Month: August 2025

‘It’s just not OK’: How a Port Moody bakery is fighting back against rude customers

This story first appeared in the Tri-City News on Nov 5, 2024

Lisa Beecroft was so sad and mad with the way some of the staff at her Port Moody bakery have been treated by customers, she took to Facebook to express her frustration.

The response, however, has reaffirmed Beecroft’s belief in the kindness and decency of most people and bolstered her commitment to creating employment opportunities for all.

More than a third of the workers at Beecroft’s Gabi & Jules bakery on Clarke Street, and a second location in North Burnaby, self-identify as having a disability.

Most are on the autism spectrum, but, Beecroft said, some don’t disclose their disability at all; they just know they’ve found an inclusive place to work that makes them feel safe and valued.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, though, Beecroft said some of that sense of safety has been eroded by the rudeness and impatience of some of the shops’ customers.

“It’s a range of things, the tone and the aggression that’s coming across,” Beecroft said. “People are not saying ‘hello,’ they’re not looking people in the eye.”

When a manager recently brought the demoralizing nature of such customer interactions to Beecroft’s attention, she said she was crestfallen and frustrated.

“It’s just not OK,” Beecroft said. “We can’t normalize this is the way it’s going to be.”

Beecroft decided to share her thoughts on the bakery’s Facebook page.

“It honestly breaks my heart to have to post this (long) message,” she wrote.
“In recent months, we have seen an increase in the mistreatment of some of our team members by some of our customers. There’s become frequent occurrences of rudeness, impatience and, in some cases, just blatant hostility towards our team.”

Beecroft said while some may dismiss such interactions as just a part of being in the customer service business, “it absolutely should not be.”

“Everyone deserves to come to work and feel safe, included and valued.”

She added, “We do our utmost to create that environment for our team members and we expect our customers to do the same.”

The response, Beecroft said, has been immediate, overwhelming and “really emotional.”

Words of support and encouragement poured into the post’s replies, many from customers, some from people who work with the neuro-diverse community, others from like-minded employers who are also making the effort to be inclusive.

“What you are doing there is inspiring and should be held up as the example of what good leadership and good businesses do,” said one.

“Thank you for standing up for your staff,” said another. “We should all remember to treat others as we would have them treat us, with kindness.”

For Beecroft, who printed out copies of her post and affixed them to the walls of her bakery’s Port Moody and Burnaby locations as a reminder to customers to check their hostility at the door, the responses from the community also hit close to home.

She and her husband, Patrick, set out on their journey to make Gabi & Jules an inclusive workplace because their eldest daughter, Juliana, has autism. They had to deconstruct every task in the bakery and front shop to determine how someone with unique qualifications might fit into the daily workflow while still making sense for the business’ bottom line.

The effort has paid off, though.

Employees with even the most repetitive tasks, like washing dishes or folding boxes, tend to stick around longer — some have been at the bakery for six or seven years already.

“We’ve attracted people to the business because they want to work here,” Beecroft said. “They feel safe in the space.”

Maintaining that safe feeling is paramount as their employer, she added.

“I feel an obligation because I’m putting them in this situation,” Beecroft said, “The staff just wants to make sure they’re doing a good job.”

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On frozen pond

In the midst of a late-summer heat wave, it’s time for some cooling images.

I shot these photos in January, 2024. We’d had several days of very cold days and nights, and I’d been monitoring the ice forming on a local lake in anticipation someone would eventually skate on it.

On a clear, crisp Sunday afternoon, my patience was rewarded.

We don’t get the opportunity to skate on frozen lakes and ponds very often in this part of the world, so it’s very special when it does happen.

My only regret: I didn’t bring my own skates.

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Oscar winner launched his career after attending high school in Coquitlam

This story first appeared in the Tri-City News on Feb. 10, 2020

A small piece of the four Oscars won Sunday night by the Korean film Parasite was forged in the Tri-Cities.

Choi Woo-shik, the 29-year-old actor who plays the grifting son of a struggling Korean family that uses his avocation as an English tutor to infiltrate a wealthy household with bizarrely tragic consequences, grew up in Coquitlam. His family immigrated to the Tri-Cities from Korea when he was 10 years old and he graduated from Pinetree secondary school in 2008.

