A Queer Disability

My friend applied for a job which she was qualified, capable and willing to do but for some reason was passed over only when it appears her employer found out her sexual orientation.

Being homosexual has many limitations much like those of the disabled. Before 1973 homosexuality, gay, lesbians, and queers was classified as a disorder (Straka, SWRK 1310, Oct. 20, 2010).  Although the physically disabled are just like any one of us, society seems to put forth many limitations, weaknesses and obstacles that people without disabilities do not realize. I believe these limitations are seen and experienced in much the same way as in the queer/homosexual community. Today it appears there are growing rates of homosexuality across cultures; however, many homosexuals are still faced with challenges and barriers in their everyday lives as they were years ago.

Although same sex marriages were legally passed as of July 20^th, 2005. Canada is still only the 4^th country in the world to legalize gay marriages http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_Canada. Many homosexuals in Canada still appear to compete with the judgment of family, friends and the people around them.  To this day barriers exist when it comes to housing, employment and memberships of organizations (Straka, SWRK 1310, Oct. 20, 2010). It is still difficult today for many homosexual people to find jobs because of their orientation and they often may not openly indicate their sexual preference. How they appear to the heterosexual community may continue to be a more significant barrier then those with other disabilities. I hope that in the near future ones sexual orientation will be more widely accepted and they will be given the same opportunity in our community and not treated as if it were a disability. We should all have the same opportunities, rights, freedom and are no longer criticized, characterized or limited by our identity. Just because we are unsure or do not understand does not mean we should pass judgments upon someone or something we should let each persons skills, abilities, and performance define them. 

-Autumn, B.

References

Straka, SWRK 1310, Oct. 20, 2010

Neo-liberal and Neo-conservative closely linked

Neo-conservatives view of looking after an individual in need or assistance is the responsibility of the person themselves or their personal support networks. Neo- conservative and neo-liberal are closely tied in the economic prespective where the market, business and contracts are the most important thing. Mallaly (2007)states that neo-liberals beliefs are that "classical liberals saw the state in negative terms as a threat to individual freedom and great inequalities in market power make one person's freedomanotherperson's oppression" (p. 92). Neo-liberals say that everyone has the same opportunities, but how are they attainable for some people, like people who have a physical disability for example do not choose to have a setback in life. A couple examples will be discussed below of how neo-liberals are only making living day to day more difficult and how income insecurity is common among these people. Whether you have travelled across the world to fight for your country and are now physically disabled or you need to continually prove that you have a physical disability, the neo-liberals seem to keep these people around the poverty line and it has to stop somewhere. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

Veterans are another example of victims of neo-liberalism. The new Veterans Charter states that "by 2013, the Canadian Forces (CF) expects to provide services and benefits to more than 63,000 CF veterans and still-serving members. Some of the "key features proposed in the new Charter is a broad package of ‘wellness’ services and programs. These include: Rehabilitation services, health benefits, job placement assistance, economic loss support, disability award, death benefit and family support." These programs would seem like a good idea but according to Major Mark Campbell, this is ‘a joke.’ Campbell said in a CTV interview in Winnipeg, Manitoba "why is a corporal who’s missing two legs entitled to $37,000 a year, and me as a major I’m entitled to $75,000 a year based on the 75 per cent insurance model. How is that right? It doesn’t matter if you’re a corporal or a major, you're missing your legs and that's the rest of your life." The army’s senior serving uniformed disabled member called the new Veterans Charter "a joke." Seems like giving these veterans a lump sum of money is only to shut them up and for neo-liberals, eligibility seems to be an excuse to cut people out of money that they deserved.

