Update on Accessibility at the DJC

In March 2023, the DJC Accessibility Committee set out its priorities for improving accessibility for people with disabilities at the DJC. During the past year, the Committee, Board, and staff made significant progress in removing barriers at the DJC.

Among our accomplishments:

• We greatly enhanced the accessibility of the DJC website. Many barriers to people with disabilities were removed. (Even if you don’t have a disability, you may notice that the website is better organized, more legible, and easier to get around.) 

• We developed a best practices guide for virtual events.

• We are offering more ASL (American Sign Language) and professional live captioning (aka CART) for those who are deaf and hard of hearing:

• There was ASL and CART at all five main High Holyday services.

• We are offering CART at one service a month. 

• ASL and CART are available on request at other in-person and hybrid events.

• We continue to offer many hybrid events. (The online option makes it easier for people with mobility difficulties to attend DJC events.)

• We provided training on the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) to the Board and to all volunteers. We now routinely provide this training to new staff. 

Coming soon! Training for staff and volunteers on planning accessible events. If you are involved in planning a DJC event, this training will help ensure that people with disabilities can fully participate.

The DJC Accessibility Committee needs more volunteers! To find out more, please email us at DJCaccess@proton.me.