Objectives: The objective of Accent on Ability, a registered charitable organization, is to reduce poverty by developing education, training and employment opportunities for consumer/survivors of the mental health (psychiatric) system.

Target Population: People who suffer from psychiatric disabilities who have been through the mental health system, in particular, those living in poverty with significant barriers to accessing traditional training, education and employment opportunities to better their quality of life.

Overview: Accent on Ability was formed in reaction to the distressing high rate of poverty experienced by people who suffer mental health disabilities. The unemployment rate for this community is approximately 85%. There are very few alternative education or employment options for people in this community. This furthers the barriers to seeking and obtaining employment.

What Accent on Ability plans to do is to provide educational, training and employment opportunities to people who have been through the mental health system and who experience severe barriers to the traditional options for these activities.

We believe that providing people with psychiatric disabilities with alternative, supportive education, training and employment options is imperative to help them to get out of the poverty trap.

Psychiatric consumers/survivors currently involved in alternative employment/education and training opportunities report a significant increase in their mental and physical health, as well as enabling them to supplement their income through paid employment opportunities.

Some of the recent programs of Accent on Ability have been: obtaining a Trillium grant in support of A-Way Express Courier Service (a non-profit courier company with which Accent on Ability is closely associated), a canoe trip for consumer/survivors, PhACS (Physical Activities for Consumer/Survivors), and providing some financial support for the Consumer/Survivor Information Resource Centre "Bulletin".