About us
Purpose
Vision
An accessible and inclusive Canterbury where all people with disabilities enjoy full lives without barriers.
Mission
Together with the local disability community, we develop access and wellbeing solutions that benefit all.
Values
Rangatiratanga – Disabled people and whānau are leaders and decision-makers
Accessibility – Access for all is at the heart of our solutions
Wellbeing – We promote mental, physical, spiritual, social and whānau wellbeing
Diversity – All disabled experiences and expertise have equal mana
Kotahitanga – We work together as one with our community to create change
Easy Read Format
People First has an Easy Read Translation Service which has translated information about Disability Leadership Canterbury into an Easy Read format. It describes:
Who we are
Where we came from
What we do
Our resources
How to contact us
Our Story
Disability Leadership Canterbury was born out of the whakapapa of The Earthquake Disability Leadership Group Trust (EDLG Trust), which was originally established in 2011 by Ruth Jones and Gary Williams to support an accessible rebuild of Christchurch.
As influential leaders in the disability and health sectors, Ruth, Gary and our Trustees could see a huge opportunity to re-think the design of Ōtautahi and make it accessible for people from all walks of life, including disabled people, older adults, families with young children and tourists.
Christchurch needed an independent group that could represent the disability sector as a whole. The group had to be relevant at a strategic level and be able to advocate for accessibility among the big players in the rebuild, both government and non-government. Our Trust was created to meet these needs.
In the early years, our priority was to ensure disabled people were well-supported to recover from the earthquakes. Our focus as a group then turned to ensuring the voices of disabled people were included in the planning and rebuild of Christchurch. We also wanted to ensure that disabled people were better-prepared for natural disasters and to cope with the ongoing psychosocial impacts of the earthquakes.
Our Trust was one of the leading voices in the regeneration of Christchurch and has since transformed to support disabled people through other social challenges and crises, including the March 15 attacks on Christchurch masjidain and now the Covid-19 pandemic. Our Trustees and network have representation on a large number of key community groups that influence the development of accessibility, inclusion and wellbeing solutions in Canterbury. We provide a mouthpiece to and from the disability sector.
As a network, we facilitate regular disability community meetings to connect people and solve local accessibility and inclusion issues. Our work includes ensuring an inclusive, ongoing COVID-19 crisis response for disabled people in Canterbury; supporting mental health and wellbeing resources for the Waitaha disability community; and continuing to promote the accessibility of public buildings and spaces in Ōtautahi and beyond.
Disability Leadership Canterbury also supports all-of-government submissions to directly influence disability and health sector decisions, including the implementation of accessibility legislation and the ongoing implementation planning for the nationwide Disability System Transformation.
We remain poised to support the emergency and crisis preparedness of local disabled people, and we are carrying out research to collate disability community learnings from the Canterbury earthquakes and beyond to inform future public crisis responses.
Our Board of leaders from the disability and health sector manage our strategic direction, and our wider network of over 150 people from approximately 60 supporting organisations contribute to the accessibility and inclusion initiatives we develop and support.
Our Board
Ruth Jones, Chair
Ruth is proud to serve her community in a variety of leadership roles across the health, disability, not-for-profit, education and community sectors. Much of her time is spent leading Hei Whakapiki Mauri, a whānau ora entity with the aim of raising the mauri of disabled Māori. Ruth brings both her professional experience and her perspective as a disabled Māori woman to her mahi, and has been awarded a QSM for her ongoing leadership and transformation work. Ruth is a co-founder and Chair of the Earthquake Disability Leadership Group Trust (operating as Disability Leadership Canterbury since 2021). The Trust was set up in 2011 to advocate for accessibility in post-earthquake Christchurch and now focuses on developing accessibility and wellbeing solutions with disabled people. Ruth also serves on the Bishopdale Community Trust and chairs the Marralomeda Trust. She has previously held governance and advisory roles with Workbridge, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. She continues to advise on the national transformation of New Zealand’s disability support system.
Cate Grace
Kāti Mamoe, Waitaha, Kāi Tahu
Cate has a strong conviction around whānau hauora and intergenerational change. She is the founder and Kaiwhakahaere of Whānau Whanake, developed with her husband Riwai over a decade ago as a result of limited access to Māori wrap around services offered to support them as a whānau at the time of their various diagnoses.
Cate’s mantra is to be a good ancestor – draw on the strength of our tipuna to be present today and offer new narratives for our future generations. She applies a kaupapa Māori vision towards a change in how we nationally address concerns of wellbeing —both as individuals, and as a country-wide network of coexisting communities.
Steering this Whānau Ora initiative she brings the knowledge of her indigenous tīpuna, her own lived experience of long-term health conditions and navigation of nearly 30 years of positively managing her own hauora while navigating the nation's healthcare systems. Cate now finds herself in a position to address limiting conceptions of whānau hauora and public health towards a future system that’s puts the needs of whānau and individuals at the heart of the process.
Cate draws on her Māori and English heritage and brings an eclectic skill set and experience in health, wellness, social enterprise, government, charity, community organisations, small business and corporate sectors that allows her to support and encourage others to fully participate in their world. She is on various boards and advisory committees in the health and disability sector. She has supported over 2000 whānau since setting up Whānau Whanake and continues to advocate for increased accessibility and participation and to create diverse and thriving places within our local communities and wider society.
Dr Lesley Campbell
Lesley was initially influenced to join our Board of Trustees as she aligns with the Disability Leadership Canterbury vision and strategy. Now having been a Board Member for four years, Lesley enjoys bringing an evidence base to decision making and engaging with all the great people involved. She’s hopeful to see DLC make a difference to outcomes for people with disabilities and other groups in our community. Lesley currently manages research, policy and strategy projects across the criminal justice, education, disability and social sectors and is an active member of Family Help Trust, Right Service Right Time, and the Community Language and Information Network Group. She also still manages to find time for her grandchildren and garden.
Grant Cleland
Grant is the most recent addition to our trust board and brings with him a wealth of expertise to support our kaupapa. Grant has more than 30 years’ experience supporting disabled people and their whānau. He has held a range of management and other roles with services in tertiary education, employment, social work, health, contracting and auditing, at national and local levels.
Born with a physical impairment and using a wheelchair for mobility from childhood, Grant brings both lived and professional experience.
Grant also has extensive experience in governance, leadership, social change, project management, strategic planning and training. He has specialist expertise in employment, transition and tertiary education for disabled people.
Grant lives in Christchurch. He is married to Nicky and dad to two teenage sons, both completing vocational education.
Impact and outcomes
The outcomes we are working towards include:
Short-term
Disabled people have access to specifically designed mental health education resources and workshops.
Disabled people learn positive mental-health and resilience tools to better cope with the pandemic and other challenges.
The Christchurch City Council Long-Term Plan considers and addresses inclusion and accessibility issues.
The Long-Term Plan consultation process is accessible and the Plan is available in various accessible formats.
Medium-term
Disability Leadership Canterbury has enhanced partnerships with local decision-makers and sector leaders that further accessibility and inclusion.
Local accessibility and inclusion initiatives incorporate a kaupapa Māori approach.
Long-term
Improved mental, physical, spiritual and social wellbeing for disabled people in Canterbury
Enhanced contribution of disabled people in local decision making
Public processes and solutions that are inclusive and accessible for all
Local crisis and emergency responses that work for the whole community, keeping us all safe
Universally accessible public buildings and spaces that everyone in Canterbury can enjoy
Disabled people contribute to their wider community.