ACCESSIBILITY
ACCESSIBILITY POLICY
Moyo Health and Community Services is committed to upholding and exceeding Ontario’s legislation intended to remove barriers to accessibility for persons with disabilities. This includes providing equal access to employment, information, goods, and services, and treating persons with disabilities with dignity and respect in a way that takes their disability into account.
DEFINITIONS
Definitions taken from the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, S.O. 2005, C. 11 or Ontario Human Rights Code.
“Accessible formats” may include, but are not limited to, large print, recorded audio and electronic formats, braille, and other formats usable by persons with disabilities.
“Barrier” means anything that prevents a person with a disability from fully participating in all aspects of society because of their disability, including a physical barrier, an architectural barrier, an information or communications barrier, an attitudinal barrier, a technological barrier, a policy, or a practice; (“obstacle”).
“Disability” is defined broadly by the Ontario Human Rights Code as:
1. "any degree of physical disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement that is caused by bodily injury, birth defect or illness and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, a brain injury, any degree of paralysis, amputation, lack of physical coordination, blindness or visual impediment, deafness or hearing impediment, muteness or speech impediment, or physical reliance on a guide dog or other animal or on a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or device,
2. a condition of mental impairment or a developmental disability,
3. a learning disability, or a dysfunction in one or more of the processes involved in understanding or using symbols or spoken language,
4. a mental disorder, or
5. an injury or disability for which benefits were claimed or received under the insurance plan established under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997."
POLICY
Moyo Health and Community Services will make every reasonable effort to meet the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), 2005, including all applicable elements of the Integrated Accessibility Standards.
1. Information and Communication
2. Employment
3. Customer Service
4. Design of Public Spaces
5. Transportation
Moyo Health and Community Services will provide training to all employees, volunteers, and independent contractors to ensure they are familiar with our policies, practices, and procedures for communicating with and providing services to persons with disabilities.
Information and Communication
Moyo Health and Community Services will make its information accessible to people with disabilities by creating materials and supports in accessible formats, and it will notify the public of the types of accessible formats provided.
Further, Moyo Health and Community Services will deliver alternate formats of information to clients, upon request. If a particular material cannot be converted into an accessible format that meets the needs of the person requesting it, Moyo Health and Community Services will provide details of why it cannot be converted and provide a summary of the information or communication in another way that is suitable to the person requesting it.
Moyo Health and Community Services can arrange sign language interpretation for those that prefer sign language as their primary method of communication. Sign Language interpreters will be requested from the city of Mississauga, request must be made three days prior to the client meeting.
This extends to any emergency procedures or safety information prepared by Moyo Health and Community Services.
Employment
Moyo Health and Community Services welcomes and encourages employment applications from people with disabilities and will do its part to make hiring and employee support practices more accessible by providing accommodation during all stages of recruitment, hiring, and employment.
If a job applicant requests accommodation, Moyo Health and Community Services will consult with the applicant and provide suitable accommodation that takes the person’s accessibility needs into account.
When making offers of employment, Moyo Health and Community Services will notify the successful applicant of its policies for accommodating employees with disabilities.
New employees will be reminded about the organization’s job accommodation policies as soon as possible upon being hired and notified when any future changes are made to policies. Policy and practice information will include available employment accommodations that will be provided for job related matters such as performance management, career development, emergency response plans, and return to work information.
Moyo Health and Community Services will consult with an employee who requests it, to provide or arrange for the provision of accessible formats and communication supports that take the employee’s needs into account when providing information that is needed to perform the employee’s job, and information that is generally available to employees in the workplace.
Customer Service
Moyo Health and Community Services will provide customer service in a manner that removes barriers for people with disabilities according to the following key principles of the AODA:
● Goods and services will be provided in a manner that respects the dignity and independence of persons with disabilities.
● Service to people with disabilities will be integrated with others, unless an alternate way of providing the goods, service or facility is required by the person with the disability.
● Persons with disabilities will be given equal opportunity to use and benefit from the goods, services, or facilities an organization or business has to offer.
● We will communicate with people with disabilities in a way that takes the individual’s disability into account.
Assistive Devices, and Service Animals, Service Dogs or Guide Dogs
Persons with disabilities who use an assistive device will be permitted to use their own device to access the goods and services of Moyo Health and Community Services.
If a person with a disability is accompanied by a guide dog or other service animal, Moyo Health and Community Services shall ensure that the person is permitted to enter the premises with the animal and to keep the animal with them, unless the animal is otherwise excluded by law from the premises.
Support Workers
If a person with a disability is accompanied by a support person, Moyo Health and Community Services will ensure that both persons are permitted to enter the premises together and that the person with a disability is not prevented from having access to the support person while on the premises.
