordinating volunteers for another important fundraiser, Regional Coordinator for Spinal Cord Injury Alberta Mieke de Groot says there wasn’t time to continue Chairleaders this year.
 
Almost 50 per cent of her time is focused on client services and she covers an area from around High Level through to Grande Cache.
 
“In May, I was coordinating my volunteers for the Rotary Club Cash and Camping Lotty. It involves a lot of one person work and because I don’t have any volunteers to help me with that coordination, I had to do it myself. That comes out of my community development time,” said de Groot.
 
The coordinator explains that a lot of the outlying areas get missed and with only one person, it is hard to stay connected with people in rural areas.
 
“To build relationships with communities outside of your hometown community, takes a lot of work and energy,” she said.
 
She is looking forward to the regional bus pilot being launched in the county as it will help connect people with the bigger centres.
 
When she took on the position the organization had three employees and she stresses the need for more. With loss of some funding, that number has dwindled down to one, just de Groot. According to her, there is enough work for a minimum of two people and would would like to see another person added in the future.
 
Despite the challenges, de Groot is excited about some highlights from the year. These include the new Executive Director for the Disabled Transportation Society and his vision.
 
“Listening to his understanding of the situation and what his vision in making Grande Prairie more accessible in every regard. Including recreation and leisure time, not just focusing in on one or two key areas is very exciting,” she said. 
 
A team of people with disabilities were also able to represent themselves in a league at Bowling Stones, a bowling alley in Grande Prairie, another highlight of the year for the coordinator.
 
She is also part of the Accessibility Advisory Committee and she says it continues to thrive with the creation of a community mobility plan. The group holds two quarterly meetings after being created in 2013. The next meeting is Septmeber 5.