When parents of children with serious physical disabilities contact the daycare at North York's Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda Synagogue, they are told their youngsters can't be included.
The only way to get to the child care centre on the second floor is by climbing the stairs, something a child in a wheelchair or needing a walker couldn't possibly accomplish.That reality upset daycare director Shelley Wise, who herself has trouble using stairs. She uses two canes after a fall at a grocery store left her seriously injured."It's difficult for me but it's not about me. Sadly, we have to tell (parents) we can't accept their children," she said."We want to be accessible to children and families of all abilities. I think it's very important to make our centre accessible, especially children in wheelchairs."Last year, Wise and others from the synagogue applied to the federal government for funding to install an elevator for the five-storey building north of Sheppard Avenue between Dufferin and Bathurst streets.On Friday, March 4, they got their wish.Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Diane Finley visited the synagogue to announce the government is not only giving Beth Emeth $75,000 towards an elevator, but is providing $14.2 million for 297 community projects across Canada to improve the lives of people with disabilities. "When people can more easily access a building or program, they feel empowered," she said.Rabbi Howard Morrison thanked Finley "for this very sacred and spiritual moment, not only for our synagogue but contemporary Jewish life."When he was growing up in the United States, his local synagogue had stairs that prevented people with disabilities from entering. Refreshments after services were held downstairs, another impediment for seniors or people with disabilities. The building has since been retrofitted, demonstrating how far society has come in embracing inclusiveness in recent decades, Morrison said."Forty years ago, it wasn't on our moral compass to think about the ideal we are finally thinking about in our time right now," he said.When he arrived at Beth Emeth 11 years ago, he was thrilled to see the synagogue accommodated people of different abilities. For example, there is barely a bump between the parking lot and the main floor of the building, making it easy for wheelchairs and walkers to navigate.Other areas of the synagogue, such as the daily chapel and the main pulpit in the sanctuary, have been recently renovated to be inclusive of people of all abilities, Morrison said."In my opinion, it has always been a spiritual and moral imperative that all of God's children, any person, men and women alike, feel 'I have access, I am included' in the ideals and tradition of our faith, whatever that faith may be," he said."Humanity is created in the likeness of God without exception. All humanity has the right to be embraced fully."Marcel Cohen, supervisor of the synagogue's Kadima program for people with developmental and physical disabilities, said the elevator will help clients reach the program two floors below the main level.Not only will it help Kadima participants, but other organizations can send their clients to participate.Kadima, open to different faiths, is a one-of-its-kind program offering services to people with developmental and physical disabilities in a spiritual setting. Participants are also included in other programs at the synagogue.The federal funding covers a portion of the cost of the elevator, expected to cost about $150,000. The synagogue will launch a fundraising campaign to raise the rest.