Vicki

Please share about yourself, your experience with the Disability Assistance Benefit, and anything else you would like people to know.

My name’s Vicki, I am from Vancouver, BC, and I am 25 years old. I am a Special Olympics athlete for swimming. I am a sunshine person, I really love to talk to people, and I have a reading disability. A reading disability, is kind of . . . other people learn fast, I am the person who is learning very slow. 

I live with my mom. Right now I am currently working, so I help my mom with bills and some groceries. Usually my mom, before I don’t have job, so my mom paid for everything. Now I have job and I help my mom out.

We moved from Taiwan, and I started my grade seven here. I also speak Chinese.

Right now I’m pretty much independent on transit, I can go on transit by myself. I am exploring a new community with my community connector, they are helping me to try to meet new friends, try to go to different communities and learn new bus routes together. 

Food is ok, but the housing, the rental, is kind of not enough, because my rent is $1200, so the benefit, the PWD money, everything just goes to the rent. Sometimes there is no money left over for the food. And the transit, I am on the BC bus pass program, so every year they renew for us. The medical, I have the health benefits (MSP), so the government covers certain medicine for me. 

One day, if I’m ready, I want to live by myself. Because my mom always says, “I will not live with you forever. I will pass away someday, so you maybe need to live by yourself.”

Sometimes my uncle helps us out, because my dad passed away when I was 12 years old, so right now it’s only my uncle helping us out. 

I feel that some physio therapy doesn’t have enough coverage for disability people, because some people want to go to physio therapy but it’s so expensive, they check the benefit and it isn’t covered, so I think physio can hopefully be covered for us. So we can pay less. 

Would you use physiotherapy if there was more coverage?

Yes.

Are there other things you would use if you had coverage?

Eye, because I had surgery last November. Because I was diagnosed with Strabismus, so I had eye surgery. So maybe they could have benefit to cover surgery and eye check up, that way we don’t have to pay out of our own pocket. And dental, I would go more if it was covered.

My mom’s English is not very well, so we usually have a translator when we talk to the government.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know?

I am the person who really likes to explore a new community, and I am the girl very involved in the community, and I just love to share my story, share my passion with them together. So don’t be scared if you have a disability, don’t be scared because everybody has a different kind of disability, but everyone is living in the happy world together. 

What do you dream support for people with disabilities could look like?

I dream all the disability people are all holding hands, after when the COVID is done, just like holding hands in a big circle and celebrate with each and every body, saying, “You have a different kind of disability.” Everybody can hold hands, celebrate together, and then cherish every moment together. Hopefully the job placements can open to more disability people to see how great they are. Hopefully the job people open up more for us, the opportunities.

Likes / Loves:

I really love dogs, because I had a dog in Taiwan. Her name is Trouble, she is a white dog and she loved to kiss and cuddle. She is a Shih Tzu. My favourite colour is sky blue. And I like pink. And I like swimming.