Skip to content
Menu
  • English Selected
  • Français

 

Header secondary

  • Sign up for eNews
  • Donate

Header

  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Our Programs
    • Leadership Team
    • Board Members and Committees
    • Donors
    • Annual Reports
    • 2021-23 Strategic Plan
    • FAQ
    • Work With Us
    • Contact Us
    • Champion's Circle
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • About Rick
    • About Rick
    • Rick's Story
    • Man In Motion World Tour
      • Man In Motion World Tour
      • The Dream
      • Tour Timeline
      • Tour Gallery
      • Tour Team
      • 35th Anniversary
    • Rick’s Work and Vision
    • A Conversation with Rick
    • Awards & Honours
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • Get Involved
    • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Legacy Giving
    • Fundraise
    • Help make Canada accessible
    • Everyone Everywhere
    • National AccessAbility Week
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • Become Accessible
    • Become Accessible
    • Rating & Certification 
      • Rating & Certification 
      • Rating Request Form
      • RHFAC FAQ
      • RHFAC v3.0
    • Accessibility Training and Education
      • Professional Training
      • Accessibility Training and Education
      • Tuition Grants
    • APN 2023 Conference
    • Accessibility Resources
    • Accessibility Professional Network
      • Accessibility Professional Network
      • FAQ: Accessibility Professional Network
      • Login
      • RHFAC Professional Directory
    • Post an Accessibility Job
    • Accessibility Advisory Services
    • Buildings Without Barriers Challenge
    • Leaders in Accessibility
    • 2022 B.C. Accessibility Grants
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • Schools & Communities
    • Schools and Communities
    • Create an Inclusive School Year
      • Start with Awareness
      • Concentrate on Kindness 
      • Boldly Take Action
    • Resource Library
    • Ambassador Presentations
      • Ambassador Presentations
      • Book a Presentation
      • About Our Ambassadors
    • Difference Maker Awards
      • Difference Maker Awards
      • Difference Maker Winners
    • Supplementary Resources
    • Our Partners
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • News & Stories
    • News & Stories
    • Blog
    • Media Centre
    • Newsletter
    • Disability Reports
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • Search
Hero Meet Lucy Ruth Diaz, 2022 Difference Maker of the Year

Meet Lucy Ruth Diaz, 2022 Difference Maker of the Year

Breadcrumb

  1. Rick Hansen Foundation
  2. Schools & Communities
  3. Difference Maker Awards
  4. Difference Maker Winners
  5. Currently selected Meet Lucy Ruth Diaz

Lucy Ruth Diaz is a recipient of 2022’s Rick Hansen Foundation School Program (RHFSP) Difference Maker of the Year award! The recipients are students, teachers and community youth leaders who made positive contributions to inclusion and accessibility for people with physical disabilities during the 2021/2022 school year, either in their school, greater community–or both!

Lucy Diaz, who is wearing a pink sweater and black glasses in front of her Heritage Fair project. Her project reads "Accessible Washrooms: Are They?"

Born and raised in the greater Vancouver, BC area, Diaz is a student who has dedicated over four years to improving accessibility and inclusion in the built environment, with a focus on accessible washrooms. For her Heritage Fair project – an educational initiative that encourages students to research and share an aspect of Canadian history – Diaz chose to focus on the history of washrooms and accessible washrooms in Canada, to help open up the conversation around ongoing accessibility needs in public spaces. 

“The curious thing is that we did a lot of research, and that’s how Lucy taught herself about Rick Hansen,” shares Carmen Aguilera, Lucy’s mother.

Accessibility has always been top of mind  

Diaz was a previous panel member in a meeting held by Spinal Cord Injury BC and is a current stakeholder and lived experience advisor in a study by Accessible Parks Canada. She is also a member of Children First Canada’s Young Canadians’ Parliament. Through her advocacy, Diaz was able to convince the BC Children’s Hospital to upgrade their washrooms to include more accessibility features, such as an adult change table. Diaz describes accessibility advocacy as something she has thought about her “entire life.”   

“My sister [Amy] has a disability,” Diaz shares. “I’m the older sister, so it's always been about protecting her, finding a way for her to get out of the house and making everything accessible. So, I’ve always been conscious about it.” 

While the importance of accessibility has always been a part of Diaz’s life, she began focusing heavily on advocacy in 2018.  

“I think it was maybe less than a year or so before that when we realized that we couldn't take [my sister] out of the house because she was too heavy to move. She can't get up on her own so either my parents or I would have to carry her. Then we couldn't lift her anymore, and we realized that washrooms aren't accessible for us at all. So, we couldn't leave the house,” Diaz says. “Another thing was that my sister’s health deteriorated in 2018, so I took over most of the advocating. Prior to that, my mom had been doing it. 

“She just said, ‘mama, I’m going to do it,” says Aguilera. “She started going to the meetings, I was there, too, of course, but [there were times] I couldn’t be there because Amy started crying and I had to go out. So, after that moment, we started pushing together for the [accessible] washrooms. And that’s the moment when Lucy started working on the projects by herself.” 

Making a difference in the community

Diaz recently attended the grand opening of the Tri-Cities Children’s Centre in Port Moody, BC. Thanks to Diaz’s advocacy, the Children’s Centre includes an accessible washroom with an adult changing table, a hoist and enough room for wheelchair users to comfortably fit inside.  

“It's really exciting to finally have a place that if my sister needs any kind of support, we [can] go to that Children's Centre,” Diaz shares. “It's really exciting to know that other kids who will be going there for any support can actually have a washroom where they can have everything that they need.”  

Aguilera adds that having accessible spaces everywhere is a crucial part of making people with disabilities feel connected to society.  

“If you don’t have that, you don't feel like a person. You feel like you’re on the side of society,” she says.

“To me it's very, very important that a person be integrated as part of society. 

Aguilera says that advocacy is something Diaz continues to be passionate about.  

“She’s already the difference maker in this family,” she says.  

Young girl with shoulder length black curly hair. She is beside a framed Difference Maker certificate that is hanging on the wall. She is wearing a black and white tie-dye hoodie.

Diaz encourages others to help make a difference too by making spaces more inclusive and accessible.  

“Speak out,” she says. “We need more people to create actual change. Even if you don't have a disability yourself or don't have any experience with it, even just mentioning it. Mention the lack of accessibility or any barriers that you see to any leadership to help them broaden their ideas of what accessibility really means.” 

Diaz adds, “To anyone who is looking to advocate, don't be afraid. Don’t be afraid to fill someone’s inbox with emails. Make them realize ‘I’m here and I’m not going to back down.’ Be fearless.”  

Back to top

The Rick Hansen Foundation School Program
Made possible by the generous support of Scotiabank, the Gordon and Ruth Gooder Charitable Foundation and the Skidmore Foundation.
Gordon and Ruth Gooder Charitable Foundation
 

Learn More

 

Stay in Touch

Receive Foundation emails to stay up-to-date on our impact and programs.

Contact Us

1-800-213-2131
info@rickhansen.com

Rick Hansen Foundation
300-3820 Cessna Drive
Richmond, BC
Canada V7B 0A2

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Imagine Canada

The Standards Program Trustmark is a mark of Imagine Canada used under license by the Rick Hansen Foundation.

About Us - EN

  • About Us
  • Our Programs
  • Leadership Team
  • Board Members and Committees
  • Donors
  • Annual Reports
  • 2021-23 Strategic Plan
  • FAQ
  • Work With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Champion's Circle

About Rick - EN

  • About Rick
  • Rick's Story
  • Man In Motion World Tour
    • Man In Motion World Tour
    • The Dream
    • Tour Timeline
    • Tour Gallery
    • Tour Team
    • 35th Anniversary
  • Rick’s Work and Vision
  • A Conversation with Rick
  • Awards & Honours

Get Involved - EN

  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • Legacy Giving
  • Fundraise
  • Help make Canada accessible
  • Everyone Everywhere
  • National AccessAbility Week

Become Accessible - EN

  • Become Accessible
  • Rating & Certification 
    • Rating & Certification 
    • Rating Request Form
    • RHFAC FAQ
    • RHFAC v3.0
  • Accessibility Training and Education
    • Professional Training
    • Accessibility Training and Education
    • Tuition Grants
  • APN 2023 Conference
  • Accessibility Resources
  • Accessibility Professional Network
    • Accessibility Professional Network
    • FAQ: Accessibility Professional Network
    • Login
    • RHFAC Professional Directory
  • Post an Accessibility Job
  • Accessibility Advisory Services
  • Buildings Without Barriers Challenge
  • Leaders in Accessibility
  • 2022 B.C. Accessibility Grants

Schools & Communities - EN

  • Schools and Communities
  • Create an Inclusive School Year
    • Start with Awareness
    • Concentrate on Kindness 
    • Boldly Take Action
  • Resource Library
  • Ambassador Presentations
    • Ambassador Presentations
    • Book a Presentation
    • About Our Ambassadors
  • Difference Maker Awards
    • Difference Maker Awards
    • Difference Maker Winners
  • Supplementary Resources
  • Our Partners

News & Stories - EN

  • News & Stories
  • Blog
  • Media Centre
  • Newsletter
  • Disability Reports

Legal

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Ethical Reporting Policy
  • Complaints Policy
  • Imagine Canada Certification
  • Accessibility Commitment
  • Diversity and Inclusion
Imagine Canada

The Standards Program Trustmark is a mark of Imagine Canada used under license by the Rick Hansen Foundation.

Charitable Registration Number: 10765 9427 RR 0001 © 2023 Rick Hansen Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

Back to Top
Hero

Our programs and initiatives work to create an accessible and inclusive world where people with disabilities can live to their full potential. 

Learn more
Hero

When Rick set out to wheel around the world in 1985, he had three missions: to raise awareness about the potential of people with disabilities, create accessible and inclusive communities, and find a cure.

Read more
Hero

Receive updates from RHF on the impact we’re making for people with disabilities across Canada.

Subscribe
Hero

Have your site rated and certified for meaningful access for people with physical disabilities. Make your community more welcoming and inclusive for all!

Get Started
Hero

Receive free educational resources that teach youth about the importance of access and inclusion.  

Learn more
Hero

Browse the latest stories about access and inclusion from Rick and our team of bloggers. 

Read our Blog