Colleen Lee, who teaches Japanese at Pinetree, said she remembers Choi — called Eddy by classmates — when he took her classes in Grades 10 and 11.

Lee said Choi was a “pretty good student” who was “a pleasure to work with in class,” although she had no idea of his acting aspirations at the time.

Lee said she was watching the Oscar telecast Sunday because she’s a fan of Parasite and the film’s director, Bong Joon-ho, so she was thrilled when she saw a familiar face on stage at the Dolby theatre in Los Angeles.

“It’s a bit surreal to see someone you actually know on screen — and it was a great movie,” Lee said, adding her current students are “incredibly impressed they are studying Japanese in the same room that [Choi] did.”

In an interview Choi did on Korean television in 2012, he said he had some challenges getting used to a new culture and school system in Canada, not the least of which was his mom’s inclination to pack him kimchi, a pungent Korean staple of fermented vegetables, for lunch.

He said when he opened the lid of his lunch container, “it was like a bomb” in the lunchroom and he told his mom to never send him to school with kimchi again.

Choi said he found comfort and camaraderie in a tight-knit group of fellow Korean students. The 14-strong contingent called themselves FF14 (Friends Forever 14).

But, Choi added, his struggles to fit into Canadian culture also made him more adaptable to be able to pursue his childhood dream of becoming an actor, even if he had no idea how he could make that happen.

It was during Choi’s first year as an arts student at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby that an acting opportunity presented itself. He signed up online to audition for a role in Korea, then dropped all his classes. He said his parents weren’t thrilled at his sudden change in career path but eventually loaned him the money to fly to Korea.

The audition didn’t go well.

“I wasn’t prepared,” Choi said. “I had really poor clothing and I had no idea how to speak in front of the camera.”

Still, he showed well enough to get some encouraging words that fuelled his determination to endure more auditions as he studied Asian culture at Chung-Ang University in South Korea, because, he said, his parents wouldn’t let him take drama courses. Some of those auditions paid off in roles in Korean TV series like Living in Style and The Duo.

Choi started acting full-time in 2012, mostly in support roles, but in 2014, he started getting noticed for some of his work on the big screen, including an award for actor of the year at the 19th Busan International Film Festival for his role in the coming-of-age film Set Me Free. The same role earned him nominations and wins from several other critics and film awards the following year, as well as the popular actor award at the 2015 Korea Film Actors’ Association Awards.

Choi’s role in Parasite was also recognized with nominations as best actor at the 24th Chunsa Film Art awards and 28th Buil Film Awards. Earlier this year, the entire cast of Parasite won a Screen Actors Guild award for outstanding performance.

Sunday, Parasite won the biggest prize at the 92nd Academy Awards as best picture. It also won best international film as well as Oscars for best director and best original screenplay.

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This Coquitlam Express player is having a career season. You’d never know he has a chronic disease

This story first appeared in the Tri-City News on March 16, 2023

If you happen to spy Coquitlam Express forward Mateo Dixon checking his phone on the players bench during a game, he’s not calling his family back in Toronto about his latest goal, or texting his buddies.

He’s checking the level of his blood sugars.

Dixon has Type 1 diabetes.

Diagnosed when he was 13 years old, Dixon says he hasn’t let the autoimmune disease hold him back from attaining his athletic goals.

In fact, having Type 1 may have even accelerated his development as a hockey player.

Now 20 and in his final season of junior hockey, Dixon is having a career year, scoring 45 points in 49 games.

Not that his journey through the sport has been easy.

When your pancreas is working as it should, you don’t think about it.

Constant calculations

The elongated gland that sits in your upper abdomen tucked behind your stomach magically produces the enzymes that help you digest food and the hormones that keep the amount of sugars in your blood on an even keel.

But when your pancreas suddenly stops functioning, you can’t not think about it.