Looking at other provinces throughout Canada, Alberta has a program called Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH). The AISH program declaration states that AISH "provides financial and health-related assistance to eligible adults with a disability. The disability must be permanent and substantially limit the person’s ability to earn a living. AISH clients may also be eligible to receive supplemental assistance (a child benefit and personal benefits) through the AISH program." Again, the key word in AISH’s statement is ‘eligible.’ A case study was done by Malacrida and Duguay (2009) called ‘The AISH review is a big joke’: contradictions of policy participation and consultation in a neo-liberal context. In this study, it is discussed how "individuals are only eligible for AISH after exhausting all other options, including private insurers, the CPP and workers’ compensation programs (Alberta Seniors and Community Supports 2005a)." The main concern of people receiving disability benefits (who have no family or friends to look to and where it is physically impossible for these people to work) is that they are living below the poverty line from no fault of their own! These people need to continually prove that they fit into this ‘eligible’ category and this crosses the line of discrimination. This reflects neo-liberals obsession with cost reduction and Malacrida and Duguay (2009) found that through an AISH review that in 2004, the maximum level of benefits that could be collected per month was $850. It is also important to note that a main problem found in this study was how "it was common for the women to describe literally stumbling upon AISH as a support option, learning about AISH not from social workers or other agencies but from acquaintances or friends" (Malacrida and Duguay, 2009).

Okay, so while I have seen so many examples of how neo-liberals are not making the right choices for people with physical disabilities, worrying about depletion for future deserving citizens or using the sad excuse of being ‘ineligible‘, I have come across one example that touched my heart. That is people struggling with Multiple Sclerosis.  CTV news reported in November, 2009 that the main researcher, Dr. Paolo Zamboni (Italy) explained that "as the blood moves into the brain, pressure builds in the veins, forcing blood into the brain’s grey matter where it sets off a host of reactions, possibly explaining the symptoms of MS." Zamboni believed that "if key veins of MS patients were blocked, perhaps he could open them and restore normal blood flow?" This angioplasty surgery that unblocks narrowed veins is called liberation treatment. In June 2010, the Toronto Sun reported that the federal liberals were calling on the neo-conservatives to provide more funding for the costly treatment of liberation therapy. Kristy Duncan the MP for Etobicoke North and serves as the Liberal Party’s critic for Public Health, reported that "the province of Saskatchewan announced it will help pay for clinical trials of liberation treatment." I am quite impressed that since 1976, the liberal government has held a firm stance with future research for MS. Karen Blackford (1993) stated in the book Feminizing the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada that "the goal of finding a cure for MS drove all biomedical research directives until 1976. Finally, in that year, women with MS gained an unlikely ally in the Liberal federal government. The Ministry of Health insisted that federal research money, if allocated, must be used to seek improvements in the present life condition of persons with MS. In spite of strong protests from physicians within the MS Society of Canada, the government held firm" (MS Canada, 1976: 2). The neo-liberal government has continued to hold firm on this for 34 years.

In conclusion, neo-liberals main view is all about making the rich, richer and the poor, poorer and as we have seen throughout the last few paragraphs, the government has a tight hold on people when it involves money and anything in regards to the economic perspective. People living with a physical disability do not deserve to live below the poverty line and there needs to be equality.
　
　
References:

Blackford, Karen A.  (1993). Feminizing the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. Canadian Woman Studies, 13(4), 124-128.  Retrieved November 24, 2010, from CBCA Complete. (Document ID: 450273371).

Malacrida, C. & Duguay, S. (2009). ‘The AISH review is a big joke’: contradictions of policy participation and consultation in a neo-liberal context. Disability & Society, 24(1), 19-32. doi:10.1080/09687590802535360

Mullaly, R. (2007). The New Structural Social Work (3^{rd ed.).} Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press Canada.

Tiffany

You're responsible for yourself

Neo-conservatism is considered the ‘new’ form of conservatism. From the perspective of neo-conservatives, Mullaly states social justice is “based on the belief in individual responsibility. That is, every individual has a responsibility to look after him or herself” (2007, p. 78) “An exception to this rule is that if people are judged to be in difficulty through no fault of their own (I.e., disabled persons…) they may be eligible for some help through residual welfare system” (2007, p. 83). According to Baycrest “physical disabilities include minor difficulties moving or coordinating a part of the body, muscle weakness, tremors and in extreme cases, paralysis in one or more parts of the body. Physical disabilities can be congenital, such as Muscular Dystrophy; or acquired, such as tendonitis. Physical disabilities affect an individual’s ability to perform manual tasks, control the speed of one’s movements, coordinate one’s movements, move rapidly, experience balance and orientation, move one’s arms or legs fully, move around independently, reach, pull, push or manipulate objects, have strength or endurance.” A physical disability can prevent you from working very little to not being able to work at all. The topic of physical disabilities will be discussed further in the neo-conservatism perspective and the main ideas of the deserving and undeserving poor, economic inequality, and how economic inequality can lead to poverty.

