Being a city councilor can be a thankless task, so when a group of six self-advocates from Vedder Terrace showed up at a recent Chilliwack council meeting to offer thanks and appreciation to the members, they were surprised. Councilor Harv Westeringh commented, “We usually only get complaints, not many people come and thank us!”
Micaela, Jack, Charlotte, Amber and Stephen were a little nervous and excited when they walked up the stairs of the Chilliwack city hall at the end of March. They were there to present 35 gift bags to council members and senior city staff as a small gesture of gratitude for the work they do in making Chilliwack a great place to live. They knew it was a positive act of encouragement and goodwill, but they didn’t know how it would be received.
They needn’t have worried. They were met with a warm welcome at the main entrance by members of council. Stephen and his friends presented the gift bags, each containing, he explains, the things needed to get through a meeting: cookies, some trail mix, a pen, pad of paper, a water bottle.
Self-advocates Jack, Micaela, Amber, Stephen and Charlotte presented their gifts of appreciation to Chilliwack city council members at city hall.
Each of the self-advocates introduced themselves and shared what they were thankful for. Stephen recalls that he talked about how grateful he was to have the buses running again and for all the improvements the city has done to make transportation more accessible. Others of the group talked about how more visible crosswalks improve their ability to get around, public events like ‘Party in the Park’ bring fun and joy, and developing and maintaining parks and trails throughout the city makes a healthy place to live.
Stephen said, “They let us take some photos with them and then they invited us to watch the council meeting.” Dawna Braun remembered the look of awe on their faces when they stepped into council chamber. Stephen was impressed with how formal everything in the room was: the seating for each council member, the flags, the mayor had a gavel, and how everyone called the mayor, “Your Worship”. During the meeting, Councilor Chris Kloot introduced the self-advocates at the meeting and thanked them for being there.
Stephen smiles and his eyes light up as says, ‘yeah, and we found out they are gonna do a drone light show instead of fireworks for Canada Day! We heard them, they were talking about it!”
The self-advocates were impressed by the formality of the Chilliwack council meeting. And learning that this is a place they can find out about new plans and projects in their city. All five of the self-advocates enjoyed watching their civil government in action and seeing behind the scenes of city development in Chilliwack.
Some days later as Stephen was working at the local Produce Gone Wild store, he looked up and saw Mayor Popove approaching him. The Mayor just wanted to tell him how much he appreciated the visit and their kind words and gifts. It made Stephen feel good that he had been a part of something so meaningful to others in his community. He said, “It was good to give to others. I had a good visit and talk with the Mayor about the presents we gave to the city and he wished me a good day.”
Self-advocates are encouraged and supported to engage and share their perspective and experiences with their community and community leaders as one way to build connection and belonging. Along with Vedder Terrace, Bethesda’s other services in the Chilliwack area are also participating in showing gratitude to recipients of their choosing.
