Local advocates are hoping voters don't forget about people living with disabilities.

Gateway Resources CEO Kim Nelson explains many people might have seen the 'Disability Matters Vote' signs on yards and boulevards during election seasons. She says they're part of a non-partisan public awareness campaign initiated by Abilities Manitoba and Barrier-Free Manitoba.

One of the primary goals of Disability Matters Vote is to raise issues that are most important to the quality of life and human rights of people with disabilities in Manitoba and to ask the political parties and candidates to provide clear positions and commitments, Nelson says.

David Kron, a spokesperson for the Disability Matters Vote Campaign, explains one of their five priority issues is fair wages for Direct Support Professionals "so it's a career, not a job."

He notes a person living with a disability may see over 700 support workers over their lifetime, "just cycling in and out of their lives because of the high turnover. It's hard to get continuity... it's hard to even find people at some points."

Nelson says as an organization that supports the development and growth of adults living with an intellectual disability, they also advocate for increases in EIA benefits, access to services for Direct Support Professionals.

Other priorities include:

-Dignified Income for People with Profound, Long-Term Disabilities

-Timely Access to Services

-A Fully Accessible Manitoba

-Fair Wages for Direct Support Professionals

-Unleashing Employment Potential

"We want to be heard, and honestly, I think the politicians are starting to hear us," Kron says.

Learn more here:

Posters and signs, rallies and videos have been had around Manitoba to raise awareness of the key issues for people living with intellectual disabilities.