We do not live in a neo-conservative society in Canada today and therefore people who need assistance can look to the welfare system and the wide variety of programs being offered in Canada without feeling ashamed. For example, among the many services being offered in Ontario for children and adults with physical disabilities, Ontario has an important law and it’s called the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. It states that it is the first of its kind in Canada and explains that people with a mental or physical disability should have the same opportunities to achieve quality of life as everyone else. Often, people take for granted education, employment and many others such as grocery shopping or going out to a movie. Also, according to Staying alive: critical perspectives on health, illness, and health care, it states that individuals have rights and that not only should there be equality, but also free from discrimination.

Neo-conservatives main idea is that the government’s role should be reduced and it is the individual’s responsibility to take care of themselves. On the other hand, “a political belief of neo-conservatives is paternalism for those whom society designates as not responsible” or “the deserving poor” (Mullaly, 2007, p. 82). The deserving poor idea came from the 1601, Elizabethan Poor Law and has continued until today. The “deserving poor” has been defined by poverty and policy as someone who is unable to work due to illness or age and should be compensated through cash assistance. Neo-conservatives belief on social welfare programs is that “social welfare programs (both private and public) should only come into play when the normal channels for meeting needs -the family and the market economy- break down. When these preferred structures of supply are not functioning properly or when an individual cannot make use of them because of illness or old age, a third mechanism for fulfilling need -the social welfare system- is brought into play” (Mullaly, 2007, p. 86). It seems that there is a fine line between “idleness” and “people being judged through no fault of their own.” When it comes to neo-conservative beliefs, Mullaly states in his book that “even if people do become ill and cannot look after themselves, the judgement is often that they should have made arrangements in the first place and it is up to the family to look after them.” He also states that “history has shown, however, that this group of ‘deserving poor’ has always been numerically under-represented” (Mullaly, 2007, p. 83).

Quality of life is jeopardized when an individual, family or community is living in poverty. It has been found that even though almost half of the people living poverty are employed, they do not earn enough money to bring them out of poverty. “Social assistance rates and disability benefits do not come close to lifting individuals out of poverty” (National Council of Welfare, 2004). Dennis Raphael wrote the book Poverty and Policy in Canada: Implications for Health and Quality of Life and in his book he states, “Poverty is the experience of material and social deprivation that results from a lack of economic resources. In a market-dominated economy such as Canada, poverty is usually associated with low earnings or receipt of very low benefits in lieu of earned income. For those engaged in the employment market, the marketplace stratifies individuals on the basis of social class, education, gender, race, disability status, and immigrant status, producing greater vulnerability to poverty for those at the bottom of the employment hierarchy. Added expenses associated with disability increase the probability of experiencing poverty, even if employment situations remain unchanged.”

According to Critical Public Health,“public health discussion of economic inequality, poverty, and health has taken place primarily within government health promotion policy documents, a series of publications by the Canadian Public Health Association and other provincial health associations, and research and conceptual analyses by health sciences researchers at various Canadian universities. There is a curious disjunction however between the ideas contained within government statements and general public health practice. Some of this disjunction appears to be related to public health reluctance to become involved in social and health policy discussions, as well as the increasing influence of neo-liberal and neo-conservative ideologies on Canadian political life.”

In some cases, people with physical disabilities may have no choice but to look to the welfare system and Canada wants to make this easier for people without feeling ashamed and looked down upon. Whether you were born with a physical disability or it was acquired during your lifetime, today’s society it is all about equality and these people deserve to live a happy, fulfilling life like everyone else. As Mallaly stated in his book from the neo-conservative view, “every individual has a responsibility to look after him or herself and the exception to this rule is that if people are judged to be in difficulty through no fault of their own, they may be eligible for welfare” (Mullaly, 2007, p. 83)


References:

Mullaly, R. (2007). The New Structural Social Work (3^rd ed.). Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press Canada.

