Client & Customer Accessible Service Standards

Bethesda House is committed to excellence in serving all clients and customers, including people with disabilities.

Accessible client (Shelter, Outreach) and customer (Second Chance Store) service is not just about ramps or automatic door openers. It’s about understanding that people with disabilities may have different needs. This plan outlines how Bethesda House provides services to people with disabilities, being guided by the principles of independence, dignity, integration, and equality of opportunity.

Communication

Bethesda House staff and volunteers will consider a person’s disability when communicating with them. We commit to communicating in ways that take their disabilities into account.

Assistive Devices

Bethesda House allows assistive devices such as wheelchairs, walkers, and oxygen tanks, etc in our buildings. An assistive device is defined as any piece of equipment a person with a disability uses to help them with daily living.

Service Animals

Bethesda House welcomes the service animals accompanying people with disabilities, understanding that i) guide dogs are not the only type of service animals being used, and ii) service animals are used by individuals with “invisible” as well as “visible” disabilities.

Support Persons

Bethesda House welcomes support people accompanying clients and customers with disabilities on our premises. We understand that a support person does not have to be a paid support worker. They can be a family member or a friend. (Support providers are expected to sign a Bethesda House Confidentiality Form when accessing the Shelter and the client service part of the Outreach Building.)

Notice Of Temporary Disruption

In the event of a disruption of service for clients and customers with disabilities (ie. accessibility features such as an elevator or accessible washroom require repair or are temporarily out of service), Bethesda House will make notification by way of a posted notice. If known, this clearly posted notice will include information about the reason for the disruption, its anticipated length of time, and a description of alternative arrangements.

Bethesda House Invites Feedback From Clients, Volunteers And Customers With Disabilities

A good way to learn about barriers that exist in Bethesda House is to collect comments from Bethesda House clients and customers with disabilities. We invite clients and customers to give feedback on how Bethesda House provides accessible service. All feedback can be provided through our Bethesda House Feedback Survey, which can be found on our website or by asking any member of our staff for the link. If you are unable to provide feedback in this format, you can also provide feedback in the following ways:

Clients, volunteers and customers may provide this feedback by:

• Providing written feedback to the Shelter Services Manager, Outreach Services Manager, Property Manager, or Executive Director.
• Request a meeting with the Shelter Services Manager or the Executive Director to verbally pass along feedback.

Bethesda House will take all feedback into serious consideration in our effort to provide high-quality accessible services to clients and customers with disabilities. (Please Note: A complaint is considered different than feedback. Complaints regarding the Bethesda House accessibility plan or its accessibility services are to be addressed according to the Bethesda House complaint procedure. Complaints must be submitted in writing to the Executive Director.)

Bethesda House’s accessibility standards are available to clients and customers. They are:

• Posted on bulletin boards at each location
• On the Bethesda House website (www.bethesdahouse.ca )

Clients and customers unable to access the bulletin board copies or the website may request

• A personal hardcopy (in large print if required)
• To have the plan read to them by a staff or volunteer
• To have the plan read to them in a language other than English

Bethesda House’s Staff And Volunteers Are Trained On The Bethesda House Accessibility Standards

Bethesda House provides training to

• Shelter Services Manager, Outreach Services Manager and Executive Director
• All direct service employees
• All volunteers
• Students (referred to in this plan as “volunteers”)

Training is provided to everyone upon acceptance into their position and annually thereafter.

Training includes:

• An introduction to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 and the requirement for a client/customer accessible service plan.
• The expectation to interact and communicate with people with various types of disabilities in a manner guided by the principles of independence, dignity, integration and equality of opportunity.
• The expectation to interact with people with disabilities who use an assistive device or require the assistance of a service animal or a support person in a manner that maximizes the individual’s use of those resources.
• How to use the Bethesda House equipment or devices available on-site (ie elevator) that may help with providing our services to people with disabilities
• What to do if a person with a disability is having difficulty in accessing Bethesda House services (ie problem-solve, contact a Manager, etc.)

Staff training will be updated when changes are made to Bethesda House plan.

Modifications To This Or Other Bethesda House Policies

Any Bethesda House policy that is found to not respect and promote the dignity and independence of people with disabilities will be modified or removed.