Outlook on Radio Western

We’ve been back, doing Outlook in studio for the fourth quarter of the year, with our final official live episode rounding out these twelve months, second year with COVID-19 in our lives. This one was a musical themed episode to finish off 2021 in style and in creative expression, after recently Brian having Kerry on his music show Chin Music, from music to advocacy with songs from Ski Patrol and recent guest Heather Hutchison.

We review some of what Outlook got up to in 2021, (year of the vaccine rollout) including the first attempt at live music to begin the year, last January, with Sky Mundell playing his soothing piano sounds to help us celebrate 100 episodes of this show which we officially marked back in March with our 100 Episode Spectacular and marking the podcast that preceded this one, Ketchup On Pancakes which turned five back during the summer. We had family time with our older siblings, on Family Day, going on to celebrate all April long with other blind sibling pairs like us, the month of National Siblings Day. And we were the hosts of the first all virtual national Canadian Federation of the Blind Convention, an event months in the prepping and then we gathered all the highlights into a two part convention special.

This year was the year of There Plant Eyes on Outlook, a book released on June 1 and led to Kerry doing an interview with the author, M. Leona Godin, which was published in print on The Rumpus literary journal back from August. (Find multiple episodes of Outlook involving There Plant Eyes discussions.)

This year we spoke about deaf-blindness, about Indigenous disability issues with the CEO of the British Columbia Aboriginal Network On Disability Society (BCANDS), and we spoke with friends, both new and old, to share their outlooks too. What a year, from book reviews to the special accessible Christmas card Kerry received from her yoga teacher to cap it all off.

Outlook in 2021 meant exploring tough topics, strongly needing attention, such as the CNIB’s 100 year monopoly here in Canada, sexual and emotional abuse and misconduct in blindness orgs and at related events and training centres, and mental health and suicide. (More hard but necessary subject explorations to come next year.)

With 45 new episodes this year and 39 guest interviews, we finish 2021 on episode 140 as we produce our wrap up show before a much needed break and we’re tying up loose ends, with a great big Christmas beau.

Outlook wishing for loads of peace and joy for our listeners, over the holidays and into the new year. See you again, for all new shows, in 2022.

Music played in this episode includes “Reason To Stay” by Heather Hutchison who you can listen to and support here:

https://heatherhutchison.bandcamp.com

“Lighting Up A Dark Season” by Ski Patrol available here:

http://soundcloud.com/skipatrolmusic/ski-patrol-lighting-up-a-dark-season

And listen to Kerry's recent appearance on Brian's show Chin Music:

https://www.mixcloud.com/chrwchinmusic/chin-music-2021-12-17-guest-request-sets-kerry-kijewski/

Recently, after Becoming Helen Keller on PBS American Masters aired for October’s Disability Employment Awareness Month, we asked for thoughts (from sighted and blind friends alike) on Facebook on what they grew up hearing and learning about her and one local friend had a rather intense response; he’s not alone amongst blind people either by the way. Chris commented: “It saddens me that as a community, we don't have any other role models to talk about besides Helen bloody Keller.”

We at Outlook propose that this is not Keller’s fault but many people with disabilities such as blindness/deafness/or deaf-blindness feel similarly to Chris.

As a writer and activist, she did speak out more than many women and other white people of her time when, as a female with disabilities, it would have been so easy for her to stay hidden and quiet on the major issues of the day. So while those were different times in so many ways, in science and technology, we’re still trying to find our voices and be heard in the frenzied chaos of the 21st century.

We wanted to address the woman behind the image that history, media, and popular culture haven’t let be who she truly was, a person with strong convictions and imperfections all at the same time, rather than the virginal, angelic miracle she’s been known as for nearly 150 years.

This show is for those who missed the documentary or if you haven’t seen “The Miracle Worker” or or if you have and you know nothing of her life after age eight - we share highlights from the PBS documentary including the words of Helen herself (in quotes and a recording of her actual voice) and a list of some of the controversial events and stances from her lifetime and her independent perspective and spirit along with our sibling take on who she was and what she meant, to those in her lifetime and in ours.

We are giving Helen Keller her proper dues so we can move forward to sharing the outlooks of a more diverse community of voices in episodes of our show to come.

For more on Becoming Helen Keller, full transcript from the documentary and lists of all those involved in making it accessible, go here:

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/becoming-helen-keller-full-episode-with-extra-accessibility-features/18856/

Over 1 billion people, or approximately 15 percent of the world’s population, have disabilities. While no global data exists regarding indigenous persons with disabilities, available statistics show that indigenous peoples are disproportionately likely to experience disability in comparison to the general population. Indigenous persons with disabilities often experience multiple forms of discrimination and face barriers to the full enjoyment of their rights, based on their indigenous status and also on disability.

