Voices of ABLE2 Episode 4: Redefining Strength– Life After Disability

After a life-altering brain injury ended her Olympic equestrian career, Claire Smith was forced to confront profound changes to her body, identity, and sense of self. In this episode of Voices of ABLE2, Claire reflects on grief, adaptation, and the long process of coming to terms with life after disability—including later living with dystonia.

Drawing from her memoir Falling Into Now, Claire shares how resilience showed up in unexpected ways, how relationships shifted after her injury, and how learning to accommodate disability became part of everyday life. Her story challenges narrow ideas of strength and success, centering lived experience, choice, and the importance of community support in navigating life’s transitions.

Transcript available here.

Thank you to Voices of ABLE2's Presenting Sponsor Sequence Marketing, for helping us make inclusion heard. 

Do you have a story to share or know someone who should be featured? Contact us at [email protected].

Do you want to be the first to know about new podcast episodes and updates about ABLE2’s programs, services and events? Subscribe here. 

For far too long, decisions about accessibility, inclusion, and community design have been made without the people most impacted by those decisions. In this episode, disability advocate, entrepreneur, and speaker Michael Lifshitz joins us to discuss why lived experience must be at the center of every conversation about disability and why “Nothing About Us Without Us” remains a vital call to action today.

Drawing from his 50 years of lived experience with disability, Michael shares real-world examples of what happens when decisions are made without consulting the community — from inaccessible infrastructure to representation that exists only on paper. He also reveals the difference it makes when leaders genuinely listen, include, and act on the insights of people with disabilities.

This honest and insightful conversation explores barriers that still limit meaningful participation, the importance of representation in media and public life, and practical ways allies can amplify disability voices to drive real change.

Transcript available here.

Thank you to Voices of ABLE2's Presenting Sponsor Sequence Marketing, for helping us make inclusion heard. 

Do you have a story to share or know someone who should be featured? Contact us at [email protected].

Do you want to be the first to know about new podcast episodes and updates about ABLE2’s programs, services and events? Subscribe here. 

For many families, finding safe and affordable housing is a challenge — but for people with disabilities, the wait can stretch into years. Joelle and her mother Patti have been on Ottawa’s social housing waitlist for more than a decade. Ten years of searching, hoping, and wondering when Joelle will finally have the chance to live independently.

In this episode, Patti shares her fears about aging without knowing her daughter’s future is secure, while Joelle speaks openly about the frustration of being ready for independence but still waiting for a place to call her own. Their story sheds light on the harsh realities of being on a waitlist for a basic necessity such as housing— and how ABLE2’s Housing Support Program is helping them move toward stability, confidence, and hope.

Transcript available here. 

Thank you to Voices of ABLE2's Presenting Sponsor Sequence Marketing, for helping us make inclusion heard. 

Do you have a story to share or know someone who should be featured? Contact us at [email protected].

Do you want to be the first to know about new podcast episodes and updates about ABLE2’s programs, services and events? Subscribe here. 

Voices of ABLE2 Episode 1: The Ally That Changed Everything

For years, Michael lived with agoraphobia, or fear of open and crowded spaces, almost all his life. During the pandemic, he shares that these feelings of loneliness and isolation heightened even more, which shaped his daily reality. Isolated from the world and unsure if meaningful connection was still possible, everything changed when he met Mike through ABLE2’s Matching Program. 

In this powerful first episode, Michael and Mike share how their match grew into a friendship that helped Michael slowly step outside again, from short moments on his balcony to standing among 17,000 people at an Ottawa Senators game.

Transcript available here.

Thank you to Voices of ABLE2's Presenting Sponsor Sequence Marketing, for helping us make inclusion heard. 

Do you have a story to share or know someone who should be featured? Contact us at [email protected].

Do you want to be the first to know about new podcast episodes and updates about ABLE2’s programs, services and events? Subscribe here. 

Voices of ABLE2 Pilot Episode: Amplifying Voices with Sequence Marketing

Welcome to the pilot episode of Voices of ABLE2, featuring powerful, real conversations about disability, inclusion, and community. 

Host Emelou Porquez sits down with Veronique Soucy, agency principal at Sequence Marketing, to explore the deep partnership between ABLE2 and Sequence Marketing, the story behind ABLE2’s impactful rebrand, and the shared commitment to inclusion and community empowerment.

In this heartfelt conversation, Vero shares how Sequence Marketing became a champion for ABLE2’s mission, the creative journey of renaming Citizen Advocacy to ABLE2, and why giving people a voice through storytelling is so powerful. Tune in to hear how collaboration, compassion, and creativity come together to make inclusion heard. 

Transcript available here. 

Thank you to Voices of ABLE2's Presenting Sponsor Sequence Marketing, for helping us make inclusion heard. 

Do you have a story to share or know someone who should be featured? Contact us at [email protected].

Do you want to be the first to know about new podcast episodes and updates about ABLE2’s programs, services and events? Subscribe here.