The Cause | ABLE2

The Cause – Enhancing the Quality of Life of People Living with Disabilities in Ottawa

Did you know that more than 50% of Canadians have a relative living with a disability? ABLE2 is Ottawa’s support hub for people who live with disabilities and their families. ABLE2 offers a number of programs and services to support people with disabilities in Ottawa live life to the fullest.

Programs are available to people of all ages across the disability spectrum – people living with physical, developmental, intellectual, mental health, age-related and multiple-diagnoses challenges. Programs include: Sibling Groups, Build Community, Person-Directed Planning and Facilitation, Funding Brokerage, Matching Program, and the Fetal Alcohol Resource Program.

Evening in the Maritimes, first run in 1995, was introduced to raise money to assist ABLE2 support their community of people living with disabilities build lives of meaning and joy.

To date, Evening in the Maritimes has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for ABLE2 programs and services. Here are a few examples of the impact these fundraising dollars have made on our community over the years:

… although I live alone, there is a circle of support that is starting to form, which makes me feel safe, open and less isolated. I also like having a good balance of friends and family in my life. My focus is to continue to build up my network to make it stronger and more efficient; to make it natural rather than having paid or voluntary support. For me it is the quality and intimacy of the relationships that matter, as the whole art of relationships are to build trust.
– Patrick

We were so excited as a family to discover the matching program at ABLE2. It was an opportunity to have a long-lasting, unpaid person in Fiaz’s life, that he could truly call a friend. The matching program helped to facilitate a friendship where Fiaz got to choose what he wanted out of it. For us, seeing Fiaz have a constant in his life other than his family members is very comforting. We’ve seen Fiaz go from being shy and reluctant to more confident and taking initiative in choosing activities over the last year!
– Fiaz

… J is doing awesome at school. You did fabulous teaching and they are implementing all of your ideas. He is now on the regular bus too! He’s made friends and is managing to make it through full days. Thank you so much. I am hoping this is the start of stability at school for J. It’s so good to know you’re there. In gratitude…
– Marie

There are many ways to support the cause and contribute to the event: