King, Vaughan teens create Two-of-a-Kind Online Buddy program

'We were worried they would face severe social isolation'

Yorkregion.com
October 22, 2020
Simone Joseph

When COVID-19 hit Canada, Vikita Mehta and Mira Bhattacharya were concerned people with disabilities would be cut off from activities they love.

“We were worried they would face severe social isolation,” Vaughan resident Bhattacharya said. “I thought so many of these programs won’t run because of COVID-19.”

Bhattacharya, 17 and Mehta, 19, came together and created the Two-of-a-Kind Online Buddy initiative to pair youth with special needs with a police-checked volunteer who acts as a buddy. The duo can then do a range of activities together, from watching movies and playing video games together to learning new skills such as baking. The program also offers academic mentorship.

Mehta, a King City resident, has been volunteering with people who are living with disabilities for more than four years, including at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and Camp Kennebec, and it has changed the way she speaks and communicates.

“They open my mind on how to look at certain situations,” Mehta said of persons living with disabilities. Since she started volunteering at Bloorview “I’ve grown so much,” she said.

Some of the people she has worked with are hearing impaired, so she learned to adjust her facial expressions to make communication easier. “They teach me to modify my communication, to be a better communicator and listener,” she said.

Likewise, her friend Bhattacharya has volunteered with children with special needs for three or four years and has enjoyed how outgoing and compassionate the children are.

The Two-of-a-Kind Online Buddy program they created uses video chat services and volunteers from around the world who go through training and are police-background checked.

Mehta and Bhattacharya explain their goal in providing the program: “We want to offer individuals a way to continue to form friendships, regardless of the social distancing measures put in place. Our goal is to disable the difference.”

Volunteers meet a minimum of once a week. Activities can include arts and crafts, academic tutoring and mentorship, music lessons, dance parties and movies.

Mehta and Bhattacharya are also the co-founders of a non-profit organization called Disable the Difference. They created the organization to raise awareness, provide support, and advocate for policy change for individuals with disabilities.

Their initiatives have reached individuals and families across the globe. The duo has also started a podcast to spread awareness and acceptance, as well as provide support to new parents of children with special needs.

They are interested in hearing from persons and families with special needs, as well as youth interested in volunteering.

If parents want to sign up then can send an email to disablethedifference@gmail.com.