While the days of restrictive diets for people living with diabetes are long gone, every time Dixon eats or reaches for a bottle of energy drink after a shift on the ice, he has to make a mental calculation about the amount of carbohydrates he’s ingesting.

He also has to check his blood sugar levels with an app on his phone that’s connected to a sensor plugged into his body, then determine the dose of insulin a small pump he wears 24/7 injects into his body to offset that sugar boost.

It’s not always an exact science.

Exercise, stress, anxiety and excitement can throw even the most precise calculation out of whack.

Overshoot your insulin dose and your blood sugars can drop, sapping you of energy, depleting your ability to focus or make quick decisions.

Underestimate, and your soaring blood sugars can make you nauseous and tired, and bring on a pounding headache.

Neither outcome is ideal for a high-performance athlete who has to be at the top of their game and ready at any moment to jump on the ice.

Dixon said his disease has brought on no shortage of aggravations.

“It can be so random” he said. “So many micro things can affect it.”

‘A sense of responsibility’

But, Dixon added, living with Type 1 has also put him more in tune with his body.

He said he’s hyper-aware of everything he eats and drinks and the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle to better manage his blood sugars.

Dixon’s off-ice training regimen doesn’t just get him ready for the rigours of the hockey season, it also helps smooth out the effects of the highs and lows he’ll inevitably endure.

Express coach Patrick Sexton said Dixon’s maturity is beyond his years.

“He has a sense of responsibility,” he said. “He knows exactly how he’s feeling and how to address the situation.”

Sexton said he’d played with teammates who have Type 1, like Luke Kunin, now a defenceman for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks.

But this is his first experience coaching a young athlete with the disease.

He said it’s important to maintain open lines of communication so he can understand why Dixon might not be able to immediately take a shift because he’s dealing with a low, or why he’s looking at his phone and wolfing down a candy bar on the bench instead of manning the power play on the ice.

“My job is to support him,” Sexton said.

Invisible disease

Dixon said one of biggest challenges of diabetes is its invisibility.

The advent of technology, like the small insulin pump that plugs directly into his abdomen or thigh and the digital glucose monitor that connects by Bluetooth to his smartphone, has eliminated the very public displays of pricking his finger to draw a drop of blood to dab on a test strip plugged into a handheld meter or injecting a dose of insulin with a hypodermic needle.

That can make it hard for his teammates and coaches to immediately recognize why he might be a little off his game, or why he has to cut short a workout.

So, he takes care to bring them into his world as best he can to build an understanding of his disease and the challenges it can present.

“I look at it as a growth opportunity,” Dixon said of living and competing with Type 1. “It’s not limiting at all. It can literally be the opposite.”

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Housing prices squeezing families, seniors and immigrants: study

This story first appeared in the Tri-City News on Sept. 21, 2021

Port Moody has plenty of housing getting built or in the process of being approved to meet projected regional growth targets.

But the city needs more diversity of housing options to keep it affordable for families, single people, low income earners, immigrants and people with disabilities, says a study by community planning and development consultant, CitySpaces Consulting.

According to the study, which is to be presented to council Sept. 21, the gap between what households can afford to pay for housing in Port Moody and the housing that is available is growing.

Since 2013, the median sales prices of single-detached homes and townhouses have nearly doubled. Rents have also skyrocketed at a similar pace, and the vacancy rate for units with three or more bedrooms is currently 0 per cent. As a result, one in five residents are spending more than 30 per cent of their income on housing costs, a level that is considered a standard measure of affordability.

“Housing is becoming more expensive and fewer residents are able to enter the home ownership market,” said the report, adding Port Moody’s housing situation isn’t about a lack of dwellings to be built, or land where they can be located. Rather, there isn’t enough diversity of housing, including more affordable housing options, as well as accessible and family-friendly units.

Renters, who comprise one-quarter of city residents, are also struggling with higher costs and less availability, said the report. The median rent in Port Moody is now more than $1,000 per month while the vacancy rate for all units is between 0.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent — a healthy vacancy rate is between one and three per cent.

“Some households may be able to find a rental unit for less than $1,000 a month, but this typically comes with trade-offs such as being in poorer quality condition, further away from public transit and amenities and may not be suitable to meet their needs,” said the report.

