Broadway Connection is a unique therapeutic peer to peer self-help group for disabled adults that has been funded by Vancouver Coastal Health for twenty-five years. It helps keep disabled adults from isolation and the resulting depression and pain. It is successful because it is unique and specifically designed for people with disabilities. It is an accessible, welcoming and inclusive space and has adaptive equipment that facilitates full participation. It is one of a kind in Vancouver, and there are no others like it.
Vancouver Coastal Health has notified participants and Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House that they will stop funding this vital programme as of October 29, 2010. In the Legislative Assembly of BC debate on May 26, 2010, Minister of Health, Kevin Falcon said, "(the health authority) is actually going to take the dollars, (and) put them into enhanced rehabilitation services for those folks that allow them to be better integrated in the broader community." However, there are abundant examples from the participants of Broadway Connection that prove that Broadway Connection already provides rehabilitation that makes it possible for the disabled participants to connect better in the broader community.
As stated in an article in the Vancouver Courier, May 26, 2010, Vancouver Coastal Health indicates that the Broadway Connections program "guiding ideas were outdated, and separated adults with disabilities from the rest of society. He [Gavin Wilson, VCH, Public Affairs] said a recreational therapist was being hired to help the physically challenged adults find new programs based on their interests." Broadway Connections participants do not feel that the alternatives proposed by Vancouver Coastal Health will suit their needs and do not agree that the alternative represents "best practices" as suggested by Ministry of Health, Kevin Falcon and Vancouver Coastal Health.