In Canada, around 22 percent of the population have disabilities and around 80 percent of us will have a disability at some point and, even if you don’t identify as having one now, disability is the one minority you (or a loved one) can easily become a part of. Indigenous people are living with the continued results of this country’s history and present with colonialism, discrimination and prejudice which continues to touch First Nations, Metis, and Inuit communities yet today. This is one thing, but add disability to the mix and the barriers only pile on from there.

The British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society (BCANDS) filled the need, in the 203 First Nations communities in British Columbia for more assistance and awareness. They’ve been addressing the needs of many on the unique barriers Indigenous peoples are up against in Canada and around the world by starting provincially. In 2015 with designating November as Indigenous Disability Awareness Month (IDAm) and they are making a difference and growing the reach of it all.

This week on a stripped down Outlook with no theme music, we speak with BCAND’s CEO, Neil Belanger about how they’ve gone from provincial, to bringing other provinces into the fold, and are even now hearing from other Indigenous communities in places like New Zealand and the Maori peoples. This organization serves Indigenous clients with disabilities at all ages, from students needing the technology to find success in education and employment to the financial needs around Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSP’s) and other things like housing.

We speak with Belanger about how BCANDS got started, the kinds of supports they offer, and how they are leading the way with human rights for Indigenous people with disabilities by making connections with communities and fostering partnerships with those with disabilities and with allies alike because everyone has a role to play here, for a better reality in the current moment and into the future.

Which additional provinces, cities, or people have stepped up and gotten involved? What is Jordan’s Principle and how does it relate to what we’re talking about on the show this week? How has the pandemic affected the Indigenous communities this organization serves?

To learn more on all this and about things in this country, on this land, and how that expands into a greater movement around the world, check out this episode, in the glow of December 3, United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities. . The BCANDS celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2021 and they offer an individualized approach to the diversity of need that exists. Neil says "we’re often so reactive rather than proactive and change must include us all".

Indigenous peoples deal with so many things including around pipelines and the environment, residential schools, and lack of safe drinking water access and disability doesn’t get enough attention, though it’s intertwined with all these things, and this makes BCANDS an important resource doing necessary work. For more information, go to their website:

http://www.bcands.bc.ca

Peter Field has degrees in journalism and English, has worked in government, and is on the board of the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians (AEBC), just one of multiple organizations offering advocacy and support to Canadians who are blind. He grew up in the Toronto area but has retired to British Columbia, just in time for the extreme rain and flooding and “atmospheric river phenomenon” that’s been taking place this fall on the west coast. Not to mention his southwestern Ontario connection, right along with us and our family, he’s got his own family ties to a place called Tavistock we know well.

This week on Outlook, we speak with Peter about the three-pronged project he’s involved in known as the Pandora Project. He joins us to share about the three components: a book on the history of blindness in this country, the Triple Vision podcast sharing diverse perspectives from the past, present, and future, and educational materials for Canadian children and students to learn about the role blind people have occupied in society.

Things we discuss in this episode include Peter’s years of transition as a teenager who was integrated and who rapidly became blind while trying to manage as a young person beginning his life, on his spotty interactions with other blind people (how to find mentors and friends and allies along the way) until later on in his life, and how he eventually came together with four other people (with even a Western University connection in there somewhere) to make the Pandora Project a reality.

Questions we pose: How do we find community and establish pride in ourselves and fight off eternalized ableism? How do we best bring people along who may be isolated or overwhelmed? And how do we best tell an authentic history of blindness and disability to focus on greater diversity?

As is said, once you open Pandora’s box, there’s no stuffing back in all that has sprung from said box. This is no different when it comes to the history of blindness in Canada, of our past, present, and future and is what a team of colleagues, friends, and advocates (including Peter Field) have set out to explore.

Some of the same things, these are why we do this podcast, as two blind siblings in Canada and we at Outlook On Radio Western think it’s about time.

Check out the Triple Vision podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/triple-vision/id1589475286

And learn more about Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians on their official website:

http://www.blindcanadians.ca/

Content Warning: This episode of Outlook On Radio Western contains discussions of major depression and talk of suicide. We at Outlook believe these things need to be talked about more, but wish to remain sensitive to possible triggers others may have.

It’s where the ocean meets the sand, where a total lack of control (like during a pandemic) can lead to a moment of clarity and the daily (or overnight) reminders of what truly matters.

