B.C. non-profit that provides support for people with disabilities faces closure after funding cut

Article content

“It started, actually a decade ago, with a team of us moving into a social housing complex in Burnaby and really trying to understand the lived experience of people that had been moved out of institutions,” said Schulman.

Article content

The non-profit’s website lists coming events ranging from karaoke to book clubs, and a hangout for hockey fans.

Article content

These could all be gone as soon as August, which is when Curiko’s funding will run out.

Article content

Schulman said the organization has urged its attendees to write to their local MLA protesting the funding cuts, and expects to see around 130 letters sent out. Curiko has set up a Substack discussion forum where they are posting some of the letters.

Article content

Bella Brouse is a coach with Curiko, where experiences are free, varied and based on community members’ passions and interests, from foraging to craft, from hockey hang-outs to poetry and spirituality cohorts, from knitting to comedy and music. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

Article content

Bella Brouse, a coach with Curiko, said she got involved with the organization a few years ago as a participant and later transitioned into leading workshops.

Article content

She says that, as someone who has autism, she has always been rather shy and reserved, but the programming run by Curiko helped bring her out of her shell.

Article content

“I was so isolated before I found Curiko. I didn’t have any friends, I didn’t have community, and their support and long-term mentorship has truly changed and impacted my life and gives me the ability to help other people. So I don’t really know what will become of our community without it,” said Brouse.

Article content

Article content

Vernon resident Meredith Norton said her son Adrian, who has severe autism, has had to schedule his Community Living day programs and other family events around the Curiko workshops because he won’t miss them.

Article content

She said that when he first started attending them during the COVID pandemic he would just observe but wouldn’t say too much. Now she said that he is one of the most-engaged in every session.

Article content

“For the first time in his life, he feels a real sense of belonging to this community of people. And it’s just like old home week when they get online, you can just hear them all chattering and laughing and enjoying each other’s company, albeit online.”

Article content

Larissa Gunkel, a 42 year-old Burnaby resident, said the sense of community among people who participate in Curiko’s programs is strong, with several members of the non-profit visiting her while she has been in hospital for the past three months due to flesh-eating disease.

Article content

After having her leg amputated, Gunkel is moving to a group home. She said that without Curiko she isn’t sure how she will cope with the transition away from independent living.

Article content

“It would be a shame for it to close, because it would really affect the inclusion community and people out in the community with our overall well-being and our overall health and our existence,” she said.

Article content

Article content