Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/591861
When a research team from InWithForward moved into a social housing complex in Burnaby for three months last year, their research revealed that many people with cognitive disabilities were feeling bored, stuck and curious about what else is out there. Jordana fell into that category. e 36-year-old New West- minster resident had long been attending the day programs at the Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion (BACI), but doing the same thing, day in and day out, had left her feeling stagnant. "[I was] frustrated," she says. "How many times can you take the same program over and over?" Collaborating with non-profits BACI, the Simon Fraser Soci- ety for Community Living and posAbilities, the InWithForward team began building a solution to address the needs they'd uncov- ered. e result is Kudoz, an innovative new program that aims to shift how adults with developmental disabilities see themselves and the future by providing novel learning experiences. It's a user-friendly website, like Airbnb meets Netflix, but packed with live experiences that a user can choose and book – for example, "First Aid Training," "Bake Irish Soda Bread," or "Let's Learn a Few Words in Japanese." e experiences are pro- vided by volunteer hosts – individuals, businesses, even the mayor of New Westminster – and are organized in sets to deepen knowledge in specific areas, with an emphasis on creat- ing meaningful, ongoing outcomes. e end goals for users are to widen and deepen interests and discover passions, to develop an independent sense of self, and to increase purpose and possi- bility. Designed as a lifelong learning experience, Kudoz allows participants to stream in and out at any time. Coming on board in the early stages with a grant of $110,000, Vancouver Foundation enabled the Kudoz team to build a pro- totype and run a three-month trial from March to June 2015. During those months, Kudoz evolved rapidly through an agile Novel learning experiences inspire adults with developmental disabilities to discover new hobbies, passions and even vocations By Robin SchRoffel Photos Tiffany coopeR p a g e 1 2 I V a n c o u v e r F o u n d a t i o n l F a l l 2 0 1 5 Branching Out Kudoz