Voting should not be this difficult for PWD

 Last Friday, I was able to vote in the municipal election, and I was thrilled to be able to. The other good thing was that I didn’t need to use Para Transpo. In my last article, I discussed some challenges that Para Transpo users face regarding getting to the polling

The cost of voting municipally if you’re on ODSP

 I planned to cast my vote last weekend at city hall, but I was sick. Even now, I’m still feeling rough. For me, Ottawa City Hall is an ideal location. Not only is it near me, but city hall also has wheelchair accessible bathrooms, a small art gallery, and space

A look back at when I ran for mayor.

 ABOVE: Ryan Lythall makes his pitch for the city's top job during a 2018 interview with CBC.  (Photo: cbc.ca)  With the municipal election fast approaching, I figured this would be an excellent opportunity to talk about my experience running (or rolling) in the 2018 municipal election. As some of you know,

How the Ottawa Transit Challenge continues to fall short of addressing PWD’s concerns

 ABOVE: Tweets from Transit riders participating in the 2022 Ottawa Transit Challenge. Now, imagine the reactions if these people were wheelchair-bound and forced to use ParaTranspo/ In 2019, the Ottawa Transit Riders, a local advocacy group pushing for better public transportation, came up with an idea named the Ottawa Transit

Trying to survive in a broken system can be costly.

 ABOVE: As a result of the government-appointed agency leaving Ryan Lythall helpless, his friends suggest he start a GoFundMe campaign to pay for the caregivers he must have to live on his own.  Recently, I had a big meeting regarding the shortage of caregivers. Over the past two or three months, I’ve

The end of summer can only mean on thing for some PWD.

 Well, it’s that time of year again. Kids and adults are returning to school and, for some, back to work. The days are getting shorter and cooler at night. Yup! summer’s almost over, at least according to the calendar. With all the crazy weather events we’ve experienced lately, perhaps we’ll

Stop punishing PWD and seniors for the mess you made

 Last week, I talked about Doug Ford wanting to force PWD and seniors into long-term care (LTC) homes. As if that wasn’t bad enough, a few days following the announcement, he said that those who refused to be transferred to a LTC would be forced to pay the costs of

PWD & seniors have rights too, and Doug Ford needs to be reminded

 Last week, I came close to needing to go to the hospital. I wasn’t sick. One of my evening caregivers called in sick, and nobody was available to work. I was notified just as I was about to head out. To be fair, the people in charge of managing the

Disabled people at risk because of CCOC mismanagement

 To the average city dweller living in a high-rise apartment building, an elevator service interruption disrupts day-to-day life: taking the groceries up the stairs or small children in strollers down the stairs is a lot more complicated; moving heavier items like appliances or furniture becomes almost impossible. Life is at

Rolling on the floor laughing my wheels off

 — a review of wheelchair accessibility at Yuk Yuks Ottawa Recently, I had the chance to check out Yuk Yuk’s Ottawa. When I posted that I was going on social media, a few of my friends and followers were surprised. The reason for that is because up until last year,

How are we supposed to feel safe when our healthcare system is on life support?

 We’re living in scary and dangerous times. We’ve been bombarded with news about our broken healthcare system for far too long. Topics range from level zero paramedic service, long wait times in the ER, temporary closures of ERs and ICU in smaller hospitals, and severe nursing shortages, just to name

The Access 2 Card: A PWD’s ticket to fun in some places

 On Friday, I checked out Banksy 360°, which is at the Aberdeen Pavillion, until October 7th, 2022. The immersive experience is fantastic. I highly recommend checking it out if you can. If you’re a PWD, the event space is very wheelchair accessible. I had tons of space to roll around

Events big or small should be accessible to all

 Events big or small should be accessible to all Let’s start with some good news. Last Thursday, I was able to get my fourth shot. The process was much easier this time. I called the pharmacy around 10:30 am, and a spot was available at noon that day. I rolled

Music is meant to bring people together, not push them apart

 ABOVE: The wheelchair-accessible platform at RBC Bluesfest left OLM contributor Ryan Lythall feeling like a second-class citizen.  (PHOTO: www.facebook.com/ottawabluesfest) On Friday night, I went to Bluesfest. I went for two reasons. Reason number one was to see Rage Against The Machine. In case you’re wondering, the show was amazing. The second reason I went

Feeling disconnected from the world can give you the blues

 As we’re all aware, last Friday was interesting for Rogers customers nationwide. Perhaps, interesting is an understatement. While I wasn’t personally affected by the outage, it significantly impacted several people with disabilities, and that’s pretty scary. I’ve seen stories where local PWD couldn’t book rides or even call Para Transpo

Frankly, when it comes to PWDs, wheelchair companies and the city don’t give a damn

 Some of you may remember that last week I talked about a friend that became stranded due to his chair breaking down. In the same article, I also mentioned that Para Transpo safely drove him home. I have an update on the story. Last Thursday, Francis Menard, was again heading

A broken chair in a broken system can leave you in a dangerous spot

 I have a quick update regarding last week’s article. Last week, I wrote about a friend being stranded at the hospital because Para Transpo initially refused to pick her up, and Westway Taxi never showed up. A person from OC Transpo reached out to them to apologize and mentioned that the

Please continue to wear your masks in indoor public spaces

 On Saturday, Ontario removed mask mandates in public transit and healthcare settings. I should point out that all hospitals in Ottawa will continue with mask requirements. This means we will no longer be required to wear masks in public transit, healthcare settings, and indoor spaces. Here’s where things get a

A PWD’s thought on the results of the 2022 provincial election

 The past few days have been rough on my mental health, and I know I’m not alone. Since last Thursday’s provincial election, I’ve felt a mixed bag of emotions. Anger, frustration, sadness, and even fear have seemingly taken over my thoughts. Well, more so than usual. To be honest, I

We need a voting system that is accessible to everyone

 This week, I’ll update you about my experience with voting in the provincial election. If you missed last week’s article, here’s a quick recap. Just over a week ago, I had planned to vote early. To my surprise, none of the locations in Ottawa Centre were remotely close to me.

My experience thusfar with trying to vote in the 2022 provincial election

 Last week, I received my voters' card. At first glance, I saw the word Field House, and I assumed Elections Ontario was referring to the Bethell Field House, located at 166 Frank Street. This is where I typically vote, and I live about 10-15 minutes away, and generally, really easy

A few gentle reminders on what to do when you come across a PWD

 With warmer weather here and more people getting out and about, I figured that now would be a good time to remind people how to act around people with disabilities. I wish I could just say be kind and respectful to PWD and others in general. Sadly, that doesn’t happen

Feeling like a stranger in an able-bodied city

 ABOVE: The crosswalk at Pretoria and Queen Elizabeth Driveway. (PHOTO: OLM STAFF) Let’s start with some good news. The warmer weather has finally arrived here in Ottawa, which means I’ve been out and about recently. That’s the good news. Shall we say the bad news or the bad part is

Sharing my recent struggles with anxiety due to the ongoing shortage of PSW

 I’m hoping that the “Rolling Thunder” will be gone by the time this article comes out. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against protesting, and I do love motorcycles, but with the convoy/occupation still fresh in my mind, I was nervous when I first heard about Rolling Thunder. It’s

With one roll at a time, we’ll get there eventually

 In last week’s column, I gave detailed instructions on using the new My Para Transpo website. This week, I wanted to give a little insight and talk about my experiences with the My Para Transpo website. On February 21, 2020, online booking became a reality. In the beginning, the website