Moyo Health and Community Services will ensure that notice is given in advance if admission fees will be charged to support workers for accessing the goods or services in their role as support person, including how much the fee will be.
Service Interruptions
If there is a temporary disruption in any of our services either in whole or in part, Moyo Health and Community Services will provide notice of the disruption to the public via as many channels as possible, in accessible formats, where available. We will physically post notices where the disruption is taking place as well as through any other channels that are appropriate such as email, phone, text, social media, or on our website.
Notice of the disruption will include the reason for the disruption, its anticipated duration and a description of alternative facilities or services, if any, that are available.
Process for Receiving Feedback
Moyo Health and Community Services will accept feedback about the way in which it provides goods and services to persons with disabilities in person, by phone or email, or in another way that is suitable to a person with a disability.
When a complaint is received about the way we provide goods, services, or facilities to persons with disabilities, Moyo Health and Community Services will let the person who submitted the feedback know about the actions the organization will take to resolve the issue.
At Moyo Health and Community Services, the person designated to accept feedback is Jillian Watkins at ed@moyohcs.ca.
Transportation
Moyo Health and Community Services does not provide conventional or specialized commercial transportation services to passengers and is not required to adhere to the Transportation Standard. Moyo Health and Community Services will arrange for TransHelp for those individuals that require specialized vechile support to access our services
Design of Public Spaces
If Moyo Health and Community Services redesigns or redevelops an outdoor public space such as a parking area, outdoor eating area or play space, exterior path of travel, recreational trail or beach access route, or an indoor or outdoor service counter, waiting area or queuing line, it will do so in accordance the Design of Public Spaces Standard of the AODA. Moyo Health and Community Services will also ensure any newly redesigned or redeveloped areas are maintained in accordance with the rules set out by the AODA.
Accessible Document Request Policy
Purpose
This policy outlines the procedures for individuals with disabilities to request accessible formats and communication supports for documents in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and Ontario Regulation 191/11 - Integrated Accessibility Standards. Our organization is committed to ensuring equal access to information for all individuals, including those with disabilities.
Scope
This policy applies to all individuals who require documents in accessible formats and communication supports, including employees, customers, and the general public, in relation to documents and communications provided by our organization.
Statement of Commitment
Our organization is committed to providing accessible documents and communication supports in a timely manner and without barriers, enabling people with disabilities to access the same information as individuals without disabilities.
Requesting Accessible Documents
1. How to Make a Request
Individuals with disabilities may request documents in an accessible format or with communication supports. Requests can be made by:
o Phone: 905-361-0523
o Email: info@moyohcs.ca
o In-Person: At our office located at 7700 Hurontario St, Unit 601, Brampton, ON, L6Y 4M3.
2. Information to Include in the Request
When requesting an accessible document, please provide:
o Your name
o Contact information (email, phone number, or mailing address)
o A description of the document(s) you need in an accessible format
o The preferred accessible format or communication support you require (e.g., large print, Braille, audio format, screen reader-compatible files, etc.)
3. Response Time
We will respond to requests for accessible documents as soon as possible and no later than 5 business days from the date of the request. If an extended timeline is required, we will notify you and work to fulfill the request within a reasonable timeframe.
4. Available Accessible Formats and Communication Supports
We offer accessible formats and communication supports for documents that are available in our organization. Available options include, but are not limited to:
o Large print
o Braille
o Audio format
o Electronic formats (e.g., Word, PDF)
o Tactile graphics
o Other formats as required
5. Cost of Accessible Documents
Accessible documents will be provided at no additional charge to the individual requesting the format. The cost of providing the accessible document will be no more than the cost of providing a standard document. Our organization will ensure that the cost of providing accessible documents does not cause undue financial hardship to our operations. In situations where the provision of an accessible format would create significant additional costs, the organization will evaluate the situation and seek alternative methods of accommodation.
6. Exceptions
In some cases, it may not be possible to provide the document in the requested accessible format. If we cannot fulfill the request, we will work with the individual to find a suitable alternative. If a requested format would require an undue hardship to provide, the organization may discuss alternatives.
Training and Awareness
Our staff members will receive training on the procedures outlined in this policy to ensure they understand how to accommodate requests for accessible documents and communication supports. This training will be provided as part of our ongoing commitment to accessibility.
Feedback
We value feedback on our accessible document request process. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, or if you wish to provide feedback on how we handled your request, please contact us at:
• Email: info@moyohcs.ca
• Phone: 905-361-0523
Contact Information
For more information or to make a request, please contact:
Moyo Health and Community Services
905-361-0523
info@moyohcs.ca
7700 Hurontario Street, Unit 601, Brampton, ON, L6Y 4M3.
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