Advocacy Award

By Patchen Barss 

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital has been instrumental in advocating on behalf of children with disabilities who “age out” of the pediatric system. The hospital is working to change the policies that often leave young adults unable to access vital services during their crucial transition years of young adulthood.

Holland Bloorview provides transformative care, research and teaching to support over 9,500 kids and youth with disabilities and developmental differences each year.

Their care goes beyond clinical services to include efforts to educate, challenge and reduce stigma through public awareness campaigns, demanding a world that values children and youth with disabilities and developmental differences. Notably, their recent No Piece of Cake campaign focuses on the systemic failures of our healthcare system for people who lose access and services merely because they turned18.

The campaign draws on the hospital’s own research, which revealed two thirds of young adults with disabilities in Ontario don’t receive the healthcare they need — care that is a basic human right. More than three quarters face barriers accessing medical care, and seven in ten face increased medical costs.

The campaign melds these devastating data points with emotional storytelling, fueling widespread media coverage and social media discussion. Every element of No Piece of Cake is aimed at one goal: inspiring people to advocate for a health-care system that doesn’t leave young people with disabilities behind.

A major part of Holland Bloorview’s success stems from their commitment to collaborate with clients and families, ensuring their messages are authentic, and genuinely reflect the communities they serve. They embody diversity and representation not only among their campaign spokespeople, but in their conversations around planning and strategy. This commitment makes them an immensely effective influence on public discourse around the medical and social impacts of barriers to care.