A local optometrist and a Morinville-based non-profit organization are two of some 900 recent recipients of a federal grant to support projects to improve accessibility, the Canadian government announced in early June.
The grant program, called the Enabling Accessibility Fund (EAF), “contributes to the Government of Canada's ongoing commitment toward its Disability Inclusion Action Plan by promoting the creation of a fully inclusive Canada free of physical, societal, and attitudinal barriers,” according to a May 30 news release.
Dr. Ziad Al Qishawi, the sole optometrist and owner of St. Albert Opticians on Hebert Road, says his grant will go toward making the clinic more accessible, and also expand his ability to provide mobile service. He sees it as an opportunity to deliver eye care to residents and seniors who face barriers making it to the office.
“I think access to health care is needed,” Qishawi said. “I see an aging society that needs the help.”
“The first step is ... the office along with the facility, making that more adaptable to accessible health care,” he said, explaining his clinic is about to undergo a multi-week renovation. Once the renovation is complete, Qishawi said he'll supplement the equipment he needs to do mobile eye exams, as well as the technology that supports the clinic's administrative system.
“The machines available at a localized facility offer more to the doctor in a more efficient (way), but those machines are not mobile,” he said. “The doctor who does an in-office visit (has) pre-testers or employees finish the pre-examination portion. Then the doctor finishes the exam and finishes the diagnosis with the treatment, whereas the mobile (service) you have to do it all on your own.”
“You have to think outside the box," Qishawi said. "You have to use different equipment. And the equipment does not think for you and the pre-test is not done for you, so you're truly doing it A to Z.”
He said he got the idea to offer mobile eye-exams during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has since provided the service on an as-needed basis.
Qishawi said one example of how new equipment is needed to complete mobile eye exams is tonometers, which are used to test the pressure inside one's eye. Although portable tonometers, as well as portable versions of other commonly used examination tools are available, they can be expensive, he said. Online, through a Canadian optometry supply company, portable tonometers listed for over $6,000.
Although he declined to say how much the business was receiving through the grant program, Qishawi said without the funding, the project might not be feasible.
“I hope to provide more to my community that I grew up in," he said. "I hope that the community appreciates this, and I hope the community is patient with me, because this is only the first step to a bigger dream.”
Also receiving funding from the EAF program this year is the Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation, based in Morinville.
Since 2012, the foundation has worked to address a shortage of emergency shelter spaces in the area, especially for those experiencing family violence and abuse. In 2020, the foundation opened a 35-bed shelter in Morinville called Jessie's House.
The foundation's namesake, Jessica Martel, was murdered by her common-law husband James Urbaniak in Morinville in 2009.
In an email, foundation executive director Marla Poelzer said the organization will be putting its grant toward an accessible playground for children who stay at Jessie's House. The playground will be called Jessie's Adventure Park.
“The playground will include play structures themed towards early childhood development,” she said. “Outdoor play will enhance program delivery and encourage joyful engagement, all through a trauma-informed lens.”
To date the foundation has raised $81,000 through grants like the EAF, one-time donations and fundraising efforts; however, the project's overall cost is estimated at $110,000, according to documents from Jessie's House.
Some 198 children stayed at Jessie's House in 2022 alone, and the foundation expects to see more children in the months to come as it works toward spreading awareness of available services.
“The park will increase cognitive functions, encourage healthy bonding between children and parents, and build self-esteem,” the document from the foundation says.
Poelzer said the foundation expects construction to start this year, although a timeline for finishing is undetermined.
