Cowichan Independent Living

02/04/2026

01/21/2026

Happy Wednesday! If you happen to be downtown Duncan and are looking for a nice read to pass the time on this chilly day, please stop by and grab a book on us! The Cowichan valley community generously donates these gems and we enjoy hearing your feedback!

01/15/2026

Please helps us give out food hampers. We are in need of cloth grocery bags if you have extra you can donate to us. Thank you in advance.

01/15/2026

This Sunday - our monthly dinner for those who need a hot meal.

01/15/2026

New year, meaningful learning ✨
If one of your resolutions is to better understand inclusion in BC, this is a great place to start.

Building an Inclusive BC: The History of Disability Rights is a free, self-paced online course developed by Inclusion BC in partnership with the BC CEO Network.

The course explores the roots of inclusive education and the community inclusion movement in BC — including the rise and fall of institutions, family and self-advocacy movements, Indigenous experiences, and key legal decisions that shaped where we are today.

✔ Free
✔ Self-paced
✔ About 1–2 hours per week
✔ Certificate upon completion

Start learning today:
https://inclusionbc.org/.../disability-rights-history-bc/

01/14/2026

Dr. McKinnon will see patients at Warmland House Shelter this Wednesday to support the Warmland Shelter community and those individuals in supportive housing. Sign in begins at 7am at 2579 Lewis Street.

01/05/2026

A Huge Thank you to the Royal Canadian Legion, located on Shawnigan Lake Mill Bay Rd in Shawnigan Lake, for their donation from their Meat Draws. This donation is to purchase medical equipment which we loan out to the community. Greatly appreciated.

12/18/2025

Judy Heumann -- the renowned activist known as the “mother of the disability rights movement" -- was born on this day in 1947. Heumann, who used a wheelchair for mobility after surviving polio at the age of 18 months, helped lead the fight to establish the world's first comprehensive civil rights law protecting the rights of people with disabilities: the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As she once observed, “when other people see you as a third-class citizen, the first thing you need is a belief in yourself and the knowledge that you have rights. The next thing you need is a group of friends to fight back with.”

Pictured here as TIME's Women of the Year for 1977, Heumann was at the center of multiple battles for civil rights for people with disabilities, most famously the 504 Sit-In. Organized by Heumann, Kitty Cone, and Mary Jane Owen, over 150 other activists occupied the San Francisco Office of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare for 25 days in 1977 demanding the implementation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, one of the first federal disability rights laws. The 504 Sit-In remains the longest sit-in ever at a U.S. federal building.

Equally importantly, Heumann helped change the narrative about disability, showing that the true burden of disabilities is how others respond to it: "Disability only becomes a tragedy when society fails to provide the things we need to lead our lives — job opportunities or barrier-free buildings, for example," she once said. "It is not a tragedy to me that I'm living in a wheelchair."

In the days before the ADA, Heumann was refused admission to public school because she was a "fire hazard" and offered two hours a week of in-home instruction instead. In 1970, she took the New York Department of Education to court after they refused to give her a teacher's license, citing their belief that she would not be able to evacuate her classroom in an emergency.

After the passage of the ADA in 1990, Heumann served as the U.S. assistant secretary of education, and took her advocacy global, traveling to more than 30 countries as they passed their own disability rights legislation. Until her last days, she kept up her fight for equality, noting how much progress still needs to be made. "Change never happens at the pace we think it should," she once wrote. "Gradually, excruciatingly slowly, things start to happen, and then suddenly, seemingly out of the blue, something will tip."

Her incredible story is told in a captivating picture book biography "Fighting for YES! The Story of Disability Rights Activist Judith Heumann" for ages 6 to 9 at https://www.amightygirl.com/fighting-for-yes

Judith Heumann was also the author of a powerful memoir for adult readers, "Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist" at https://www.amightygirl.com/being-heumann

Her memoir was adapted into a young readers edition, "Rolling Warrior: The Incredible, Sometimes Awkward, True Story of a Girl on Wheels Who Helped Spark a Revolution" for ages 10 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/rolling-warrior

For more books for children and teens starring Mighty Girls with disabilities of all varieties, visit our blog post "Many Ways To Be Mighty: 35 Books Starring Mighty Girls with Disabilities" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=12992

12/18/2025

With the longer nights many of our clients come into the shelter to find company and some warmth. We would appreciate any donations of board games, puzzles, art supplies and DVDs for our movie nights. As well we are still in need of seasonal clothing items such as pants, coats and boots at Warmland House. If you have gently used clothing that you're no longer using, please consider calling 250-715-1132 to arrange drop off at the Shelter. Donations are very much appreciated!🙏

12/18/2025

Dr. Geoff Friderichs will see patients at Warmland House Shelter this Thursday to support the Warmland Shelter community and those individuals in supportive housing. Sign in begins at 7am at 2579 Lewis Street.

12/17/2025

Warmland Shelter is in need of reusable travel mugs and cups as well as tea bags. Gently used winter wear is also always appreciated and all items can be donated at Warmland House Shelter between 10am and 3pm daily. The gate is locked, but the buzzer will alert staff to your presence and they will come out and retrieve your donations. Address is 2579 Lewis Street, telephone number is 250.715.1132. 🙏