But as Port Moody strains under the same market forces that afflict the entire Tri-Cities area, there are still ways to turn the tide.

“For Port Moody, the number of units being developed is keeping pace with demand,” said the report. “However, consideration to adjust the mix and secure rental housing and affordable units is a key area of opportunity.”

According to CitySpaces, zoning bylaws in Port Moody often don’t mesh with land designations, creating challenges to build viable developments without expensive lot consolidations, and some areas of the city are falling short of their potential to accommodate new, more diverse housing. Developers, the consultant said, require certainty and standardized policy in development expectations and incentives, as well as expedited processes to move approvals along.

And that could require more staff, said the report.

“It appears that the local government may need to scale-up staffing levels to match the scale of development to not only move projects through the process in a timely manner, but to also ensure that opportunities to capture units for affordability is not missed.”

The study was commissioned by Port Moody in 2020 to fulfill new regulations under the provincial Local Government Act for municipalities to complete housing needs reports by 2022, and then subsequent reports every five years after that. The consulting company used data from various sources including Statistics Canada, BC Assessment and BC Housing, as well as an online survey, virtual workshops, interviews and a workshop with city staff.

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‘I choose my path’: Affordable, inclusive homes give residents independence

This story first appeared in the Tri-City News on June 4, 2021

For Andrew Wiseman, affordable, inclusive housing is more than catchphrase for cities trying to achieve greater diversity.

It’s more than an amenity developers try to leverage for the approval of increased density.

It’s his life.

In January, Wiseman, 37, received the keys and electronic entry fob to a gleaming new one-bedroom condo in George, a 179-unit development on St. George Street in Port Moody.

He carries them proudly wherever he goes, hanging from the end of a lanyard around his neck — visiting his parents in Coquitlam, to his job at a McDonald’s restaurant in Burquitlam, to the electronics store to check out the latest games for his video game system.

The condo Wiseman calls home is one of six such units in George that was achieved through a partnership between Kinsight — a social services agency that works with families of children, youth and adults with developmental delays — and the Langley-based developer Marcon, along with support from the city of Port Moody and BC Housing.

The units provide independent living for up to nine residents, with flexible spaces to accommodate their support needs, and even some furnishings provided by IKEA Coquitlam, La-Z-Boy and the Port Moody Foundation.

Kinsight’s CEO Christine Scott said the intention of such partnerships “is to create an environment where people have meaningful opportunities for social inclusion and a real sense of belonging.”

For Wiseman, moving into his own apartment at George is a big step in his journey to independence.

After spending the first 30 years of his life in the protective embrace of his family’s home, he moved into a shared apartment at Kinsight’s former fourplex just down the street.

But in 2017, Marcon approached Kinsight with an opportunity to provide new homes for residents of the aging structure that was in serious need of repairs and no longer met the standards to house residents who required supports.

The company’s amenity package it offered to the city in return for increased density also included daylighting a stretch of Dallas Creek and a 3,360 sq. m. public park that includes a greenway trail and open play area.

“Our motto, ‘Building for Life,’ means building for all,” said Marcon’s vice president of development, Nic Paolella, in a news release.

Scott said her organization receives many overtures from developers, but turning them into reality requires a shared vision.

“We have to make sure there’s truly opportunities for all,” she said, adding Kinsight is also working with Marcon on another six units in a new tower the company is building in Coquitlam, as well as two additional projects in Port Moody with other developers.

Scott said not only are the partnerships providing new homes for Kinsight’s clients, they’re changing the conversation around affordability in Metro Vancouver’s hyper-expensive housing market.

“When I hear councillors use the language of inclusive housing, I know we’re well underway,” she said, adding the rent that residents pay to live in the units is low enough that they’re able to put income they earn toward their quality of life.

Since moving into his new home, Wiseman said he’s been able to meet some of his neighbours. He’s also improved many of his life skills, like managing his finances and broadening his cooking repertoire beyond Kraft Dinner.

