Pull Together, Inclusively

The Centre for Inclusion and Citizenship (CIC) opened at the UBC Okanagan campus. As an advocate for people with intellectual disabilities, the CIC “seeks to further the inclusion and full citizenship of people with intellectual disabilities and their families,” avows Rachelle Hole, CIC co-director and associate professor with the School of Social Work. The only university-based research facility of its kind in Canada with a dedicated focus on intellectual disability policy and practice, the CIC is a partnership between the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses and will conduct research and ‘create knowledge that will influence and inform policy and practices’. Areas addressed include employment, transition planning for youth, non-residential supports and alternatives, healthcare and assistive technology, home sharing and aging.