With more than 80 per cent of mental and physical health impairments occurring during an individual’s working life, effective workplace accommodations are crucial to mitigating both the financial and psychological impacts of long-term unemployment.
The new Reducing Poverty through Early Intervention and Occupational Rehabilitation Initiative (RPI) aims to address these challenges by providing comprehensive disability case management.
“We know it’s difficult for people to maintain their jobs after an injury or acquiring a disability. We listened and today we’re taking action to reduce employment barriers,” said BC Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, Sheila Malcolmson.
Supported by the Governments of Canada and British Columbia, the RPI program offers practical solutions for immediate disability management and long-term recommendations for employers. The provincial government has allocated $4 million to support individuals in Nanaimo, Kelowna, Prince George, and Vancouver in their return-to-work journey.
The program promises compassionate assistance to help disabled individuals retain employment. This support may include health care services such as occupational therapy and physiotherapy, as well as ergonomic interventions. Certified Disability Management Professionals (CDMPs) will play a pivotal role in the initiative, drawing on successful models like Belgium’s federal Disability Management efforts, which have been in place since January 2022.
The pilot initiative targets individuals with limited or no organizational disability support, offering them essential resources to facilitate their return to work. To ensure the initiative’s success and potential replication in other regions, an Executive Leadership Committee has been established. Chaired by former BC Minister for Social Development and Poverty Reduction, Shane Simpson, this committee includes senior representatives from various national and multi-stakeholder organizations.
Wolfgang Zimmermann, Executive Director of the National Institute of Disability Management and Research (NIDMAR), highlighted the initiative’s personal relevance.
“As someone who suffered a severe spinal cord injury in a logging accident during my first week on the job, I was extremely fortunate to have the support of the employer and the union in being able to maintain workplace attachment through subsequent retraining,” Zimmermann said. “Sadly, I have witnessed too many friends and colleagues who, following a serious health impairment, were not accommodated and, as a consequence, suffered long-term unemployment, poverty, family breakdown, etc. The aim of this Initiative is to support individuals, along with their employers, through the return to work process.”
For additional details as they become available, please monitor the NIDMAR website as follows:
www.reducingpoverty.nidmar.ca