A new initiative brought to Cambridge city council last week, designed to help people living with a hidden disability feel less invisible, received pushback during the council meeting.

The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Program allows people to recognize hidden disabilities through the voluntary wearing of a sunflower lanyard or pin.

The motion, brought forward by Ward 3 Coun. Corey Kimpson, would provide a signal to staff and other people in the community that a person wearing the sunflower lanyard or pin may need some extra assistance or support.

“So what’s really nice about the program is individuals are able to self identify, and it’s their choice to do so,” said Kimpson. 

The city would provide the lanyards and people who choose to wear them wouldn’t be required to identify their disability. The program began in the United Kingdom in 2016, growing into an international movement.

When Kimpson presented the motion to council, she said she was surprised to receive pushback during the meeting.

Ward 6 Coun. Adam Cooper opposed the idea, saying, “It’s a nice, feel-good motion, but that’s what it is. But it’s got some serious ramifications here.”

He said the ramifications included staff hours and training for the program, costs and that the program operates on an honour system.

“This places staff in difficult positions where they must navigate subjective, personal choices without clear policy guidelines. Because we are potentially putting staff in front of people that could come to them with every single possible physical and mental disability,” said Cooper.

Earlier in the meeting, Mayor Jan Liggett mentioned that staff are over-worked and that some have gone on stress leave.

“They’re overwhelmed, they’re stressed, they can’t do the work that they’ve got currently. So when we have staff going off on leave; a lot of it’s stress leave, they can’t deal with it. We have staff who leave to go to other jobs because they can’t deal with it here.”

Kimpson says the additional workload would involve a 10-minute training video for staff.

“The sunflower program does not require staff to do anything that they shouldn’t already be doing,” Kimpson said, responding to Cooper in the council meeting.

She says the goal of the program is to allow people to communicate that they may need a little bit of extra help or accommodation.

“There’s nothing feel-good about the need for accessibility and inclusivity, nothing feel-good about needing to do it,” said Kimpson.

Ward 5 Coun. Sheri Roberts seconded the motion. She says the initiative will help staff feel more confident in their ability to provide support to residents with disabilities. 

“Without having a visual cue it can be really hard for folks who live with invisible disabilities to get the supports that they might need in order to access program services. And this is just sort of a subtle, voluntary way for them to say, ‘Hey, you know, I might need a little extra time. I might need communication in a different way,'” said Roberts.

Cost of the program

During the council meeting, concerns were raised about the price of the project. Kimpson said originally, she estimated the total cost would be $6,500 for a full rollout, based on a report by the City of Pickering, which implemented the program in May 2025.

However, city clerk Danielle Manton said after research, the total estimated cost came to $20,000.

The higher cost was based on the City of Waterloo, which is currently rolling out the sunflower program.

Cooper questioned whether the money used toward the program could instead be used toward fulfilling legal obligations toward the Accessibility for Ontarian’s Disability Act such as infrastructure improvements.

According to Roberts, the most important part of the Accessibility for Ontarian’s Disability Act is customer service.

“When people think about accessibility, they think about ramps and automatic door openers and things like that. But honestly, none of that matters if, when I get to the place or when someone gets to a facility who has a disability, they can’t be properly served,” said Roberts.

The motion, if implemented, would go into the 2027 operating budget. An amendment for a staff report, passed by an 8-1 vote, will come back to council outlining options for rolling out the project. Cooper opposed the amendment.

Once council receives the report, they will decide how the program stacks up with other priorities for the 2027 budget.

Community perception of program

Roberts says the pushback to the motion during the city council meeting doesn’t reflect the broader community outlook.

“People have been reaching out to me saying they wholeheartedly support this program implementation if it does happen, because they themselves or their child or a loved one has an invisible disability and often struggles to share what they need in order to get the support and service that would help them thrive.”

Among residents in favour of the motion is Abigail Murphy, a local disability advocate. She says having a physical marker would help avoid judgment from people in the community. 

“When I get onto a city bus, I often get glares because I don’t look physically disabled and I’m young and I look healthy. But I often get glares on city transport and for sitting in accessible spaces.”

She says the sunflower lanyard is “a very small, very powerful way of just reminding people to have empathy for others.”

Murphy says the city should take every action to make sure everyone in the community is supported. She says the pushback in the council meeting points to an underlying issue in Cambridge. 

“I think when we see leaders speaking so openly and so ableist towards people with invisible disabilities, that really reaffirms the fact that, hey, there is a problem here. There is a gap in our understanding and in our knowledge as a community on invisible disabilities.”