By Kat Hamilton and Ray Smith
Welcome to this remarkable milestone for our advocacy community: 10 years of Equalize!
We created Equalize in 2016 as a newsletter for advocates in Ontario. At the time, CNIB had just received news that the Ontario government would fund post-vision loss rehabilitation services following years of advocacy. With rehabilitation services now funded through Ontario’s health care system, organizations like CNIB were able to invest more in programs that enhanced quality of life, including advocacy.
As our advocacy work grew, so did the need for a way to keep people informed and involved. We wanted to create a space where people who are blind, Deafblind, or have low vision could learn about advocacy issues, celebrate successes, and discover ways to get involved. And so, on November 16, 2016, Equalize was born!
Five years later, in 2021, Equalize expanded from a provincial newsletter to a national one, connecting advocates across the country.
As Ray recalls, "I remember when it all started. I had the pleasure of being hired by Kat as part of CNIB's new GTA Advocacy team. We bonded immediately and never looked back. We worked on many projects, and our ideas seemed to meld into success, just like Equalize. We helped pave the way for an advocacy program that continues to thrive today."
From the beginning, Equalize has been a place for advocates to share their experiences and what they’ve learned along the way. In our very first issue of Equalize, Ray wrote about learning to use a white cane and the challenges and discoveries that came with that experience. A decade later, Ray’s white cane journey continues. On a recent trip with his girlfriend, Ray realized he often relied on her physical support to navigate unfamiliar places, even with his white cane in hand. Later, while volunteering at a CNIB e-scooter advocacy event, he learned about support canes for the first time and decided to give one a try. Today, Ray is a proud support cane user and continues to be an active advocate in his community through accessibility and older adult initiatives in Ajax and Durham Region.
While the world has changed a lot since the first edition of Equalize landed in inboxes 10 years ago, our advocacy work hasn’t stopped. We’ve seen what advocacy can accomplish, but we also know that progress in one area doesn’t mean that the work is done. Barriers remain, new ones have emerged, and many of the issues we were advocating on 10 years ago still demand our attention today.
As we celebrate 10 years of Equalize, we’re grateful to every reader, contributor, volunteer, ally, and advocate who has been part of it. Equalize has always been about keeping people informed and connected to our advocacy work, and we hope you’ll continue to read, share, and get involved in the years ahead.
If you enjoy reading Equalize and think someone else would too, please encourage them to subscribe. You can also get involved by learning about current advocacy issues, joining our campaigns, and raising your voice in your community. Visit cnib.ca/advocate to learn more.