Raphael, D. (2007). Poverty and Policy in Canada: Implications for Health and Quality of Life. Toronto, Ontario: Canadian Scholar’s Press Inc.

 Raphael, D. (2000). Health inequalities in Canada: current discourses and implications for public health action. Critical Public Health, 10(2), p.194-195. Retrieved from http://www.omiss.ca/centre/pdf/raphael.pdf

Raphael, D., & Bryant, T., & Rioux, M. (2006). Staying alive: critical perspectives on health, illness, and health care, p. 311. Toronto, Ontario: Canadian Scholar’s Press Inc. Retrieved from http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=KQaU2GThbFUC&oi=fnd&pg=PA305&dq=neo-conservative+and+physical+disability&ots=JK6p-0Hy8G&sig=wjV57o-qN8XdfoFtTyU0OwDu-dI#v=onepage&q&f=false


Tiffany

Neo-Conservative views & Disabilities

As a person with a visible physical disability I believe persons with any disability are 'deserving poor'.  I believe this because having a disability poses different challenges and struggles that only we experience.  Neo-conservatives operate in the sense 'you made your bed now lay in it', but when it comes to persons with disabilities, we did not do this to ourselves! Neo-Conservatives believe "Individuals have the responsiblity to look after themselves." (Mullaly 2007) Persons with disabilities have several different costs that 'normal' people don't have to budget for, special equipment to make mobility easier, homecare in some cases, medical equipment and medication that can all add up quick.  The additional costs of raising a child with Cerebral Palsy from birth to the age of 18 is an estimated average of $95 000 (US).  (Parish, S. L., Cloud, J. M., 2006)  That large amount of money would be hard for anybody to 'shell out' but it is especially difficult when you have a child with a physical disability. "Having a child with disabilities seems to have a similar effect on maternal employment as having very young children without disabilities: diminished maternal workforce participation and reduced hours for employed mothers." (Parish et al., 2004) With this additional cost and the prospect of a diminished work, it isn't a surprise that 28.4% of children with a disability lives in poverty. (National Health Interview Survey, NHIS., 1992)

If the disability is severe enough people may not be able to work.  "Only 30% of people with disabilities work full or part time compared to 80% of people without disabilities." (Batavia, A. I., Beaulaurier, R. L., 2001)  If we weren't 'deserving poor' in a neo-conservative government that would mean our family would have to take care of us and take care of the costs associated with the disability with no subsidy. 

Persons with invisible or visible disabilities often lean on each other for support and advise on challenges that are unique to them, forming a community.  Neo-Conservatives see the world as individuals, not a collective society, with this view very little if any money would go towards programs put on by these groups that help people with disabilities.

References
Batavia, A. L., Beaulaurier, R. L., (2001) The Financial Vulunerability of People with Disabilities: Assessing Poverty Risk. Sociology and Social Welfare 28(1), pages 139-162

Parish, S.L., Cloud, J. M., (2006) Financial well-being of Young Children with Disabilities and their Families. Social Work 51(3) 2006, pages 223-232

Mullaly,Bob. (2007) The New Structural Social Work. Third Edition, Oxford University Press
~Jordan C

Good for Everyone

“Hiring someone with a disability is good business.  And that’s the bottom line.”  This is what the current slogan of the Manitoba Government Family Services and Consumer Affairs reads.  The basic premise of this campaign is to encourage Manitoba businesses, and corporations to employ people with disabilities. The idea of the slogan is to promote diversity in the work force by suggesting it will be beneficial to the employers and companies themselves. The underlying purpose is to provide Manitoban’s with disabilities equal employment rights and opportunities. Though this program aims to achieve equality for individuals faced with a disability, the need for such a campaign itself indicates the current lack of opportunity in the work force.

Contrary to a neoconservative society, liberals believe the state has some responsibility in the regulation of its citizen’s social, economic and political life. Neoconservatives believe a race is fair regardless of starting points, while liberals try to make this race fairer through social assistance. This aspect of a liberal viewpoint is present in the slogan created by the Manitoba government.  The program is devised to improve the access people with disabilities have to employment, though still accepting they are disadvantaged. Mullaly(2007), “Inequalities of circumstances are acceptable as they are based on merit or effort and not on hereditary or some other social characteristic. That is, unequal rewards go to those with unequal skills and effort.” (p.96). From the liberalist perspective a structured type of inequality is acceptable, as long as efforts to improve inequality exist.

