Accessibility Awareness Week 2025
Accessibility Awareness Week 2025 (May 26-Jun 1) is a great time to celebrate the amazing work of Cumberland residents - and to offer free trainings!
Awards & Social Media Spotlight
We are looking for people who are improving their business or organization for people with disabilities. We would love to nominate them for an awardand spotlight them in a social media post! Fill out this form to be considered: https://tinyurl.com/zb5e5sf2
This could look like:
- a business buying ergonomic equipment for an employee with chronic pain
- learning sign language for a customer
- a store installing an intercom system
- a community hall building a new ramp
- a program providing accessible transportation for participants
- therapeutic horseback riding
- etc etc
- (things mandated by the building code can't be considered)
Remember: disabilities are not just physical. Customers or employees who are disabled or neurodiverse may struggle with mental illness, be blind, autistic, d/Deaf/hard-of-hearing, or have a learning disability.
Training for Businesses: Accommodations at Work
SeaChange Collab is offering a FREE lunch n'learn workshop to talk about accessibility in the workplace. 38% of Nova Scotians have one or more disabilities, so chances are, this applies to some of your staff.
Details:
Wednesday April 9, 12-1pm
Register at this link: https://forms.gle/Zm6qE52ye89fsbvq9
Participants will leave this training with the ability to:
- Understand Workplace Accommodations – Define accommodations, recognize legal obligations (NS Human Rights Act & NS Accessibility Act), and understand the duty to accommodate.
- Differentiate Proactive vs. Responsive Accessibility – Learn universal design principles and how to embed accessibility into workplace policies from the start.
- Identify Common Workplace Accommodations – Explore assistive technologies, flexible work arrangements, sensory and physical modifications, and policy adjustments.
- Implement Accommodations Effectively – Follow a structured, step-by-step process to assess, implement, document, and evaluate accommodations.
- Address Common Myths About Accommodations – Understand that most accommodations are low-cost and provide long-term workplace benefits.
- Support Employees in Disclosure & Requests – Ensure confidentiality, facilitate open conversations, and create an inclusive workplace culture.
Scholarships
NS League for Equal Opportunities (NSLEO) has scholarshipapplications open until March 28 at 4:30pm. If you or someone you know has a permanent disability and is heading to post-secondary in the fall, send them to apply to the scholarships.
Empowering Cumberland Conference
The "Empowering Cumberland" conference, hosted in partnership by the Cumberland Chamber of Commerce and The Sunset Community, will take place on April 16th at Fox Harbour Resort. This event is dedicated to celebrating the employment of individuals with disabilities and raising awareness on the importance of inclusive workplaces.
The Empowering Cumberland Conference is a one-day event designed to inspire, educate, and empower businesses to embrace inclusive employment practices. Hosted at the picturesque Fox Harb’r Resort, this conference will bring together community leaders, business owners, and advocates to celebrate the benefits of hiring individuals with diverse abilities.
The conference will feature prominent guest speaker, Mark Wafer.
To learn more, go to Empowering Cumberland Conference
Cumberland County Transportation Services (CCTS)
Cumberland County Transportation Services is a rural transportation service seeking to provide reliable, affordable and accessible transportation to residents of Cumberland County to where they need to go when they need to get there.
Culture and Recreation
Cumberland Recreation has a variety of accessible equipment available to borrow.
A person wearing a helmet drives an Odyssey Semi-Recumbent Bike, which has three wheels, back support and a lap belt. It is designed for someone under 225 pounds with limited mobility or balance issues.
The Kipawo, a former ferry, in her final resting place in the deck of The Ship's Company Theatre. A worker touches up her paint, and the deck is decorated with flags and flowers.
The Ship's Company Theatre in Parrsboro has assistive listening devices available to increase your ability to hear their plays. They also have front-row wheelchair-designated seating areas, a gender-neutral stalled washroom and an accessible, single-use/family washroom. Contact
Accessibility Plan
We have created our first 3-year pdf Joint Accessibility Plan (1.50 MB) using pdf this toolkit (16.06 MB) and pdf long-term vision (1.42 MB) as mandated by the Nova Scotia Accessibility Act.
We will be announcing additional ways to participate.
A bar graph shows the progress of tasks in the Joint Accessibility Plan. It's divided into two bars: 'all items' and 'top priorities.' Each bar has three sections indicating the status of the tasks. In the 'all items' section, 14 % are done, 58 % are in progress and 28% are undone. In the 'top priorities' section, 40 % of items are done, 53% are in progress and 7 % are undone.
The Municipality released a report on the Plan's progress since its 2022 inception. If you would like to give feedback on this progress, please fill out this form. Information about in-person engagement sessions will be released in the coming months.
Community Engagement Coordinator
Contact the Community Engagement Coordinator to submit feedback, request the Joint Action Plan in an alternate format, or to ask questions related to equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, or poverty reduction.
(902) 694-3159
For general customer service, please email
Accessibility Advisory Committee
We have formed an Accessibility Advisory Committee that includes community members with disabilities and organizations representing those with disabilities. Our work will be to learn from the community and advise Municipal Council on identifying, preventing, and eliminating barriers to people with disabilities in municipal programs, services, initiatives, and facilities. The committee plays a pivotal role in helping the Municipality of Cumberland become an accessible community and meet its obligations under Nova Scotia’s Accessibility Act.
pdf Accessibility Advisory Committee Terms of Reference (244 KB)
Accessibility Advisory Committee Meeting
Stay tuned for the date of the next meeting of the Accessibility Advisory Committee.
Current Members
- Stephanie Keilhack (Staff Lead, lived experience),
- Amanda Purdy (Sunset Community Representative),
- Helen Sims (Cumberland County Transportation Services),
- David MacEwan (Village of Pugwash representative),
- Darrell Fagan (Village of River Hebert representative),
- Lisa Betts (Pugwash clerk/treasurer),
- Andrea Meekins (Nova Scotia Early Childhood Development Intervention Services representative),
- Catherine Aquino Russell (lived experience),
- Melanie Prendergast (committee secretary, Municipality of Cumberland staff)
- Maggie Pitts (former committee chair, Municipality of Cumberland staff)