Amplifying the stories and voices of people with disabilities, their families, and advocates in our community.
Voices of ABLE2 is a short-form podcast featuring powerful, real conversations about disability, inclusion, and community. In each episode, we share the lived experiences of people supported by ABLE2, along with insights from families, volunteers, and advocates who are helping create a more inclusive Ottawa.
This is storytelling with heart. And every story is a call to action.
Whether you’re looking to learn, feel, or be inspired, we invite you to listen in and hear what belonging sounds like.
Do you have a story to share or know someone who should be featured? Contact us at events@able2.org.
Do you want to be the first to know about new podcast episodes and updates about ABLE2’s programs, services and events? Subscribe here: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/HGNIQkH
Voices of ABLE2 - Episode 8: Game-Changing Leadership: Advocacy Through Lived Experience
In this episode, former NHL player and disability advocate Jim Kyte reflects on the experiences that shaped his lifelong commitment to accessibility and inclusion. From navigating a professional hockey career with profound hearing loss to advocating for his son and his community, Jim shares powerful lessons on resilience, self-advocacy, and leadership. Together, we explore how lived experience can drive meaningful change, and what it will take to move beyond awareness toward true inclusion.
Transcript available here.
Thank you to Voices of ABLE2's Presenting Sponsor Sequence Marketing, for helping us make inclusion heard.
Do you have a story to share or know someone who should be featured? Contact us at events@able2.org.
Do you want to be the first to know about new podcast episodes and updates about ABLE2’s programs, services and events? Subscribe here.
23 Jun 2026
Voices of ABLE2 - Episode 7: Navigating FASD - A parent's journey of advocacy, love and support
In this episode, Teresa Ethier, grandparent of 3 young adults living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), shares the emotional realities of receiving a diagnosis later in life, the frustration of navigating systems and waitlists, and the strength it takes to keep advocating when the answers aren’t easy to find.
Transcript available here.
Thank you to Voices of ABLE2's Presenting Sponsor Sequence Marketing, for helping us make inclusion heard.
Do you have a story to share or know someone who should be featured? Contact us at events@able2.org.
Do you want to be the first to know about new podcast episodes and updates about ABLE2’s programs, services and events? Subscribe here.
22 Apr 2026
Voices of ABLE2 - Episode 6: Behind the Match — Building Meaningful Connections with People with Disabilities
In this episode of Voices of ABLE2, Director of Programs Thony Jean‑Baptiste, and Social Worker Azra Alibhai talk about the care, insight, and intention behind ABLE2’s Matching Program. They share how Friends and Allies are thoughtfully paired, why these relationships matter, and the powerful impact of connection in addressing loneliness and isolation.
23 Feb 2026
Voices of ABLE2 - Episode 5: The Justice Gap — Understanding Legal Barriers for People with Disabilities
Access to justice is a fundamental right, but for many people with disabilities, the legal system can feel complex, intimidating, and out of reach.
In our latest episode of Voices of ABLE2, we’re joined by Frank McNally, founding partner of McNally Gervan Law, former President of Reach Canada, and current ABLE2 board member, who brings both legal expertise and lived experience as a hard-of-hearing individual. Frank talks about why navigating the legal system can be overwhelming for people with disabilities, and why access to justice must be inclusive, empathetic, and accessible for all.
Whether you’re a frontline worker, a family member, or someone navigating the legal system yourself, this episode offers insight into how we can work toward a more inclusive and equitable justice system for all.
Transcript available here.
Thank you to Voices of ABLE2's Presenting Sponsor Sequence Marketing, for helping us make inclusion heard.
Do you have a story to share or know someone who should be featured? Contact us at events@able2.org.
Do you want to be the first to know about new podcast episodes and updates about ABLE2’s programs, services and events? Subscribe here.
19 Jan 2026
Voices of ABLE2 - Episode 4: Redefining Strength– Life After Disability
Voices of ABLE2 Episode 4: Redefining Strength– Life After Disability
After a life-altering brain injury ended her Olympic equestrian career, Claire Smith was forced to confront profound changes to her body, identity, and sense of self. In this episode of Voices of ABLE2, Claire reflects on grief, adaptation, and the long process of coming to terms with life after disability—including later living with dystonia.
Drawing from her memoir Falling Into Now, Claire shares how resilience showed up in unexpected ways, how relationships shifted after her injury, and how learning to accommodate disability became part of everyday life. Her story challenges narrow ideas of strength and success, centering lived experience, choice, and the importance of community support in navigating life’s transitions.
Transcript available here.