The Society for Manitobans with disabilities works with its clients to assess skills and provide appropriate options for employment that correlate with ones abilities. The services and support SMD administers to individuals with physical disabilities is useful in determining the kind of job one might be able to perform in spite of their disability. This service also works to match people with jobs, and tasks which can meet with the needs of the company looking to employ a diverse staff.  Though the liberal ideology works to operationalize the idea of equality, it is obvious that in the race of employment people without physical disabilities have a definite head start.

A case study performed in Toronto sheds light on the amount of work that could be required just for a person with a physical disability to be eligible for a job.  The case study follows Kate, a twenty year old female who at birth became a quadriplegic. The purpose of this experiment was to provide Kate the technology and training so she would be able to operate a computer on her own. (Blain et al., 2010). This type of training is often essential for people with physical disabilities as technological and computer based jobs are generally the most prominent kind. The downfall to a job with these computer based requirements is shown in the outcome of Kate’s case study.  “Well the benefits of computer access are well- documented, the challenges of finding an access pathway for individuals with severe disabilities can be so overwhelming that efforts frequently cease after a few iterations.”  This study reports that, “These often insurmountable barriers include the need for reliable motor control to operate conventional mechanical input devices, the health professionals’ limited awareness or experience of the diverse collection of available devices and the prohibited cost of customized solutions.” (Blain et al., 2010).

Unfortunately because of the amount of technology, training, and funding required to allow an individual to use this helpful technology on their own, it isn’t an easy solution.  Regardless of the efforts of the campaign slogan or the help of SMD, people with severe physical disabilities are often still unable to find employment.  Though this information is discouraging a finding at the Sandiego State University shows that a, “recent study of diversity policies of the top 100 companies in the 2003 Fortune 500, which found that of organizations with diversity policies, 42% included people with disabilities in the definition of a diverse workforce, and 15% had supplier diversity policies that include disability in the definition of diversity.”(Shore et al., 2009). Though not a Canadian poll, hopefully the positive results of this study are just the beginning of a universal improvement for the lives of people with physical disabilities. This study also explains some of the reasons employers may not be eager to hire people with disabilities. There are potential risks which go along with having a person with a disability working for you. Liabilities due to increased risk of injury, and additional costs to make a workplace more accessible are a threat to the companies’ economic standing. (Shore et al., 2009).

This new Manitoba campaign is attempting to promote the other side, a more positive ideology, of hiring individuals with disabilities. Under the frequently asked questions on this website, common concerns are addressed and solutions provided. For example the site explains that often times hiring someone with a disability can require no additional costs, and in the case there is a need for funding it is generally under five hundred dollars. The site also explores the opportunities employers may be able to take advantage of in terms of income tax returns, and financial help.

Mullaly(2007). “Because liberals do not seek to change the given economic system , most of their interventions into the economy will be symptom-focused and  ameliorative rather than structural.” (p.100). The Manitoba government is addressing the symptom of little diversity in the workplace, through  a campaign which suggests hiring people with a disability will be good for your business. On the Manitoba Government website you can view testimonials and success stories from people who have either been hired, or have hired someone with a disability. It is impossible for us to determine the nature or the exact motive behind this campaign. It will benefit the people with physical disabilities who, because of the campaign, may be able to acquire a job more easily; though the slogan mainly suggests the benefits of the employer. Mullaly(2007).  Liberals view human nature as competitive and co-operative, motivated by self-development and progress.

Though it would be nice to assume that businesses hire people who are physically disabled for the goodwill of mankind, it is questionable if it is more an issue of creating a good image for the company. Regardless of business owners’ intent in hiring a diverse staff, positive impacts for people with disabilities is still the outcome.  I believe that this campaign is a step in the right direction for our government and for people who have disabilities and require a job to satisfy a standard of living. For Manitobans who already have income assistance because of their disability, having a job can also be seen as a fundamental part of adulthood.

