Transcription for DiverseCity Video Featuring David Meyers

My name is David Meyers.  I'm the Manager of Integrated Programs at Birchmount Bluffs Neighbourhood Centre.  We have programs for preschool to seniors, and the program I manage is for people with disabilities.  Our approach really is that leadership should be shared here.  It should be collaborative, participatory, so everyone has a voice, everyone has something to offer.

I grew up in the Caribbean, Trinidad, a very traditional, hierarchical sort of culture, and so I grew up with a lot of leaders who were very authoritarian leaders.  And I thought, "When I grow up I don't want to be that kind of leader", so I wanted to be someone who actually supported other people.

I acquired a disability in my early twenties, due to an injury.  The trajectory of my life changed quite a bit.  I had to leave the work force after a few years and focus on really trying to rehab and manage my disability.  And then at some point later on I focused on reentry into the work force, and among the places I applied to was Birchmount here.  And at the time the Board was very strong on inclusion and trying to really be more representative of the communities they served, and one of those sectors was the disability sector.

I don't see a lot of faces that are similar to mine.  The disability sector lacks a lot of people of color who are in a leadership position.  When we did a partnership with ERDCO we had a speaker's bureau training program and people learned how to tell their stories.  We had media trainers coming in to teach them how to share your stories with impact.  And some of those went on to do media stories in The Star and other places.  And there's nothing like hearing a story told emotionally by someone who's lived that experience.

Well, there's still just the weight of all the systemic and attitudinal barriers that still exist.  I mean, you know, you want to build a society inclusive of people with disabilities, and inclusive of people of color and immigrants, and...  It looks good on paper, but you still have to really beat down some doors and you still have to get that message out, and it's still a struggle.  As somebody with a disability I'm so often aware that people I encounter see the chair before they see me, which is part of the story for people we work with.  You know, people see the chair, they see the disability, and they don't see the spirit and the person who has something to contribute.  So you always have to be aware of that when you're doing the work, really authentically, you know, and then make the case for equity.  You know, it's not about the disability, it's about making a path for people to have successful journeys through life.