Kamloops Self-Advocate Newsletter

Krystian Shaw is an inspiring person with a learning disability. Here he explains the work he is doing for inclusion and citizenship for all.

My name is Krystian Shaw. I live in Kamloops, BC Canada. I am a person born with an intellectual disability who has always felt that inclusion was important. My goal is to stomp out stigma and discrimination around mental health issues, physical disabilities and all other disabilities.

I decided to start my own business to educate others about different abilities we have. I felt a newsletter would be the right platform to bring knowledge and understanding to society so inclusion and acceptance will become a reality around the world. I called the newsletter The Kamloops Self-Advocate Newsletter. It focuses on abilities rather then disabilities.

Everyone who writes an article in the newsletter has diverse abilities for the purpose of showing how capable we all are. I felt the need to educate the public on what we can do, not what we can’t do:

Focus on abilities – not disabilities

I provide resources to the community and people with diverse abilities. The newsletter is a small for profit business. It’s a free newsletter with advertisements inside.

The newsletter is an award winning business that was honoured with a few awards for all the social change it has accomplished. I love to help people overcome their own challenges and to tell their success stories in my newsletter format. As founder of the newsletter, I believe in Inclusion, equality and I want segregation from society to be a thing of the past. Nobody should be segregated, no matter who they are.

You can read the newsletter online here.

My newsletters are also in the young adult section of Ability Online, a free and monitored online support community that links kids with disabilities or illness to other kids and adults who care. In a password-protected environment, the site offers monitored topical discussion threads, chat facilities, and games and activities where kids can come together. Links to health information, peer support, and opportunities for skill development are always just a mouse click away. Visit the site or watch this short video to learn more.

Find me on Facebook: @thekamloopsselfadvocatenewsletter

Follow me on Twitter: @selfadvocatekam

Please contact me by email if you want to get a free newsletter or if you want to write for the newsletter – you can do that too.