BCPF Membership is for people who:
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Live in British Columbia and identify as having a intellectual, developmental, or learning disability
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Want advocacy efforts to reflect their goals and want self-advocacy skills learning opportunities
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Support our BCPF mission to advocate to government and service providers for the rights, wants, and needs of our BCPF Members and all people with disabilities
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Believe people labelled with the terms developmental disability or intellectual disability deserve freedom, choice, respect, dignity, and inclusion in our daily lives
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Understand what "nothing about us without us" means and why it matters — or wants to learn more about this and other human rights laws in BC and Canada
Join the People First movement in British Columbia!
Become a BC People First Member today to fight against ableism in our society.
Sign up to become a BC People First Member. Fill out the online enrolment form HERE.
BCPF Membership Includes:
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E-newsletters with self-advocacy tips and resources
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Voting rights at the Annual General Meeting
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Having a say in what we advocate for in our communities across BC
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Peer mentorship and self-advocacy support
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Plain language support for filling out selected online surveys
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Members-only social events
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Members-only education events
BCPF Members Can Get More Involved By:
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Attend meetings at a local BCPF Chapter or start a Chapter in their own area
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Join one of our BCPF Committees: Advocacy, Youth Leadership, Fundraising to work on advocacy and community projects
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Submit advocacy stories for the BCPF blog or get support from BCPF to write your own blog post
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Members can volunteer to be a Director on the Board when positions become vacant. Our Board and Society is run by self-advocates!
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In Canada, the People First movement began in 1973 when Self-Advocates came together from all over North America to talk about their rights. For people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their first issue was their right to live in the community – to get out of institutions.
By 1974, the first People First Chapter was up and running here in British Columbia. This first group was made up of men and women who lived in an institution and wanted to get out. They wanted to live in the community and have their voice, their choice, and their rights. For the next several years, People First groups began to form in provinces, territories, and communities across the country and these groups continue to grow and thrive.
To this day, BC People First still advocates for the rights and needs of our members and all people with disabilities. Such as affordable housing, relationship rights, increasing PWD rates, community accessibility, meaningful employment, plus much more. As a grassroots volunteer-run nonprofit society we promote and support self-advocacy training and peer mentorships. We want quality of life and equal rights for all people in our society and we work towards full implementation of the UNCRPD. Plus, there are community involvement and social opportunities for BCPF Members who want to get more involved.