leadership

Tricia Lins knows that telling the truth and building community are key to helping people with disabilities talk about their experiences with poverty.

 “I know how it is living in poverty: it’s very hard,” says the self-advocate from her home in Langley, B.C.

 Tricia has a speech impediment and a learning disability. She has received support from the provincial government and Community Living British Columbia for her entire adult life. As a single mother to a school-aged son, she knows how hard it is to provide for your family when receiving a disability pension. A national benefit would be a “humungous” help, she says. “It would definitely be a big jump from what we have now.”

Tricia also knows that change can happen when people with disabilities come together and share their ideas and experiences.

For several years, she worked at Community Living British Columbia as a self-advocate advisor. She helped adults with developmental disabilities across the province complete a survey about their quality of life and how the positive experiences in their life could be improved. Now a stay-at-home mom, Tricia still finds ways to connect with others who have disabilities. She began an advocacy group in Langley so self-advocates have a stronger voice in the community, and always looks for new ways to encourage people to participate. “I coaxed them with food,” she says about some of the group’s first meetings. 

Tricia lives with her son in Langley, B.C.