One tenacious young woman has continued to advocate for accessibility to make a difference in her community.
Alexis Folk, a 17-year-old student at Creston Homelinks, has an impressive list of accolades for her age.
She loves swimming, riding horses through Creston’s therapeutic riding program, being involved with the Kootenay Outdoor Adventure program, and hosting her own podcast - Meeting Mighty People. She also has been the recipient of several well-deserved honours, including Rick Hansen’s Difference Maker of the Year and a King Charles III Coronation Medal.
She was recognized for her work as a student leader, advocating relentlessly for those with diverse abilities.
“In about Grade 8, I just really started realizing that I deserve independence,” she said. “I was growing up enough to feel confident using my own voice, and I started writing letters. Then came the strength and the encouragement to advocate to have more accessibility in my school.”
And she has accomplished all of this while living with cerebral palsy. She speaks up in pursuit of a more inclusive, accessible world not just for herself, but for everyone who lives with a disability.
Three years ago, she approached town council with a request to make her school more accessible. The entry doors were big, heavy, and cumbersome for anyone to open, especially for people in wheelchairs or parents with strollers.
“So I decided, after seeing enough of parents struggling and enough of me wanting to be independent, there's no harm in writing a letter. They can just say no,” said Folk.
It took time but the doors are now accessible to all, with an automatic push button and a lift on the stairs.
In February, Folk was finally able to open the doors of Homelinks independently for the very first time with her own key fob.
“There is nothing more exciting than having independent access to my school, just like any other student,” she said. “I'm really proud and feel a stronger sense of dignity, belonging, and empowerment, even more than I did before walking into that building. To be able to do something independently is well within everyone’s rights as a human being."
The project cost the Town of Creston approximately $6,000, including parts, labour, and the new Wi-fi connection.
“Thanks to her efforts, anyone with mobility issues should be able to attend Homelinks,” said Mayor Arnold DeBoon.
Folk has also participated in the town’s Accessibility Committee meetings to help plan and implement a Regional Accessibility Plan, he added. It’s currently in draft form, with the committee working on its completion and implementation.
“I would like to thank the town staff and residents of Creston for making this positive accessibility change happen,” said Folk. “Given that it's 2025 and there's a bunch of new accessibility legislation coming in, I thought this would be a great time to acknowledge they are making a milestone towards a more accessible Creston.”
She will graduate from Homelinks this year, with plans to pursue a future career in human services.
