By: Gabriella Rabaa
For over three decades, Eddy Morten has been a strong advocate and leader for the Deafblind community in British Columbia and beyond.
Eddy was born deaf and later experienced a gradual decline in his sight, resulting in total blindness in one eye and some light perception in the other. He communicates using tactile American Sign Language (ASL) and uses a guide dog. A three-time Canadian Paralympic athlete, Eddy is a founding member of the BC Association of the Deafblind and has advocated for various issues faced by the Deafblind community, including transportation, guide dog access, and increased intervenor services.
Eddy says that advocating as a person who is Deafblind can be difficult, as most physical and digital environments rely on audible or visual cues to navigate. Attitudinal barriers are also pervasive, as many people lack basic awareness of Deafblindness and hold problematic assumptions about what a Deafblind person can do. These assumptions led Eddy to file a Human Rights complaint against Air Canada after he was prevented from flying without an attendant.
Eddy encourages people who are Deafblind to get involved in advocacy to understand their rights, learn how to exercise them and ensure the human rights of persons with disabilities are protected and respected.
“Unless you start practicing those leadership skills, you’ll continue facing the same barriers,” says Eddy. “I want all Deafblind people to advocate for themselves instead of looking to others, to take ownership of the solutions and make the change for themselves.”
To learn more about Deafblindness and how you can become an advocate, check out resources from Deafblind Community Services at www.deafblindservices.ca.