2025 Independent Living Awards – Community and Social Inclusion Award for Independent Living

December 20, 2025

The 2025 winner of the Community and Social Inclusion Award for Independent Living is the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association-NL!

CHHA-NL has a number of subsidized programs that contribute towards inclusion in the community namely the Public Accessibility Fund (PAF) and the Alert and Aware Fund (AAF). The PAF pays for half the cost to qualifying organizations that install Assistive Listening Systems (ALS) in public meeting spaces. The AAF pays for the full cost of the First Alert System to individuals that qualify based on their income.

CHHA-NL has been providing the Public Accessibility Fund (PAF) since 2013 and budgets between $8,000 to $10,000 per year. These Assistive Listening Systems (ALS) have been installed in many public facilities with meeting rooms, churches, halls, etc. The Alert and Aware Fund (AAF) was originally started in 2018 with a $20,000 grant from the Government of NL, however, the program was continued after that by CHHA-NL with a yearly contribution of about $5,000.

(The Community and Social Inclusion Award for Independent Living is for a person, team, community organization, or group of individuals who have worked towards a more inclusive environment by creating opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in areas such as sports, the arts, education, recreation, and the wider community involvement.)