Thank you to Voices of ABLE2's Presenting Sponsor Sequence Marketing, for helping us make inclusion heard.
Do you have a story to share or know someone who should be featured? Contact us at events@able2.org.
Do you want to be the first to know about new podcast episodes and updates about ABLE2’s programs, services and events? Subscribe here.
6 Dec 2025
Voices of ABLE2 - Episode 3: Nothing About Us Without Us — Centering Lived Experience in Building Inclusive Communities
For far too long, decisions about accessibility, inclusion, and community design have been made without the people most impacted by those decisions. In this episode, disability advocate, entrepreneur, and speaker Michael Lifshitz joins us to discuss why lived experience must be at the center of every conversation about disability and why “Nothing About Us Without Us” remains a vital call to action today.
Drawing from his 50 years of lived experience with disability, Michael shares real-world examples of what happens when decisions are made without consulting the community — from inaccessible infrastructure to representation that exists only on paper. He also reveals the difference it makes when leaders genuinely listen, include, and act on the insights of people with disabilities.
This honest and insightful conversation explores barriers that still limit meaningful participation, the importance of representation in media and public life, and practical ways allies can amplify disability voices to drive real change.
Transcript available here.
Thank you to Voices of ABLE2's Presenting Sponsor Sequence Marketing, for helping us make inclusion heard.
Do you have a story to share or know someone who should be featured? Contact us at events@able2.org.
Do you want to be the first to know about new podcast episodes and updates about ABLE2’s programs, services and events? Subscribe here.
22 Nov 2025
Voices of ABLE2 - Episode 2: Navigating the Wait — A Mother and Daughter’s Journey Through Ottawa’s Housing Crisis
For many families, finding safe and affordable housing is a challenge — but for people with disabilities, the wait can stretch into years. Joelle and her mother Patti have been on Ottawa’s social housing waitlist for more than a decade. Ten years of searching, hoping, and wondering when Joelle will finally have the chance to live independently.
In this episode, Patti shares her fears about aging without knowing her daughter’s future is secure, while Joelle speaks openly about the frustration of being ready for independence but still waiting for a place to call her own. Their story sheds light on the harsh realities of being on a waitlist for a basic necessity such as housing— and how ABLE2’s Housing Support Program is helping them move toward stability, confidence, and hope.
Transcript available here.
Thank you to Voices of ABLE2's Presenting Sponsor Sequence Marketing, for helping us make inclusion heard.
Do you have a story to share or know someone who should be featured? Contact us at events@able2.org.
Do you want to be the first to know about new podcast episodes and updates about ABLE2’s programs, services and events? Subscribe here.
14 Oct 2025
Voices of ABLE2 - Episode 1: The Ally That Changed Everything
Voices of ABLE2 Episode 1: The Ally That Changed Everything
For years, Michael lived with agoraphobia, or fear of open and crowded spaces, almost all his life. During the pandemic, he shares that these feelings of loneliness and isolation heightened even more, which shaped his daily reality. Isolated from the world and unsure if meaningful connection was still possible, everything changed when he met Mike through ABLE2’s Matching Program.
In this powerful first episode, Michael and Mike share how their match grew into a friendship that helped Michael slowly step outside again, from short moments on his balcony to standing among 17,000 people at an Ottawa Senators game.
Transcript available here.
Thank you to Voices of ABLE2's Presenting Sponsor Sequence Marketing, for helping us make inclusion heard.
Do you have a story to share or know someone who should be featured? Contact us at events@able2.org.
Do you want to be the first to know about new podcast episodes and updates about ABLE2’s programs, services and events? Subscribe here.
7 Oct 2025
Voices of ABLE2 - Pilot Episode
Voices of ABLE2 Pilot Episode: Amplifying Voices with Sequence Marketing
Welcome to the pilot episode of Voices of ABLE2, featuring powerful, real conversations about disability, inclusion, and community.
Host Emelou Porquez sits down with Veronique Soucy, agency principal at Sequence Marketing, to explore the deep partnership between ABLE2 and Sequence Marketing, the story behind ABLE2’s impactful rebrand, and the shared commitment to inclusion and community empowerment.
In this heartfelt conversation, Vero shares how Sequence Marketing became a champion for ABLE2’s mission, the creative journey of renaming Citizen Advocacy to ABLE2, and why giving people a voice through storytelling is so powerful. Tune in to hear how collaboration, compassion, and creativity come together to make inclusion heard.
Transcript available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x9NwUJPel9ftdoZz3hPeGR_vdKhqs7B3/view?usp=share_link
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