This week on Outlook we speak with singer/song writer/musician/author Heather Hutchison about her book “Holding On By Letting Go: A Memoir”.

The journey of one’s blindness is different for everyone, with such varied factors, but this is a story of where one person’s feelings about themselves as being blind, being different than other people, where that intersects with their experiences with anxiety, depression, and suicide.

In the pages of this poignant memoir on mental illness, disability, and mental health and finding one’s purpose, Hutchison shares on her early experiences trying to fit in, in her discovery of her gifts and outlets through music and its associated communities, and following her on her travels to Peru for one year and back to Canada again.

From a hurtful experience on a playground slide at age five to the insensitive comment of an airport official which reminded her why she’d left Canada to begin with. On seeing red, on tipping points and moments of clarity, “Holding On By Letting Go” is an honest revealing look into the work required for a life well lived. With Heather, we talk bullying, the only one guide dog club, and on removing the stigma of a psych ward by sharing her diary of the time she spent in one in the middle of a pandemic.

Find links to Heather’s book, music, and more on her website:

https://heather-hutchison.com

Ah, the fun of live radio. No, seriously.

The original plan was to have Peter Field on live, a recent acquaintance who had reached out to us for a change, but the unexpected extreme weather, the heavy rains and flooding on the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, where Peter is located, was hit with this dramatic November weather, making connecting over Zoom to do a live interview impossible.

This is why a backup plan is always needed, the excitement of live radio, and so though Brian and the station manager made a nice effort to get a clear line of communication going, it wasn’t meant to be; this time.

So while Brian and Station Manager Tim worked on things in the background for the first several minutes, co-host/sister Kerry kept the live show going, hinting on the upcoming rescheduling of an interview with Peter Field and about something known as The Pandora Project and the Triple Vision podcast, which we’ll hear more about from Peter himself in an episode in a few weeks.

When Brian returns to the mic, We once more revisit the fact that blindness history in Canada is not as well documented and understood as one might think, a problem we see Americans like The Blind History Lady have addressed, in an Outlook from last year, but that Canada has our own unique history with blindness and disability in this country and we are extremely interested in looking into it further. It is for blind Canadians, such as ourselves, to learn our history, but also that sighted Canadians have no idea either.

We talk Diabetes Awareness and the location of Banting House, the residence of the main name in the discovery of insulin to treat otherwise deadly type one diabetes, often a paediatric diagnosis. Kerry wanted to come to London to check out an open house at the Banting Museum on Diabetes Awareness Day, but we discuss how sometimes (even with our positive philosophy of blindness), it can still pose inconveniences like not having access to our own vehicle, when we only want to zip over to a nearby city for a few hours.

November is halfway done and another reminder that November is National Indigenous Disability Awareness Month and Remembrance Day got us thinking. We read, together, a post from social media about the injustices Indigenous veterans faced after fighting for Canada in both World Wars. Some, perhaps, returned from the fighting without their sight. Our overall mission with this show is to put the attention back on forgotten stories and viewpoints, to recognize the prejudices and injustices and discrimination Indigenous peoples experienced or are experiencing, during times of war and also times of peace. With things like the Indian Act and the CRPD (the Charter for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities), we are expecting Canada and our government to do more and do better.

Ending on a possibly better note of future progress, we wrap up this one with Kerry sharing about the OrCam, a nifty little assistive tech device she’s been loaned and the thoughtful and accessible piece of art a friend made for her, and Brian rounds it all off with a story of a sighted cane and travel skills instructor he had during his high school years who works at the school for the blind in Brantford and who lost sight himself in recent years. Anyone can end up losing the sight they once had which we talk about, not to scare people out of their wits, but to show why the things we talk about on Outlook are applicable to anyone because disability is a minority anyone can join at any age.

We’re told progress takes time, but for many of us, this is our life and we can’t afford to sit on our hands and wait for the slow march of progress. Join us for another Outlook On Radio Western as we show you why that’s the case.

Our friend Maxwell Ivey from a few episodes back has introduced us to this week’s special guest for Outlook and we’re talking art and accessibility with this ally. Anthony Saldana has never been to Canada before, but would like to come and bring his documentary with him: Straight Off the Canvas.

Saldana joins us, on Outlook today, from Queens New York where he got his Bachelor’s from Queens College. He was in an art gallery one day when he began to wonder how people who are blind appreciate art, visual art amongst other forms. He decided to do some research into this question and the idea for this documentary began to take shape.

It’s been a long process, over the last ten or so years, but luckily this wasn’t his first, but would be his Master’s Thesis.

