National

Surrey’s Sensory Friendly Spaces Program Receives Honours

Darpan News Desk City of Surrey, 24 Jun, 2020 10:06 PM

On June 22, British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association (BCRPA) honoured the City of Surrey with a provincial 2020 Program Excellence Award for its Sensory Friendly Spaces Program.

BCRPA’s annual Awards of Excellence recognize outstanding programs, facilities, parks and dedicated individuals whose ideas, innovation and services make an impact in the recreation and parks sector. “Accessible and inclusive parks, recreation and cultural amenities and services are essential elements to a complete, connected and healthy community,” said Mayor Doug McCallum. “The City of Surrey remains fully committed in improving recreation opportunities and enhancing quality of life for all of our residents of Surrey.

We are honoured to receive this award as it represents the City’s steadfast commitment to accessibility and inclusion.” The City of Surrey has one of the highest rates of Autism in British Columbia. To address this, and guided by the City’s principle of inclusion, Surrey partnered with the Canucks Autism Network (CAN) to create and promote several sensory friendly options for individuals with autism spectrum disorder or who have sensory processing needs.

A sensory friendly space is a calm and quiet area designed to create a supportive environment for individuals who have autism spectrum disorder, anxiety or other sensory-processing needs.

The sensory friendly space allows individuals to feel safe and calm, allowing them to not only attend special events and programs but also feel supported throughout their experience.

In addition to the development of sensory friendly spaces at signature community events and throughout its parks, recreation and culture facilities, City of Surrey also rolled out low-cost sensory kits at its recreation centres.

The kits, which contain noise-cancelling headphones, sensory toys and fidget toys, are supported by frontline staff. The kits were initially launched by Surrey Fire Service to aid anyone with sensory processing needs during first responder or fire calls.

Photo courtesy of City of Surrey

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Canada focused on fighting COVID-19 Trudeau steers clear of WHO controversy

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refused Wednesday to join the escalating global debate about the World Health Organization's handling of the COVID-19 crisis, insisting Canada remains focused on working with experts around the world to combat the pandemic. Trudeau repeatedly batted back questions about Donald Trump's plan to halt funding to the UN agency and review what the U.S. president says was a failure to properly assess the threat posed by the novel coronavirus back in January.

Canada focused on fighting COVID-19 Trudeau steers clear of WHO controversy

With strong control measures, the federal public health agency projects that 11,000 to 22,000 Canadians could die of COVID-19 in the coming months

Canada could see the end of the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic before autumn, according to federal projections, but only if strong physical distancing measures are strictly maintained the whole time. Even in that best-case scenario, the federal public health agency projects that a total of 4,400 to 44,000 Canadians could die of COVID-19 in the coming months.

With strong control measures, the federal public health agency projects that 11,000 to 22,000 Canadians could die of COVID-19 in the coming months

Canada lost more than a million jobs in March, but April may be even worse

The Canadian economy lost an unprecedented one million jobs in March — the worst recorded single-month change — as the COVID-19 crisis began to take hold, lifting the unemployment rate to 7.8 per cent, Statistics Canada reported Thursday. The loss is eight times worse than the previous one-month record, yet economists warned it will likely be even worse in April, when the impact of physical distancing practices and other measures became clearer and millions of Canadians began receiving emergency federal aid.

Canada lost more than a million jobs in March, but April may be even worse

The latest numbers on COVID-19 in Canada

Total number of cases broken down by province and the total number right across the country.

The latest numbers on COVID-19 in Canada

BC Finance Minister Carole James projecting a grim outlook of the job market in the wake of COVID-19

B.C. Finance Minister Carole James says the province lost 132,000 jobs last month, but it's going to get worse before it gets better due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She says the latest Statistics Canada Labour Force numbers indicate B.C.'s jobless rate rose to 7.2 per cent from five per cent in March.

BC Finance Minister Carole James projecting a grim outlook of the job market in the wake of COVID-19

PM Justin Trudeau feels normalcy can only return with a vaccine in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says while he hopes to spend some time with his family this Easter weekend, his focus is on getting new emergency aid legislation passed. He says discussions with opposition parties continue on the bill, which backs up the new wage subsidy program. Trudeau says it is important to debate the democratic processes that could be put in place in the COVID-19 era, which the opposition wants to have.