Sfu's Vancity Office Of Community Engagement

The Power of Disability host, Al Etmanski is joined by partners and disability advocates Tim Louis and Penny Parry. Tim is a lawyer, politician, and longtime leader of the disability movement within British Columbia. Penny has worked as a university professor, artist, and youth care practitioner. Tim and Penny share stories and learnings from 40 plus years of working on social issues in their own careers and together as a couple. Tim delves into his experiences working as a lawyer under his mentor, Harry Rankin. He discusses issues with processes that keep supports and monetary assistance behind bureaucratic walls, and problematizes assumptions that disabled folks are fragile, vulnerable, or unresilient. Penny considers her experience with mentorship, reflects on her teaching and work with youth and families, and shares how she sees her art practice as a means of moving people towards understanding, questioning, and social change. Read the transcript of this episode: https://www.sfu.ca/sfuwoodwards/communi