King’s College in Halifax marks National Accessibility Awareness Week by donning red shirts

Red Shirt Day aims to promote accessibility and inclusion in all aspects of life.

The University of King’s College in Halifax came together Wednesday to mark Red Shirt Day.

The event is held annually during National Accessibility Week to raise awareness and show support.

“All across Canada schools, organizations are wearing red today. Of course I stepped it up a notch and I’m wearing a red dress! But it’s to show support for Canadians living with disabilities,” says Michelle Mahoney, King’s accessibility officer.

Mahoney lives with arthrogryposis, which affects her joints and muscles, causing her to have limited mobility in her arms, hands, and knees.

She says people with disabilities deal with barriers every day.

“From getting into buildings, using accessible washrooms. I’ve noticed on the sidewalks there are new scooters with blue helmets and I often see them parked in the way for people with disabilities, so if somebody was going down the street in a wheelchair the scooter’s going to be in their way,” she says.

Mahoney said accessibility can be achieved by doing a lot of little things.

“But it can’t be done in a day and when you do a lot of little things it really does make a big difference,” she says.

More than a dozen staff and faculty members gathered for a photo on the steps of Kings in their red shirts that showed their support for accessibility, inclusion and equity.

Mahoney says the crowd “melted her heart.”

“This is our third year at Kings for people to wear red shirts and I mean just look at the crowd that came out, wasn’t that amazing? People are taking accessibility seriously and I think that’s great,” she says.

At 37.9 per cent, Nova Scotia has the highest disability rate in Canada, according to Statistics Canada.

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