Citizen Walk About
Citizen Walk About is an annual event by SRSAN that raises community awareness and celebrates the disability rights movement.
SAVE THE DATE: September 15, 2023
2023 Theme: Together we are strong- Celebrating Resilience
What is Citizen Walk About?
The Citizen Walk About is a community Awareness event that celebrates the disability rights movement. This event happens annually and SRSAN invites the community to join them in the celebration. The Walk About celebrates all abilities, inclusion and brings awareness to the disability rights movement. Since it began in 2009, the Citizen Walk About has grown bigger and better each year! Strong messages from self-advocates about inclusion, community, equal rights and citizenship draw a crowd of 70 to 100 people annually as they walk from Lethbridge City Hall to Galt Gardens. Upon arrival, self-advocates and the community celebrate together through a barbeque and local entertainment!
History
The first Citizen Walk About was in 2009. Before Citizen Walk About, it was called the “Walk and Roll for Fun.” The idea came from a self-advocate at Peak Support Services to raise awareness for the then called ‘Handi Bus’. After the first year of the event, SRSAN decided to change the events name to Citizen Walk About. This is also when SRSAN started changing the event and has now become a disability pride event that celebrates the contributions of people to community. SRSAN invited many different groups to participate in the event including (but not limited to) Lethbridge Family Services, Immigrant Services, LGBTQ groups, and Greensense (environmental group). Through this event SRSAN was able to build a strong relationship with some local indigenous dancers and they now perform every year at the event.
T-Shirt Orders
We will be selling CWA T-shirts again this year for 2023. Please contact mail@saipa.org or call our office to get the order form!
SRSAN Asked Self-Advocates:
Why Is Citizen Walk About Important to you?
“SRSAN works as a team to get things done. Citizen Walk About gives us a chance to use our voice as a group, which means there’s more of a chance that people will listen.
It’s important for other to know what the even is about and what it means to us.”
How do we Achieve Full Citizenship?
“We should at least be given a chance to do. We're fighting in many areas because we have a disability, so we need to change people's thought processes and attitudes. Citizen Walk About is a good way to share our stories and showcase that we are able to do a lot.”
- Ben Rowley, Self-Advocate