Anthony then reached out to an organization called Art Beyond Sight, a nonprofit which we’ll include at the end of these show notes.

In Straight Off the Canvas, Saldana features two low vision/blind art teachers (Elizabeth Castallano and Jessica Jones), with several students including those at the Lavelle School for the Blind in Bronx New York. Throughout this documentary, they were being followed all the way through, as the art evolved starting with the student’s concepts in the fall, returning months later, showing off their art projects at an art exhibition at the end of the year.

The teachers are featured, but really it’s the kids that end up stealing the show. This film is a beautiful display of the value art can bring to our lives, a universal desire to create something, the perfect thing to focus on when the pandemic hit.

Anthony directs, interviews the subjects, and even adds audio description for blind viewers, but…for him…this film’s also really been a “Labor of love.”

Blind people, explaining art and the visions they have for it, along with an art therapist featured, showing off the power of art to transform lives of all children and adults, with or without seeing it with the eyes.

We discuss what it takes to be in the entertainment industry, some of the success of the film so far which includes multiple awards and virtual and in-person screenings, and next Anthony will be showing the documentary at the upcoming Canadian Society for Education through Art conference, November 13th and 14th:

https://csea-scea.ourconference.ca

Check out updates on the progress going forward by following along on Twitter: @StraightCanvas

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/straightcanvas

And check out nonprofit Art Beyond Sight for how to make more artistic spaces accessible for all:

http://www.artbeyondsight.org/index.php

We’re back in studio, where a few hiccups happened with this one because things sometimes happen when live, but it’s a new month, the month of November, and it’s Indigenous Disability Awareness Month (IDAM).

Also, Radio Western just celebrated forty years on the FM dial, and they were broadcasting live over the weekend. Both of us didn’t make it and we explain why, but we also wish CHRW Radio Western a happy birthday/anniversary and acknowledge the positive influence it, as a community/university radio station, has on the local London community. And now, with the Internet, its reach is global. We at Outlook owe them bigtime for giving us a platform to speak to listeners about our perspectives as Canadians who are blind, along with sharing outlooks from as many others as possible with those with disabilities such as blindness.

On this week’s episode, we talk Halloween and tactile costumes, podcast Monday’s and being stuck in a 90s time warp, lack of sports for blind students who are integrated and a mention of goalball (the Quidditch of the blindness adaptive sports) though played firmly on the ground/no flying involved, and Brian speaks about his newly found hobby of playing fantasy hockey with a group of guys and the accessibility of the app.

And finally, Brian attended most of the 2021 Connecting the Dots CNIB Conference, while Kerry didn’t and kind of regretted it (fomo) fear of missing out. This year had sessions and topics such as coding, micro certificates/micro credentials, and the initial rollout of Lego Braille Bricks, which we’d love to have access to, but currently only places such as schools have them. Lego is one of those things that’s always been more of an accessible toy/game for us and here’s to any integration of products, accessible for all, inclusive product production to becoming the norm one day.

A big theme throughout the conference was mentorship, but we discuss how, until these last four years or so, both of us always had each other. We’ve always just been siblings with a shared life outlook and since we had each other to lean on growing up, we really didn’t see the need for many more mentors, but most people don’t have another blind sibling and children, young people, and those of us at any age can always use more mentorship. This year’s Connecting the Dots keynote speaker was Paralympian Megan Mahon, born in northern Ontario but now living in Alberta and working at the Canadian National Institute For The Blind there, Lead Children’s and Youth Programming which is important for career development and improving employment for the blind.

It was the appearance, at the end of day one of Connecting the Dots, where CNIB’s President and CEO John Rafferty spoke. He said very little, we wonder and we ponder why he didn’t say more, but we have a problem with the CEO of the CNIB being sighted and making so much off the lives of blind Canadians in the first place; at least they have a few women (blind) near the top, in positions of power with him which is something.

And so, as this year enters its second to last month and we turn \the clocks back again here, we review recent Outlooks and give a brief summary of what we’re planning, for both these final months of 2021 (art education for children who are blind/book review/finding community), and for 2022, here before we all know it.

So that’s it for episode 133(Harry Potter references included) where we discussed a bit of Radio Western history and you can find more about that here:

https://radiowestern.ca/about/history

Stuck in the 90’s by Moxy Fruvous:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1W80EOOMEo

We met old friend Emily Trepanier, now aka Starfish, as children, at a camp for the blind in Ontario. Kerry met Maxwell Ivey, now known as The Blind Blogger, online, through a LinkedIn community for writers and bloggers in 2014 and this is his full premier on our show. And how did this fellow Ontario friend/now a BC newcomer and a Texan/prior carnival worker and amusement park ride broker connect in the first place? They met, both participating in something along the lines of Shark Tank or Dragon’s Den for blind entrepreneurs and dreamers of all kinds. Despite both making it to the semi final round of the Holman Prize competition, they both did not win the ultimate prize. And yet, they may just have found something to be just as beneficial for them both.

