Programs

We work together to eliminate barriers to full and equal participation through a variety of programs and services for people with disabilities

Programs At A Glance

Recreation, Leisure and Accessible Sport

Recreation, Leisure and Accessible Sport offers programming for children, youth and adults who experience barriers to activities. Some opportunities include sledge hockey, power wheelchair hockey, power wheelchair soccer, wheelchair curling, dance classes, music therapy and more. We also offer a variety of summer camps for children and youth—every activity, from swimming and sledge hockey, to culinary arts and physical literacy, fosters independence and inclusion.

Children’s Service Coordination

Children’s service coordinators assist families to identify their strengths, needs and goals. They help identify appropriate services and resources to support families to make informed decisions about the options available to them. Children’s service coordinators assess eligibility for supports and make referrals to complementary services and help children and their families transition to daycare, school and adulthood. Children between birth and school age, who are residents of Manitoba who have a permanent physical disability, are Deaf or hard of hearing, have a brain injury, or experience seizures are eligible for support through this program.

Communication Centre for Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

The Communication Centre for Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing makes communication possible. We offer communication possibilities including American Sign Language (ASL), spoken language, pictures and/or gestures, combination/bi-lingual. This program provides comprehensive individualized programs for children under six who have permanent sensorineural or conductive bilateral or unilateral hearing loss. Primarily an outreach service, the goal is to help open a world of communication for children through a variety of accessible possibilities.

 

Community Education and Training

Manitoba Possible provides community education and training workshops on a wide range of topics aimed at helping the general public to understand and support removal of barriers to full and equal participation for all. Topics include disability awareness, inclusive recreation, Deaf culture, culture and disability, and accessible customer service.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services

Manitoba Possible provides numerous Deaf or hard of hearing services for youth and adults. Case workers provide life skills counselling, crisis counselling, and health and social service access coordination. Other services include vocational rehabilitation, employment preparation, ASL instruction for individuals and family members, and classroom-based English and ASL instruction for Deaf and hard of hearing immigrants and refugees.

 

Employment Preparation Centre

Manitoba Possible’s Employment Preparation Centre is the largest employment training centre in Winnipeg for people with disabilities. Our goal is to assist adults with disabilities to find and maintain employment, providing vocational services under three broad service categories: assessment services, employment services and employment supports.

Financial Empowerment

Manitoba Possible’s Financial Empowerment includes the “Access 2 Benefits” program, which provides free income tax filing services for people with disabilities living on low income and assists in applying for benefits programs like the disability tax credit or registered disability savings plan. The program also includes asset building, which matches client savings towards the purchase of a needed item following a ten-week money management course. Clients can save for needed items like medical equipment, accessible home appliances and furniture, communication tools, and other items that provide the necessities to live independently and safely.

 

Manitoba Wheelchair Program

Since 1950, Manitoba Possible has provided children and adults in Manitoba with essential mobility through the loan of manual and motorized wheelchairs. Our focus is on meeting the basic mobility needs of people who are active and living independently within the community. The Manitoba Wheelchair Program is available to community-living Manitoba residents who require a wheelchair for at least six months. Eligibility requires a consult and referral from a health care professional. Our program also provides maintenance and repair services in clients’ homes, workplaces or schools within the City of Winnipeg and surrounding areas.

Newcomer Navigation & Support

Manitoba Possible Newcomer Navigation and Support cultural facilitators provide direct cultural interpretation and facilitation services for clients and families who are newcomers to Canada who are living with disabilities (sometimes referred to as cultural brokerage). Many clients acquire their disability from acts of war and other very difficult living conditions in their native countries and bring with them numerous health and social co-morbidities. Manitoba Possible cultural facilitators assist new Canadians with disabilities to understand, navigate, and access health and social services in Winnipeg. Manitoba Possible staff also educate other health and social agency service providers by increasing their awareness of, and sensitivity to, the cultural values of clients from other countries.  

Parking Permit Program

The Manitoba Parking Permit Program is a program regulated by Manitoba Infrastructure and administered by Manitoba Possible. The program ensures that when a person has difficulty walking more than 50 meters they can park in one of the specially designated parking spots across the province. Typically, anyone who needs the full-time assistance of a mobility aid such as a wheelchair, walker, cane, or crutches is eligible for a parking permit. The parking permit is available for a cost recovery fee of $15.00. For people with a permanent disability, a permit is valid up to three years. Temporary permits expire once a person has completed their recovery (as certified by a health care professional). People are eligible for the permit even if they don’t own a vehicle. The numbered permit can be hung in the rearview mirror of any car as long as the registered permit holder is also in the car. 

Provincial Outreach Therapy for Children

Provincial Outreach Therapy for Children provides occupational yherapy, physiotherapy and speech language pathology services to children until they enter school. Services are delivered at home, child daycare centres, and nursery schools. We use a family-centred model, where the child and family are the central figures in determining service needs and goals. This model brings together parents, siblings, child care providers, therapists and a range of other service providers who all play an important role in supporting children to reach their full potential and be active participants in their community.

Self-Help Clearinghouse

Manitoba Possible Self-Help Clearinghouse supports a network of small independent self-help organizations that in turn provide services to people with disabilities. Support comes in the form of sharing health information through training sessions, individual consultation, dissemination of health information, and facilitating support group activities. The self-help organizations are comprised of people with disabilities and their support network of family and friends.

Northern Employment Services

Northern Employment Services assists people with disabilities and other barriers to find and maintain gainful employment. This programming is geared towards job readiness, through the provision of workshops and training seminars followed by assistance in finding gainful employment within the community of Thompson with the support of a job coach.

Vocational Rehabilitation

Vocational Rehabilitation is the progressive process of helping adults with disabilities to plan, prepare for, attain and maintain gainful employment. Our vocational rehabilitation counsellors assist participants in exploring vocational goals based on their interests, abilities and skills. This includes developing educational programs and supporting people to complete university degrees, diplomas and other education.