Inclusion Selkirk honoured for work making our community more inclusive
In his first member’s statement at The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba local MLA Richard Perchotte praised Inclusion Selkirk.
Inclusion Selkirk is a non-profit that works for inclusion in our community while providing local options for individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families.
Perchotte decided to recognize Inclusion with this first statement because of the work they do.
“All citizens of Selkirk are extremely important to me. I wanted to show honour and respect to the unique and incredible organization of Inclusion Selkirk and all that they do for people living with intellectual disabilities and their families,” said Perchotte in an email to the Record.
He said he was very proud to be able to showcase Inclusion.
Maria Freeman the executive director of Inclusion Selkirk said that it was a great honour to be acknowledged.
“There are so many great organizations within our community that he could have chosen. Having him choose us felt really, really positive that all the work we’ve done around community development has been recognized and noticed. I think, for us, knowing that supports and services to people with disabilities is something people are aware of and alert to, especially those working at the Leg. building, it’s really important to us, so it’s a really good feeling,” said Freeman.
She described the feeling of being at the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as a very humbling experience for her and her colleagues who were there.
Freeman believes that Inclusion’s success comes down to the organization not just looking at disability issues but also at community issues.
“I think just being able to highlight people’s positive contributions to our community through our work is probably what we’re most proud of,” she said.
She hopes that all people in our community come to realize that inclusion is something that we are all responsible for.
“By being engaged in our community by working together by not separating people for differences, but bringing people together for the similarities that we all have. We can be an amazing community and an amazing place to live,” said Freeman.
Jessica Croy, a person receiving services from Inclusion Selkirk said that it was pretty sweet to be asked to go to the Legislature for this event.
“It means a lot to me because Inclusion does a lot of things for us,” said Croy.
Freeman thanks Perchotte for using this opportunity to honour Inclusion Selkirk.
“Thank you to Richard for honouring us with this statement at the legislative buildings, and for recognizing all the work of our volunteers, self-advocates and staff that have gone into the years of building this organization. We just really appreciate knowing that we’re being recognized by somebody and we couldn’t thank him more for the kind words that he said,” said Freeman.
