Human Rights Town Hall

Human Rights Town Hall

In our fourth episode of this series we offer a synopsis of the virtual Town Hall that we hosted on June 29, 2020. Facilitated by Jillian McConnell, of the brainXchange and Mary Beth Wighton, of Dementia Advocacy Canada, a lively discussion took place with people from across Canada and into the UK. Reviewing the calls to action that were brought up in earlier podcasts in this series, we uncovered some vital ways in which to move forward.
Mary Beth and Jillian talk about the important first step of making the Canadian Charter of Rights for People with Dementia visible and accessible; preferably posted at the first point of contact, in a primary care provider’s office.
They then discuss how people can become advocates for those living with dementia and their care partners. There are different ways to do so, ranging from joining an organization to writing to your MP or contacting the media in one of its various forms. These suggestions give people with a variety of comfort levels and abilities many options in which to become involved.
With the tragedies that Covid-19 brought upon long term care facilities and the awful inadequacies within them that it brought to light, calls have been made in previous episodes, and in this conversation, for systemic change. Mary Beth, Jillian and our other guests believe that viewing these tragedies and inadequacies through a human rights lens and joining organizational forces is the way to achieve that change.

Resources for this episode can be found under the following sections on our resource page:
-COVID-19