On this week’s episode, we speak with Emily and Max about how they connected and why, more on the What’s Your Excuse network and what the hope is with that, and Emily shares more on her new podcast on the network, Shredding For Gold, a show about her journey to compete in the Winter Paralympics as a visually impaired snowboarder.

Max has always loved a challenge and some of the things he hopes to do with the WYExcuse network are, for hosts, to give a purpose, to teach marketable employment skills (people with disabilities have barriers to this), and to have a platform or can work to create one, to turn a podcast into a business or tool for one.

Emily explains more about Para snowboarding being added in 2014, while her particular classification (visually impaired) is not yet, though she is in for the fight to get it included with the International Paralympic Committee. She hints at more in the works, can’t say more right now, but, nonetheless, , swears that exciting things are happening in the sport.

Max is already the host of the What’s Your Excuse Show and now, Emily is the brand new host of what she’s named Shredding For Gold, a podcast on her life and goals and activities while training as a snowboarder. As well, with this show she hopes to highlight the work of others in the adaptive sports arena, along with coaches and trainers from across Canada and internationally and to highlight her sport and its inclusion in the Paralympic Games by featuring the hard work of others, both athletes and supporters, with the ultimate goal of creating more awareness of adaptive sports and her love of snowboarding.

So thanks to a blind traveler, adventurer, and dreamer from the distant past, James Holman (1786-1857), the teaming up of Maxwell and Emily is paying off for them both in the 21st century. She may be a Canadian who is not so smooth on skates, but she’s a pro, at this point, on skis and her board. Along with Max’s help, it’s all downhill for Emily now. And that’s a good thing.

You can find the What’s Your Excuse Network and links to both Emily’s Shredding For Gold podcast and Max’s What's Your Excuse? Show here:

https://wyexcuse.com/shows/

(also available on Apple and other podcast platforms)

Check out Emily’s former appearance on Outlook from back in September of 2019:

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/outlook-2019-09-02-team-starfish-feat-future-paralympian/id1527876739?i=1000488226516

And to learn more on who James Holman was:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Holman

“Those who expect to reap the benefits of freedom must undergo the fatigues of supporting it.” —Thomas Paine, 1777

We’re back, for round two, back in studio.

We’re in person again for our final live show of October and, when live, you never know what will happen on air.

We talk days of importance and if there’s a point to it. Days, weeks, months: Disability Employment Awareness Month (DEAM), National Day of Action For Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, World Sight Day, White Cane Safety Day/White Cane Awareness Day/White Cane Day.

Eye health is important, but as blind people celebrate it too and the problem of no sight bumps up against the pride we’re trying to feel and show to ourselves and others. Blindness is a spectrum, shades of grey from low vision to totally blind. More resources for blind people to be successful and happy is where we on Outlook stand.

From World Sight Day to White Cane Day. We talk orientation and mobility, stairs vs elevator, and backtracking and accepting assistance. Fitting in vs finding our way. It’s about finding the focus and figuring it out. We discuss tips we’d give to anyone assisting us and helpful apps we can access.

From apps to more low tech tools for independence. We talk unloading dishes from the dishwasher and sorting and washing towels. It’s the mystery of blindness demystified. Finding meaning in the mundane.

Brian will be attending the CNIB’s Connecting The Dots conference this month, to see what they have to offer, and Kerry isn’t happy with them lately and will not be going, but talks her frustration with that organization’s lack of care with their braille translation/production. What makes a book accessible? The CNIB is no longer offering this though they claim they are. Low quality braille is all they offer now.

Lately we’ve been talking about advocacy fatigue. Kerry just the other day attended something fun and positive, something promoting audio description, the Luminato Festival, an arts and culture festival in Toronto. Sometimes we need a break from the advocacy, though advocacy can come through art. We’re still here because it does matter and it’s the small price paid for living as white settlers on this land, privileged as we are, in Canada.

For more info on a few of the things mentioned in this episode, for the Ontario Disability Employment Network (ODEN) and Luminato Festival Toronto and the podcast Talk Description To Me, you can check out:

https://www.odenetwork.com

https://luminatofestival.com

https://talkdescriptiontome.buzzsprout.com