Employees, self-employed workers, volunteers, and business owners in BC are urged to apply

BURNABY, British Columbia, October 2, 2017 – Programs are currently in place to assist with funding assistive technology for people who are experiencing a barrier in the workplace due to a disability, an injury, or a chronic medical condition such as back, neck, and/or shoulder pain or carpal tunnel syndrome. Employees and employers are urged to take advantage of them. Approximately 550,000 British Columbians identify as having a disability and over 80% of them use some kind of aid or assistive device on a daily basis.

The Neil Squire Society operates the Province of British Columbia’s Technology@Work program that provides people with disabilities access to assistive technologies they need for employment, often at no cost to the client. Last year, the Technology@Work program served 964 clients. The program is available to employees, self-employed workers, volunteers, and business owners in BC.

Jodi Reid, a Quality Assurance Coordinator with the YMCA in Penticton (new window), began experiencing sciatica flare-ups from sitting for long periods of time at work. Stiffness in her back resulted in migraines. “They were getting so bad, I would miss days. I used up all my sick time and still had to take time off with no pay,” shares Jodi.

Her organization wanted to help and purchased standing desk converters, however, with a staff of 26, they could not afford one for everyone, and employees like Jodi had to share the three they purchased.

With the pain increasingly affecting her ability to work, she needed a permanent solution.

With the help of her employer and Technology@Work funding, she was able to get a sit/stand desk, an ergonomic chair, a vertical mouse, a keyboard, and a monitor arm. Once her workstation had been assembled, a Neil Squire Society occupational therapist showed her how to use her equipment at her workplace in Penticton.

“Since then, I have noticed a dramatic decrease in my sciatica and migraines, it’s been amazing. It actually allows me to do more work,” Jodi explains. “And it was something I wouldn’t have been able to afford on my own. So I am really grateful that this program exists.”

Technology@Work is available to employees, self-employed workers, volunteers, and business owners in British Columbia. For more information and to find out about eligibility, please call 1.844.453.5506 or visit www.BCTechAtWork.ca.

“[It] makes me a better worker and happier,” she concludes. “And it was something I wouldn’t have been able to afford on my own. So I am really grateful that this program exists.”

– Ends –

About Neil Squire Society

“We use Technology, Knowledge, and Passion to Empower Canadians with Disabilities.” The Neil Squire Society is the only national not-for-profit organization in Canada that has for over thirty years empowered Canadians with disabilities through the use of computer-based assistive technologies, research and development, and various employment programs. Through our work, we help our clients remove barriers so that they can live independent lives and become active members of the workplace and our society. Specializing in education and workplace empowerment, the Society has served over 35,000 people since 1984.

For further information, please contact:

Suzanne Wiens
604.473.9363
suzannew@neilsquire.ca

Distribution of this press release was generously donated by Marketwired (new window).