Celebrating 65 Years of Community Inclusion

The Comox Valley will come together to celebrate 65 years of breaking barriers and creating community inclusion on June 24th, as the Beaufort Association for Inclusion in Action hosts its milestone anniversary celebration at 40 Knots Winery from 6:30 to 8:30 PM.

June 24th is an opportunity to celebrate all the organizations and individuals who have worked to make community inclusion possible. Members of the public can join-in by purchasing a $25 ticket through Beaufort Associations’ website: https://beaufortassociation.ca; Eventbrite: https://beaufortassociation.eventbrite.ca, or at their location, Beaufort Association for Inclusion 495 6th Street Courtenay.

Until the mid 1950s and early 1960s, children and adults labeled as the “mentally handicapped” were often put in institutions and forgotten. 65 years ago, a small group of Comox Valley parents, teachers, and friends gathered with a clear goal to incorporate a Society to end the practice of institutionalization and provide local, supportive services for individuals and their families.

June 28, 1960, the Society incorporated as the Comox Valley Association for Mentally Handicapped Children to promote education and a better understanding by the general public of handicapped children and of – trigger warning, mental retardation. The Society’s name change to Beaufort Association for Inclusion in Action reflects how society has embraced people with diverse abilities and how barriers to acceptance and inclusion in community life have been broken.

The 1960s were a pivotal decade for disability organizing and advocacy in British Columbia. Parent-led organizations like Beaufort and the Association for Retarded Children of B.C. were founded. Spurred by the exclusion of children with intellectual disabilities from public schools, they began to form networks, pool resources, and create advocacy strategies. Their efforts led to increased awareness and gradual changes in school policies and the practice of segregating people with disabilities. They promoted the idea that people with disabilities should live, learn, and participate in their communities, influencing future policy and service delivery. The broader civil rights movement of the era inspired disability advocates in B.C. to push for equal rights and opportunities, connecting the struggle for disability rights to wider social justice movements.

Beaufort Association for Inclusion is the Comox Valley’s longest running service provider of day programs for adults with developmental disabilities. Other service providers such as the Comox Valley Child Development Association, Satori Lifestyle Resources and Friends of L’Arche Comox Valley also formed in the decades thereafter embracing the need for change, acceptance and inclusion.

Comox Valley, let’s come together to honour the past, celebrate the present, and toast to a future where everyone belongs. There will be 3 exceptional bands – Mama’Sikai, Island Time and headliner, Alick Mac. Phat Parrot food, 40 Knots wine, cider, mocktails for purchase, and a 50/50 draw.