Wiseman said he enjoys having his own space. His younger brother comes over to hang out. His relationship with his former roommate has blossomed into a friendship. In fact, he’s feeling so good about things, he’s thinking of going back to school for cashier’s training.

“My mom didn’t think I could live on my own,” he said. “Now, I have the respect of my parents. I choose my path.”

That’s music to the ears of Tina Matysiak, Wiseman’s support worker.

“He’s just grown as a human being.”

Scott said while KInsight’s growing number of partnerships with developers are a success story, they’re but a dent in the demand for affordable, inclusive housing.

According to a 2020 report by Community Living BC and the Inclusion BC inclusive housing task force, there’s a need for about 5,000 such units across the province to accommodate individuals with developmental disabilities who are ready and able to live on their own, with supports at hand, in the next five years.

“We’ve made great strides,” Scott said. “But there’s an enormous amount of work to do yet.”

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Port Moody rent-to-own project fails to help first-time buyers

This story first appeared in the Tri-City News on Feb. 13 2025

A rent-to-own program meant to help first-time buyers afford a home in a new Port Moody condo project proved to do just the opposite.

But the developer is hoping it can revive the plan with new parameters.

Tim Schmitt, the director of development for Langley-based Marcon Development, said only one possible purchaser of 190 applicants was able to take advantage of the company’s program, that allows eligible purchasers to rent their unit for a period of time with the money going towards their down payment. Purchasers must also agree to occupy their new home as their primary residence.

In a letter to Port Moody council, Schmitt said the maximum household income threshold of $150,000 as set by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s First Time Home Buyer Incentive (FTHBI) program that the company was using to qualify potential purchasers proved too low to allow them to get a mortgage for even the most affordable one-bedroom apartment in the Hue, a 222-unit condo building nearing completion on the site of the old Barnet Hotel.

Further, CMHC’s incentive program that provided first-time home buyers with a loan of five or 10 per cent of a home’s purchase price to help increase the size of a down payment was discontinued in 2024.

Schmitt said that means the threshold is no longer being updated to account for higher housing prices.

Schmitt said it’s created a kind of Catch-22 situation; buyers who could qualify for a mortgage under rules that set a maximum loan-to-income ratio of 4.5 times have to earn at least $160,000 to afford a $630,000 one-bedroom apartment at Hue, beyond the threshold to be able to participate in the rent-to-own program.

“The purchase price of homes in the current market is out of sync with the FTHBI program that was created over five years ago,” Schmitt said, adding the company still wants to proceed with some sort of rent-to-own program for the remaining nine homes it had originally set aside.

Tuesday, Port Moody councillors agreed to amend the city’s housing agreement with the developer to allow that to happen.

The developer will convene a second round of applicants for the program but their maximum household income cannot exceed $190,000 if they’re purchasing a one-bedroom apartment or $270,000 for a two-bedroom unit. As well, they’ll be tiered, with first consideration going to first-time homebuyers who are either Port Moody residents who have lived in city for at least a year or they’re front line workers like firefighters or police officers. The second tier will comprise all other first-time homebuyers followed by any other qualified applicants.

If any of the rent-to-own units remain unpurchased after going through all the qualified applicants, they’ll be released for general sale.

Port Moody Mayor Meghan Lahti said Marcon’s rent-to-own conundrum is “unfortunate,” as it was a major component of the company’s pitch to get the project approved.

“It was one of the most positive aspects of that application.”

Coun. Kyla Knowles said the dilemma is a symptom of communities’ ongoing struggle to secure affordable housing for their residents.

“We need senior levels of government to step up,” she said.

Port Moody senior planner Doug Allan said the new rules make the best of an unfortunate situation.

“They address Marcon’s challenges in selling the 10 RTO strata lots, reduce the barriers to program participation, and support moderate income households by updating income thresholds,” he said.

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New Coquitlam complex honours staunch advocate for affordable housing

This story first appeared in the Tri-City News on March 8, 2024

Lelainia Lloyd says she finally feels a sense of belonging.

