We are parents, guardians, self-advocates + caregivers living in British Columbia. We all love someone with Down syndrome + we are coming together to become the driving force for change.
Our Vision.
All people with Down syndrome in BC will have access to support, care and opportunities that enrich their lives, and allow them to have a meaningful impact within the community.
Our Mission.
The Down Syndrome Society of British Columbia will work to bring about real change for people with Down syndrome in BC. We will advocate for and share information to support truly inclusive education, supportive and informed interactions with healthcare providers, and improved access to early intervention services for individuals with Down syndrome. We will forge connections across our province-wide community so that families and individuals with lived experience (the real experts!) can guide each other.
We Acknowledge.
We would like to respectfully acknowledge the unceded, ancestral territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, specifically the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, as well as the Snuneymuwx and Snaw-naw-as First Nations that our organization operates on. As part of our commitment to our individual and collective learning journey about the impacts of colonialism and being an active part of reconciliation, we humbly offer this land acknowledgement. We live, work, and raise our families on these beautiful traditional lands and it’s important to us that we hold ourselves accountable to changing the way we are in relationship to these lands and to the First Peoples who have sustained these lands for thousands of years. The land acknowledgement is a way for us to promote understanding and teach our children the history of Canada, and we share them with you today as an invitation for us all to be active change agents by committing to a learning and unlearning journey.