NR 03-14 DIS ENG Disabilities.doc
(July 21, 2003 – Iqaluit) Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. today announced a new Beneficiaries with Disabilities Program. The program will provide assistance to community organizations that offer services to improve the life of disabled Beneficiaries in Nunavut.
During the fiscal year up to March 31, 2004, NTI’s Executive has approved a pilot phase of the program, offering financial support of up to $2,000 per Nunavut community.
This program stems from NTI’s concern that too little is being done to help Beneficiaries with disabilities. Even more basically, too little is known about how many Nunavummiut suffer from disabilities, and what their needs are.
NTI is concerned that Nunavut is far behind southern Canada in its care for people with disabilities, said President Cathy Towtongie. We know this pilot project is just a start. Over the coming months, NTI hopes to forge a partnership with the GN, the Government of Canada, the Regional Inuit Associations, and others to tackle this problem in a systematic way that can benefit all Nunavummiut with disabilities.
NTI also hopes to use this initial $50,000 contribution to leverage additional funding from government and perhaps even private foundations, who are very active in helping meet the needs of disabled people in southern Canada.
Community organizations with a mandate to assist disabled Beneficiaries will be eligible for the pilot project funding, provided the initiatives are not already covered through existing government programs. More specifically, to be eligible:
The activity must improve the life of disabled Beneficiaries in the community;
The Community Director of the RIA and CLO must support the proposed activity;
The participants must be Beneficiaries of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.
The Program will be chiefly administered by NTI’s Human Resource and Programs Department. Since NTI’s Harvester Support Program is also contributing resources for the program, it will also be involved in reviewing applications. Detailed information on how to access the program will be provided soon through the CLOs in each community. Finally, the effort to initiate a partnership on disability issues with other organizations will be the responsibility of NTI’s Social & Cultural Development Department.
For further information:
Annie Tattuinee
Director of Human Resources and Programs
