 Today we're in Vernon, British Columbia at the 11th community consultation and we're at the halfway point. We started in the Comox Valley, we've been up to Prince George, we've been down to Surrey, Vancouver Island and now we're in beautiful Okanagan. I think this is an awesome idea, you know, because how do we know these situations exist if we don't talk about them? I'm hoping that this is a forum where we can at least, you know, gain some recognition and hopefully reduce the isolation of people who have a severe hearing loss. One of the innovations we've talked about is the volunteer piece. For example, we have Vernon the school children coming into our soup kitchen to do volunteer work. We have a community garden that was recently started. So wanting to bring folks who traditionally haven't held employment to get involved, being outside, getting their hands dirty and things like that. Myself have found it very frustrating and very degrading because you're looked at differently. You look at me and you don't think I'm disabled but then if I tell you I'm on disability and I'm dependent on the government you're looked down upon and it's not right. There's a lot of us that are willing and able and it's hard. It's all a catch-22 and it leads into depression. You want to be part of the community but there's on some days where I just don't have the energy or the strength and I can't get out and yeah. So if we all come together and we push for this I think that BC is going to be a better place. One of the things that this community consultation, but at all the community consultations is as a politician it's not about us talking it's about us listening and Vernon is definitely stepping up to the plate. They are providing solutions, they're pointing out where their gaps are in service providing and and not just you know with the ministry but also maybe at different levels of government but also how we can make things a little better for persons not just with disabilities but all society.