Scooting around the rain-drenched courtyard at Robert Nicklin Place in her motorized wheelchair, Lloyd said living in one of 35 fully-accessible apartments in a new 164-unit rental complex in Coquitlam has given her the time and energy to help build a community around her.

“You don’t realize the energy it takes to live in inaccessible buildings,” Lloyd said. “It’s a game-changer.”

The six-storey wood-frame building, located at 3100 Ozada Ave., was officially opened Friday, March 8. It’s named for the longtime CEO of the Affordable Housing Society (AHS) who died in 2016.

Fittingly then, 74 of the units are affordable, of which 16 are deeply subsidized for households with very low incomes, and 36 have their rent geared to income.

Kevin Nicklin officially opens a new 164-unit rental complex in Coquitlam that features 74 affordable apartments. The building is named for Kevin’s father, Robert Nicklin, who was CEO of the Affordable Housing Society for 27 years until he died in 2016. MARIO BARTEL/TRI-CITY NEWS

Nicklin’s oldest son, Kevin, said seeing his father’s name above the building’s entrance and on a special plaque in its lobby makes his family “extremely proud” of the 27 years he worked to help build and secure affordable housing throughout the Lower Mainland.

“This is an important step in the right direction,” he said of the complex that welcomed its first residents in January, adding his father’s effort to increase affordable housing options will be felt “for years to come.”

It’s also a testimony to what can be achieved when several levels of government work together, said Stephen Bennett, the current CEO of AHS.

Six years in the making, Robert Nicklin Place was built with an $8.1-million contribution from BC Housing’s Community Housing Fund which will also provide $110,000 in annual operation funds, as well as a forgivable loan of $1.9 million along with a $44.2-million low-interest, repayable loan, from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, $3.3 million from the City of Coquitlam and the waiver of $869,000 in development cost charges from Metro Vancouver, TransLink and School District 43.

Ravi Kahlon, B.C.’s Minister of Housing, said the new homes are “designed to be the kind of sustainable homes that give people stable, affordable housing in a housing crisis.”

The new Robert Nicklin Place apartment complex in Coquitlam is named after Robert Nicklin, who was the CEO of the Affordable Housing Society for 27 years until he died in 2016. MARIO BARTEL/TRI-CITY NEWS

Representing the federal government, Ken Hardie, the MP for Fleetwood–Port Kells, said the “new living environment will allow residents to remain in their community, close to their loved ones.”

Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart said one of Nicklin’s driving forces was his dedication and love for family and the importance stable, affordable housing can play in keeping families together.

“It’s vital to the success of communities and families,” he said.

And more affordable housing is in the pipeline.

On Feb. 9, Stewart announced $25 million from the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund will fast-track the construction of 650 new housing units over the next three years.

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PoCo trainer making tracks with standardbreds

This story first appeared in the Tri-City News on Jan. 30, 2019

Port Coquitlam’s Christopher Lancaster is riding the family business to success.

The 28-year-old graduate of Riverside secondary school is a finalist as a future star of the O’Brien Awards, the top honours for standardbred horse racing in Canada, that will be presented in Mississauga, Ont., on Saturday.

The recognition is a reward for the long days Lancaster puts in at the barns at two harness racing tracks in Alberta — Century Downs in Calgary and Century Mile in Leduc — and at Fraser Downs in Cloverdale. More importantly, it’s affirmation he made the right decision to turn his back on a potential career painting cars and, instead, follow the footsteps of his grandfather and father to the track, trading, training and racing horses.

Not that Lancaster was unfamiliar with life and toil in the paddocks. He pretty much grew up there, as his dad, Ron, trained horses then started shoeing them at tracks in Ontario before working his way west to eventually settle in British Columbia.

“It’s the life of a gypsy,” said Lancaster, who divides his year equally between the three tracks as the standardbred racing season progresses.

In fact, Lancaster spent so much time with his dad behind the backstretch, he earned the nickname “Cub,” to Ron’s “Bear.”

At 12, Lancaster climbed into a sulky for the first time. He was enthralled.

“It was exciting,” Lancaster said.

