The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
It’s a mantra employed by Louisa Bridgman, an advocate making noise to bring more awareness to the added challenges faced by her and other people with disabilities on the North Shore, especially in situations where first responders are involved.
Last year, Bridgman said she was aggressively threatened at a market in Central Lonsdale, and wasn’t able to get the immediate support from local police that she was expecting.
“I just feel like in some cases, first responders treat people with disabilities like we’re third-class citizens, but we’re just as much citizens as [people without disabilities],” she said.
“If this happened to them, they would expect something to happen right away. Or if they ever became in [need of] a wheelchair and they were attacked, they would be feeling the same way I’m feeling,” Bridgman said.
“I’m feeling the same way a lot of people are feeling,” she said, adding that it’s not just members of the disabled community who have these concerns, it’s everyone using walkers and canes too.
To amplify her concerns, Bridgman has taken up the pen as a board member of the North Shore Advisory Committee on Disability and written to local government asking for support.
In a July 7 meeting, District of North Vancouver council voted unanimously to direct staff to reduce various barriers and increase opportunities for people with disabilities. That includes creating more diverse employment, and improving physical accessibility of public infrastructure.
Staff was also directed to contact RCMP, West Vancouver police and other first responders to request information “on how they accommodate accessibility needs and ensure effective responses in public safety calls involving persons with physical and invisible disabilities.”
The council motion will also see staff collaborate with the disability committee and other North Shore municipalities to plan for an annual forum on public accessibility and safety for people with disabilities.
Included in the motion was Bridgman’s personal account of the incident that has left her feeling unsafe about going out in her own neighbourhood.
Police response to threatening incident 'completely backwards'
On April 12, 2023, Bridgman had an ultrasound appointment at Lions Gate Hospital because someone had fallen on her knee while she was riding the bus.
After the appointment, she left with a caregiver and went to a market a few blocks from the hospital.
Shortly after entering the store, a man who looked to be in his late 30s or 40s walked in and told her to move out of his way, swearing at her, Bridgman said.
She tried to comply with his request, moving her wheelchair to the side of an aisle in the store, but the man was screaming at her.
“He kept screaming at me,” Bridgman said. “He was telling me that people like me deserve to die. We deserve to get raped. And if I don’t f*cking move out of his way, he was going to break my chair and break me in half.”
Meanwhile, her caregiver and the store owner pleaded with the man to calm down, telling him that Bridgman was trying to do what he was asking. Bridgman said she also thought about reaching down to grab her phone or safety alarm, but didn’t feel safe, as it would expose her back to the aggressive man.
At one point, he walked into Bridgman, as she shielded herself with an outstretched arm, she said.
Eventually, she got out of the store, where the man continued to yell at her.
Finally getting away from him, Bridgman said she returned home to calm down. But soon after, she went to the North Vancouver RCMP detachment to file a report. What happened next surprised her.
“They said no one was able to take my statement at the time and to come back later,” she said. “First of all, I think that’s completely backwards. But that’s not the first time I’ve had to deal with police officers not taking people with disabilities very seriously.”
The next day, Bridgman ran into Mayor Linda Buchanan, who had heard about the incident. As Buchanan sits on the police board, she said she would raise it in an upcoming meeting.
Bridgman then got a call from an RCMP constable, who took her statement, and soon got back to her with information about the suspect.
They found out that he was mentally ill, and that he had just been discharged from Lions Gate Hospital, she said. “And if they did catch him, they would only be able to hold him for 24 hours.”
'People with disabilities need to be brought to the table'
The whole ordeal took an emotional toll on Bridgman, and highlighted two main areas of concern: why didn’t police provide a more immediate response to the problem? And why was a person with a mental disability discharged from hospital without any supports?
“I’ve had friends who are physically disabled and they’re being chased by people with mental health issues, or disabled children being wrongfully treated because the police, ambulance, fire truck or whoever is called to de-escalate the situation doesn’t know how to handle it,” she said.
“Instead of just saying you’re going to do something, why don’t they work with us to make sure that we feel safe and know how to properly handle situations?” Bridgman added.
When Bridgman had surgery in July, hospital workers wouldn’t let her go home unless she had all her caregivers in place. So why aren’t there similar requirements for people with mental disabilities?
“If you’re going to discharge somebody with mental health issues, why don’t you keep them there until you make sure that there is stable support for them?
“If there aren’t stable supports for them, then people need to create them," she said. "I’m asking all levels of government to step up and do something."
Bridgman, who has cerebral spastic palsy and has undergone dozens of surgeries in her lifetime, received the BC Rehab Gert Vorsteher Memorial Award in 2018 for her remarkable determination in her rehabilitation.
Now, she’s using that same determined spirit in hopes of making life better for other people with disabilities on the North Shore. Bridgman believes direct conversations with politicians and first responders will lead to better outcomes for people who have disabilities. She's aiming to help lead those conversations through the annual forum she is working to create.
“They’re being ableist by not supporting us as much as they support other communities,” she said. “People with disabilities need to be brought to the table, just like every other community.”
