Queen’s InvisAbilities
We’ve been at Queen’s since 2009, and we’re having another great year! Check out what’s happening on campus and how you can get involved.
Contact Justine, Queen’s InvisAbilities Chair at invisabilities.queens@gmail.com
All are welcome! Students with and without illness. InvisAbilities may be of particular interest to students pursuing a career in medicine or patient care (in majors such as Life Science, Nursing, Kinesiology, Psychology, Sociology etc.)
Events & Programs on campus!
A new initiative is our “SPOTTED: InvisAbilities here, there and everywhere!” awareness campaign. We are capturing pictures of students, faculty and staff sporting InvisAbilities t-shirts all across campus. Recently, we were fortunate enough to snap a picture with the Principal of Queen’s University, Daniel Woolf. He has always been very supportive of our initiatives!
For Disability Awareness Month, our members took part in discussions on campus surrounding many different areas of disability. On Thursday, March 22nd InvisAbilities participated in a ”Speaker’s Corner” about disability and relationships. Many joined in our frank, open discussion!
We hosted our third annual “Invisible Disability Awareness Week” from February 26th – March 4th. We plastered campus with posters with the aim of breaking down the many misconceptions associated with youth and hidden, chronic illness. As a culmination to the week we are hosted a guest speaking event called ”You Don’t Look Sick!”
This year, “You Don’t Look Sick!” featured Dr. Mike Condra, Director of Queen’s Health Counselling & Disability Services. He spoke on the intersection of hidden, chronic illness and mental health. The event also included thoughts from Theresa Richard, a veteran in the realm of disability accommodations. She commented on the process of transitioning from a state of relative health to living with hidden, chronic illness (and the societal and academic implications that go along with this transition).
Buddy Program
It’s hard when no one around you seems to “get it.” The Queen’s InvisAbilities Buddy Program fosters a support network among students with hidden, chronic illness by providing an environment of understanding and camaraderie. We pair students based on a questionnaire designed to communicate their specific needs. Students may request to be placed with someone with a similar illness and we’ll do our best to accommodate!
We had our annual Queen’s InvisAbilities Kick-off Social in late-September, where students could fill out a Buddy questionnaire and get involved.
If you’re still interested in learning more or joining the program, please contact invisabilities.buddies@gmail.com.
InvisAble Yoga
With the success of our InvisAble Yoga program over the last two years, our talented instructor, Eva will be back at it again this fall! Eva guides participants through a yoga program specifically designed for students with chronic illness. Eva recently added a new twist to her classes with Yin Yoga (a yoga practice which focuses on lengthened periods of stretching – great for those with any type of arthritis or connective tissue problems.)
InvisAble Yoga was a 10-week session every Monday night from 7:30 – 8:30pm. The price is always the best on campus! Class location is accessible and centrally-located in the JDUC (Robert Sutherland Room). If you’re still interested in joining in, please contact the Queen’s InvisAbilities Exec at invisabilities.queens@gmail.com
We’d love to see you there! Namaste.
