What’s the crossroads the community living movement in British Columbia is facing today? What can be learned from when it was most energized in the past? What’s it got at its disposal now that could create a future that’s the brightest yet? Who are the champions we could all be learning from?

These and related questions will inform the direction of a news investigation launching this fall. The series will be published by the newsroom of the Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion (BACI), a Metro Vancouver-area organization serving people who have an intellectual disability.

The investigation will be based on conversations with leaders, families, self-advocates and other players involved in the movement. Some interviews with those outside the movement may also be included.

Guidelines around these conversations will be as such: a solutions-oriented focus on new possibilities and how people are already taking ownership – no blaming or complaining.

“So many of the ways we do things are changing. Systems are in decay all around us,” says Peter Pula, CEO and executive editor of Axiom News, which operates the BACI Blast newsroom on behalf of BACI.

“Asking the kinds of questions this series proposes is really important. They can help us discover what is sprouting from the compost of yesterday. What can we nurture into new life? What is the new story, the new narrative?

“Discovering the gifts and possibilities already resident in the BACI community is the most powerful place to start shaping the future.”

BACI co-executive director Tanya Sather says she’s a big believer in the power of authentic, real-life stories to prompt reflection and change.

For this series, she’s especially keen to see stories that celebrate families’ strengths and successes, but also show where they continue to need support.

These types of stories are especially crucial today because families must be considered the true leaders in the movement, says Tanya. They are the ones who will lead change in the province.

The BACI Blast investigation will feature a brief related story several times a month, with a final e-publication and summary of findings wrapping it up in about four to six weeks.

A version of this story was originally published to the BACI Blast news service, and appears here with permission. To learn more about a generative newsroom for your organization, please email peter(at)axiomnews.ca, or call 800-294-0051 ext. 28.