Think about your experiences as a consumer in the service industry. How many times have you walked into a store, or a restaurant and been helped by someone that has a physical disability. I thought about this myself, and unfortunately I couldn’t think of very many events where I have personally seen someone with a physical disability working in a service job. Though we must take into account jobs which are not usually seen by the public, I have personally seen that the ratio of employed people with disabilities to those without is very uneven.  Hopefully business owners will take on the ideas of this campaign and we as Manitobans can make our work force more accessible and diverse.   

Shore, Lynn M., Chung-Herrera, Beth G., Dean, Michelle A., Ehrhart, Karen Holcombe., Jung, Don., Randel, Amy E., Singh, Gangaram. (2009). Diversity in organizations: Where are we now and where are we going?. Human Resource Management Review, 19(2), pp. 117-133.

Stefanie Blain., Patricia McKeever., Tom Chau. (2010). Bedside computer access for an individual with severe and multiple disabilities: A case study. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 5(5), pp. 359-369.

Mullaly, Bob. (2007). The New Structural Social Work (3^rd ed.). Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.

-Eliza R.

New right or new wrong?

                Throughout the nineteenth-century in Canada the central and leading ideology was cconservatism (Mullaly, 2007). The cconservatism ideology was later revitalized and given a new name of neoconservatism (Mullaly, 2007). Neo-conservatism is described in the Mullaly text as “basing their economic and social views on the classical doctrines of laissez-faire and individualism, neoconservatives have called for a return to the economic values of the private marketplace” (Mullaly, 2007, p.72).  A few views of the neoconservative ideology are that everyone in society needs to look after themselves and society is individualistic (Mullaly, 2007).  These traditional views and beliefs along others of the neoconservatism ideology pose many barriers for people with physical disabilities in our society. The Oxford Dictionary of current English defines disability as “physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities” (Soanes, 2001, p. 252). Neo-conservative views on social beliefs, social welfare, and the social work practice will be the areas discussed in this blog and how they affect people with disabilities.

                          

                Neoconservatives believe that a society is made up of independent individuals (Mullaly, 2007). This indicates the idea of every individual for themself which shows the lack of social support that an individual with disabilities would receive in our society (Raphael, 2007). The Neo-conservative ideology believes that society should include “individualism”, “competitive capitalism”, and “inequality” within it to be functional (Mullaly, 2007, p. 89). However, these ideals can be contributors to social issues such as poverty which can be high in disadvantaged individual (Raphael, 2007).     

 

    Neoconservatives view of social welfare is that it weakens society (Mullaly, 2007). They feel that the main source of social welfare should come from an individual’s family or other voluntary charitable structures (Mullaly, 2007). It’s only after those supports fail that government will step in (Mullaly, 2007). There was a needs assessment study done on physically disabled individuals in Canada which showed the severe need for a numbers of social services for these individuals. Some of the services mentioned were: mechanical devices, employment assistants, mobility issues, and economic issues (Fuchs, 1987). It was also mentioned that many of individuals lacking social support were living in poverty (Fuchs, 1987). Physical disabilities can also vary in severity from temporary injuries to long term or even lifelong. It was found that individuals with longer term physical disabilities suffer more from lower income and unemployment because they continue to be impaired throughout live with a lifelong disability (Galarneau & Radulescu, 2009).  “According to the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey, 42% of persons between 15 and 64 years of age reporting a disability were unable to work" (Galarneau & Radulescu, 2009). This shows that neoconservative views create a number of barriers for individuals with physical disabilities by limiting or not providing the proper services needed to live life (Fuchs, 1987).       

                      

                Social work in a neoconservative context practices are significantly different from those of the more current progressive social work practices. Social workers in a neoconservative context would expect to work towards getting people off social services or reducing usage of these services is at a minimum (Mullaly, 2007). Anyone accessing these services is regularly monitored to prevent anyone from overusing the system. (Mullaly, 2007) Social workers in neoconservative practices were also required to label individuals into group which are “deserving” (receive service) and “undeserving” (don’t receive service) poor to determine who should receive services (Mullaly, 2007, p. 87). The deserving poor are defined as individuals that faced with conditions of poverty due to conditions they have no control over (Raphael, 2007). People with physical disabilities are considered in the category of deserving poor, however, not all deserving poor individuals receive use of full services and in some cases some people with a physical disability may not be considered “deserving” according to a social worker (Mullaly, 2007, p. 87). This leaves these individuals without the resources they need to live a good quality life. It is creating a good quality of life for individuals with physical disabilities that social workers should be advocating for not preventing it (Mullaly, 2007).   

