Lonstrup to receive human-rights award

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/12/2019 (2325 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Taja Lonstrup speaks for others whose voices too often go unheard.

The Brandon mother of two intellectually disabled boys will be honoured for her efforts with a human-rights award Thursday in Winnipeg.

“I’m really honoured, but the truth is that the award really could be given to any parent whose child has a disability,” said Lonstrup, a social worker at Brandon Regional Health Centre.

She is also a member of Inclusion Westman, formerly Community Living Brandon, a voluntary not-for-profit organization committed to enriching the lives of people who live with an intellectual disability in the Westman region.

“I think that we all have our struggles, and we all are advocating for our children’s well-being and future,” she said. “I think when I received the award I actually felt a bit guilty.”

Lonstrup will receive the Human Rights Commitment Award at a presentation at the RBC Convention Centre.

She and her husband Rich are the parents of two boys with intellectual disabilities — Ross, 15, and Lucas, 9.

“The services that you get are based on your voice and how hard you advocate,” Lonstrup said, adding while some people with disabilities are very good at that, “generally, people aren’t able to advocate for themselves. And so, as a healthy community, we need to be able to advocate for those that can’t speak for themselves.”

Every year, the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, Manitoba Association of Rights and Liberties and the Canadian Human Rights Commission mark International Human Rights Day by honouring Manitobans who work tirelessly to protect and advance human rights in their community at the Manitoba Human Rights Awards.

The Commitment Award recognizes a person or group who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of the rights of Manitobans, beyond the work they do in their paid job or position.

A news release announcing the awards said Lonstrup has worked tirelessly to promote the rights of her children and the rights of caregivers of people with disabilities.

In her award nomination, Inclusion Westman stated: “(Her) efforts to raise awareness, lobby decision-makers such as local MLAs, and to pressure local service providers has been very effective in making gaps in service evident. She is interested in empowering families to speak out for the supports and services they need in order to participate fully as a family and to be contributing members of their community.”

No matter what disabilities their children live with, “we’re still coping with the same issues,” Lonstrup said. “The idea is that many voices are better than one.”

Each year, a distinct piece is created by a local artist for the award recipient. This year, Ildiko Nova’s piece “One Community” was selected. The piece focuses on what we all share, namely a need for belonging and celebration.

Other winners announced Tuesday include:

• Commitment Award (honourable mention): Shameless Circle, a volunteer-led healing circle for women aimed to end stigma around shaming women for standing up for themselves and their children. Shameless provides a safe space for all women who experience isolation and are seeking a sense of community.

• Sybil Shack Youth Award: Oyindamola Alaka was one of the organizers of #BringBackOurGirls, a 2014 campaign in response to the abduction of 276 school-aged girls in Nigeria. In 2018, she founded the Young Black Professionals Network of Manitoba and is active in the Congress of Black Women.

• Aaron Berg Award: Sacha Paul is a member of the English River First Nation, a Dene community located in northern Saskatchewan. He is a partner at Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP, where he practises in the areas of Indigenous law, public/administrative law, insurance law and personal injury law. He represented Amnesty International in Omar Khadr v. Canada, a case which has had far-reaching impact in domestic and international human rights law.

• Aaron Berg Award (honourable mention): Legal Help Centre. The mission of the Legal Help Centre in Winnipeg is to provide access to justice to all persons. Their Family Law Clinic and Consumer Protection Clinics provide much needed information to some of Winnipeg’s most marginalized groups such as women, indigenous people, new Canadians, people with disabilities or those that are otherwise socially disadvantaged.

» brobertson@brandonsun.com