Neil Squire had always been an active member of society. Born and raised in British Columbia he grew up participating in school sports, achieving merits in scholastics, and eventually went on to the University of Victoria.
In December of 1980, his life, however, would be changed forever. While driving home one night he lost control of his vehicle after hitting a patch of black ice. The vehicle veered into a tree severing his vertebrae and leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.
Squire would commit himself to rehabilitation and with the help of his cousin, Bill Cameron (founder of the Neil Squire Society), Squire would be able to communicate with those he loved again. Using the "sip-and-puff" system Cameron created from a teletype machine, Squire was able to learn Morse code and this was converted by Cameron's machine into words displayed on a screen. This would later give way to a computer based system.
In 1984 Squire passed away due to kidney failure, but his legacy would endure as the many volunteers and other patients who had worked with the Computer Comfort Program would develop the Neil Squire Society.
Today this Society focuses on helping anyone with disabilities obtain the opportunity to work through offering training opportunities or paying for assistive technology.
"Neil Squire Society is a national non-profit organization for people with disabilities, mostly helping them re-enter the workforce, gain whatever skills they need to re-enter the workforce and one of our big things that we do is assistive technology, which is any technology anybody needs to do the work they need to do," Nikki Langdon, Prairie Regional Manager of the Neil Squire Society, stated. "And Neil Squire Society has a research and development department to create this technology..."
"We're found across Canada and we have several programs... the new program we're working with here and opening, partnering with the Carlyle Chamber of Commerce, is called Working Together and it's a wage subsidy program where we help people with disabilities or barriers to... connect them with job opportunities and we can help subsidize their wages for the first year."
With the recent re-establishment of the Carlyle Chamber of Commerce came the interest of the Neil Squire Society to work in the area.
"They actually contacted the Chamber here in Carlyle because they didn't realize we had one, because we are so new," Martin Tourand, President of the Carlyle Chamber, explained. "They're already partnered with the Chambers in Moose Jaw and Saskatoon, I believe, and they partner in conjunction with the Chamber. They use the Chamber for contact to businesses..."
In contacting Carlyle the Society intends to establish it's Working Together program, which looks at a wage subsidy employment program.
"So, they have clients that are handicapped and they try to help get jobs for them," Tourand stated. "Now, that includes writing resumes to contacting businesses to, if they have to go into the business, they have money to set up a handicap space, whether it be handicap access or special computer equipment or whatever the case may be."
Thus the Society will subsidize wages for a minimum of six months, provide necessary worksite accommodations if needed, and for the duration of the contract will provide support to the businesses as well as their clients.
All that is essentially needed are businesses to provide an opportunity for a position with them for someone with a disability. In addition the business then simply provides feedback to the Society staff in order to aid in the development of the individual they are assisting.
"So, it's a wonderful program and I think it will be something really good for the town," Tourand said.
Langdon, also explained the importance of opening an office in Carlyle to The Observer: "Our mandate and the clientele we're working with is rural clients and First Nations clients in this program and so it just seemed like the perfect match for us and we've been wonderfully received by your Chamber. And we're very, very excited to work in your community."
The Carlyle Chamber has already been accepted by the program and initial meetings in the community began on Oct. 11, when Langdon visited the area.
"We're going to find a space for them, and we're probably going to be running the Chamber out of the same offices that they use," Tourand explained. "It's interesting. It's going to help the Chamber, it's going to help the town, and it's going to help the handicap people as well."