So much so, when Lancaster graduated from Riverside in 2009, he decided his chosen path to study automotive paint in college wasn’t for him, and headed to Alberta to begin his apprenticeship as a standardbred trainer. He hooked up with one of the best in the province, Kelly Hoerdt, who’s won more than 3,000 races as a driver and trainer.

Lancaster learned the drudgery of cleaning out stalls and feeding horses beginning at 5:30 in the morning, grooming them, caring for their aches and pains, then harnessing them up to the two-wheeled cart for runs around the track to prepare them for the evening’s racing card.

He also gained insight into the wheeling and dealing of horses that pays the bills, how to spot a horse with potential in a claims race and then turn it into a winner that can then be sold at a profit.

Lancaster, who’s spending the winter season at Fraser Downs, said while the days with his stable of eight horses are long, they don’t feel like work.

“It’s a lifestyle,” he said.

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Unique program gives Tri-Cities kids a chance to play basketball for their schools

This story first appeared in the Tri-City News on June 24, 2023

Austin Chassie is known as “Captain Hustle” on the basketball court and he couldn’t be prouder of the nickname.

Chassie is one of dozens of neuro-diverse students from six high schools across School District 43 who participated in a unique three-on-three basketball program that could become a template for inclusion in other school sports like soccer.

Mike Viveiros, the athletic director at Heritage Woods Secondary School in Port Moody, said the idea for the unified program that brings together neuro-diverse and neuro-typical students to develop their athletic skills, learn about things like teamwork and perseverance and give them a chance to represent their schools grew from a similar adaptive program he ran for track and field prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said basketball seemed a natural progression because many of the kids are already passionate about the sport and it provides them a unique opportunity to be part of a team.

“It ends up being a neglected population,” Viveiros said of the exceptional students who had the chance to participate. “We need to strive for a future where these inclusive opportunities are the norm.”

Last February Viveiros put the word out to his fellow athletic directors and got positive responses from five other secondary schools: Port Moody, Terry Fox, Pinetree, Riverside and Gleneagle.

With some funding and resources from Special Olympics BC and support from the school district they were quickly able to put together a six-week season of jamboree-style games culminating in a championship tournament that was won by the Port Moody Blues.

MARIO BARTEL/TRI-CITY NEWS
Players from the unified 3-on-3 basketball programs at Heritage Woods and Port Moody secondary schools gather at an outdoor court to celebrate the success of their first season.

Saoirse Borden coached the Blues. She’s a Grade 11 student who plays on the school’s varsity girls basketball team. She said working with the players from the inclusion program at PMSS gave her a new perspective on her sport as she broke down the skills and strategies she takes for granted so they could be learned and understood by her charges.

Borden said it was most exciting to see the rest of the students embrace the players and vice versa.

“It opened up our school community,” she said. “There was a lot of support from the student body.”

Ava Taylor said she had a similar experience with her Heritage Woods Kodiaks team. Also in Grade 11 and playing for her school’s varsity side, she was challenged to find a common ground for such a diverse group with different abilities and ways of learning.

“Everyone had a different starting point,” she said.

Alicia Waet said she’d never really participated in sports prior to joining the Kodiaks’ unified team. But with a season now behind her, she said it was “great to make a lot of different connections with people I didn’t know before.”

Teammate Ramtin Rouhi said being on the team “made me feel awesome” and helped develop his skills in shooting and defending.

Viveiros said the players’ enthusiasm is infectious.

For the championship tournament, the gym at Heritage Woods was packed. Terry Fox Secondary had the support of its own cheerleading squad.

And when the Blues returned to Port Moody Secondary with the first place trophy, the team was greeted by the school’s marching band.

Viveiros said the success of unified basketball’s first season is the kind of breakthrough that could increase inclusionary sporting opportunities at schools in the Tri-Cities and beyond.

Already there’s been inquiries from other school districts like Surrey and Delta.

“Why aren’t we celebrating these kids like this?” he asked. “It really gets me emotional every week watching the successes of these students playing alongside their peers in the student population.”

But for Captain Hustle, aka Austin Chassie, the reward is more fundamental.

“I like making opportunities for my guys, help them be better at everything,” he said.

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