Helen Anne Henderson
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Helen Anne Henderson (May 11, 1946 – April 11, 2015) was a Canadian disability rights activist and journalist.


Biography

Henderson was born on May 11, 1946, in Scotland. In 1954, Henderson and her family immigrated to Quebec. She attended
Bishop's University Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Diocese of Quebe ...
in Quebec for an English degree and later pursued a degree in
disability studies Disability studies is an academic discipline that examines the meaning, nature, and consequences of disability. Initially, the field focused on the division between "impairment" and "disability," where impairment was an impairment of an individual ...
at
Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...
. In 2011, Henderson gave a
TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...
talk at Ryerson about seeing the opportunity in people with disabilities.


Health

In the 1970s, Henderson was diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...
. As a result of her MS, Henderson later used a cane and a wheelchair. Henderson sought palliative care at
Bridgepoint Health Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital, formerly Bridgepoint Active Healthcare, is a complex care and rehabilitation hospital in Toronto. It is a member of the Sinai Health and affiliated with the University of Toronto In October 2021 Sinai Health announ ...
and died on April 11, 2015, from complications due to lung cancer.


Career

Henderson began writing for the
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
in the 1970s and retired in 2008. Although she began her career at the Star as a business reporter, the first female business reporter there, Henderson eventually began writing a column about disability. Henderson's column was "the longest running disability
beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...
in Canada" according to Katie Ellis. In 2016, in recognition of Henderson's contributions to disability rights awareness, the
Centre for Independent Living in Toronto The Centre for Independent Living in Toronto (CILT) is a not for profit organization that supports people with disabilities and addictions. In 1993, CILT advocated to the Government of Ontario for financial support. The aim was to provide support ...
(CILT) established the Helen Henderson Literary Award "to acknowledge an exceptional piece of writing that raises social awareness of a disability issue or barrier".


See also

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Helen 20th-century Canadian journalists 21st-century Canadian journalists Canadian women journalists Canadian columnists Toronto Star people Bishop's University alumni Toronto Metropolitan University alumni Canadian disability rights activists Canadian writers with disabilities Scottish people with disabilities Wheelchair users People with multiple sclerosis Deaths from lung cancer in Canada 1946 births 2015 deaths Deaths from cancer in Ontario Canadian women columnists Scottish emigrants to Canada 20th-century Canadian women writers Canadian activists with disabilities