A Dose Of Reality

I really do not think that Canadians would be too surprised to hear me say the following: When it comes to providing services to persons with special needs, the majority of agencies that say they do fall terribly short. What would be a shock to me is if Canadians were to think that they actually did. In retrospect, this is not just a Canadian problem; it seems to be a problem worldwide. For purposes of this editorial, I will limit my focus to those agencies in Canada that promote services for blind and visually impaired persons or as they say, the sight impaired. It appears that one of the major stumbling blocks for these agencies is their attitude and by this I mean: the way they look at the world as a whole.

First off, many of these agencies are woefully short when it comes to their professionalism. So many times, they come up short when it comes to being able to deal with the rest of the world in a professional manner. They treat their clients with little or no respect, they view their clients as dependents rather than as Human Beings, and for some hidden reason, they truly believe that they should be the spokes persons when it comes to addressing the needs and welfare of their clients to others.

Second, they do very little to promote employability of their clients. A prime example is the CNIB's behaviour in recent times. According to our panel, the CNIB never really got going when it came to committing itself to promoting employment services to its clients. I will be fair though in saying that over the years I did come across some very dedicated staff at the CNIB who were truly committed and dedicated to fostering employment services to their clients but that's where it ended because there did not seem to be any support from the top echelons.

Third and this one often boggles many minds, the attitude barrier. Our panel is extremely emphatic in its belief that one of the major reasons for the problems facing these agencies is they themselves. So often they are seen to shoot themselves in the foot because of their attitudes. Their attitudes towards their clients, towards their funders, and even towards their own volunteers and staff. Sounds like a mouthful but I'll give you the verdict from our panel as follows:

Data collected from volunteers, past and present staff members, and from many mainstream Canadians reveal the following highlights. Sight impaired staff members at these agencies are often guilty of not treating fellow sight impaired persons with much respect. The professionalism of these agencies towards others is much lacking. These agencies are often guilty of not treating their volunteers with much respect. Often time they fail to take advantage of what their volunteers are offering. They use volunteers to provide services that sight impaired persons can provide just as well. A common story that is often told is that of a volunteer who has graciously put their name in for volunteering and then they are either left to wait for months and even years at a time before being contacted or in many cases they are never contacted. Many of these agencies do not seem to have any idea when it comes to how to run their own businesses. They often miss the boat when it comes to being able to create and develop business opportunities.

So what does our esteemed panel recommend? A crash course for the staff of these agencies in subjects that cover; professionalism, business conduct guidelines, and business planning and development. Finally, a healthy dose of reality. I'm Donna J Jodhan your free lance writer and reporter wishing you a terrific day.

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