In conclusion, the neoconservative ideology has very traditional views when it comes to social welfare and policies. These views don’t take into consideration the individuals in society that do not fit into an able bodied person who owns their own business. These views might have controlled the lives of people in the past but as a society we need to continue to work towards quality and equal opportunities for everyone.  

Nicole G

References

Fuchs, D. M. (1987). Breaking down barriers independent living resource centres for empowering the          physically disable. In J. S. Ismael & R. J. Thomilson (Eds.), Perspectives on social services and social issues (pp. 187-197) Retrieved from http://books.google.com/

Galarneau, D., & Radulescu, M. (2009). Employment among the disabled. Perspectives on labour and   income, 21(2), 31-41.  Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.proxy2.lib.umanitoba.ca/pqdweb?did=1796492661&Fmt=3&clientId=12305&RQT=309&VName=PQD 

Mullaly, R. (2007). The new structural social work (3rd Ed.). Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

Raphael, D. (2007). Poverty and policy in canada: Implications for health and quality of life (pp. 5-26). Toronto: Canadians scholars' Press Inc. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/

Soanes, C. (2001). Oxford dictionary of current English (3^rd Ed.). New York, US: Oxford University Press.

Choice is a Right, Not a Luxury

According to Mullaly (2007), "Social justice, to neo-conservatives, is based on the belief in individual responsibility. That is, every individual has a responsibility to look after him or herself."(p.78).  This view of personal responsibility negatively impacts citizens who do not have the necessary capabilities to look after themselves.Neoconservatives would argue that people with disabilities are the deserving poor, but without a voice these people are overlooked. This concept would allow for citizens who have been deemed unable, to access care and social assistance. Yet, as Mullaly(2007) explains "History has shown, however, that this group of of 'deserving poor' has always been numerically under-represented."(p.83).
Here is where the discrepancy of neo-conservatism and the "deserving poor" is obvious; these people are not represented properly and therefore are also not being provided for properly. We can see this issue being portrayed in the living standards of Manitobans with severe physical disabilities residing in institutionalized care. Though we are not living in a neo-conservative society, aspects of this philosophy are still impacting Manitobans with  disabilities today. The standard of care provided in institionalized facilities is less than that prescribed by the Charter of Rights.

One of the first few lines I read while looking at the Charter of Rights states, "The Right of Choice". A person living in institutionalized care with a physical disability in Manitoba is more often then not required to have a roommate. This, however, is not a choice of the individual who is being placed into an environment with someone, whom in some cases they will spend most of their lives with. The facility chooses roommates based on efficiency of staff functions. Basically this means people are grouped together based on needs, in a way which is beneficial to medical and care providers. The absence of personal choice in this situation can greatly impact one's sleeping patterns, and even their happiness. Does it seem fair to be required to live with someone because it is convenient for someone other than yourself, regardless of how it might affect you?

Compared to the standard of living most Manitobans are accustomed to, people with physical disabilities in institutionalized living have much less privacy. Bathrooms are assigned to groups of people, and often times only a curtain is used for separation. Lack of privacy is already a constant struggle of individuals with disabilities who require assistance, and who now in institutions also have other clients surrounding them at personal times.

Lack of choice, lack of privacy, and lack of freedom are all challenges faced by those physically disabled. As Mullaly(2007) points out the neoconservative approach is very Darwinian. In this case the "stronger" people (those who instruct, supervise, and provide care) make the choices and the "weaker" people (those who have no option but to receive assistance) must comply.

The "deserving poor" are under represented because their voice is not often heard. If we as Manitobans believe in equality and human rights, we need to consider how this may not always be a fact in institutionalized care homes. The living conditions these individuals face, often times for their entire lives, does not meet the living conditions anyone would pick if a choice were given. So, why should people with severe physical disabilities be provided for with care that does not meet a standard of living we would feel comfortable with for ourselves?

-Eliza R.