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 () 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 Quebec, Anglican Bishop of Quebec ...
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), formerly Ryerson University, is a public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District in downtown Toronto, 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 Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...
talk at Ryerson about seeing the opportunity in people with disabilities.
Health
In the 1970s, Henderson was diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...
. 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, Ontario. It is a member of the Sinai Health system and affiliated with the University of Toronto.
In October 2021, Br ...
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. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division.
...
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
* Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact
* Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact
* Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...
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 (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
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Helen
20th-century Canadian journalists
21st-century Canadian 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
Canadian 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
20th-century Canadian women journalists
21st-century Canadian women journalists