Get ready for Halloween by joining a new inclusive tradition

With Halloween approaching, Treat Accessibly is urging Canadians to make trick-or-treating more accessible for children who may not be able to reach a traditional porch-side candy station.

The Toronto-born movement began in 2017, when seven-year-old Siena saw a boy using a wheelchair while putting pumpkins outside her Toronto home. After asking how he could navigate the driveway and front steps to trick-or-treat, her family moved its treat station to the end of the driveway and posted a sign showing the home was accessible.

Nearly 10 years later, about 300,000 Canadian homes take part in Treat Accessibly. Households can pledge online and distribute treats from the end of a driveway, front steps, a garage, lawn or apartment lobby to help more children participate on Halloween night, Oct. 31.

Participants can add a free lawn sign to show families that their home is an accessible trick-or-treat destination. Signs can be picked up from a local retailer after registering for an email update, or printed free from the Treat Accessibly website.

Nominations are also open for Canadian streets that have become dependable, accessible trick-or-treat destinations. Twenty-five streets will be selected as Treat Accessibly Halloween Streets, with every driveway’s treat station moved to its end, Treat Accessibly signs on lawns and earlier daylight trick-or-treating.

Canada’s first Halloween Street is in Delta, B.C., where a local note brought 50 neighbours together within days. A Toronto street is leading nominations this year. With Halloween falling on a Saturday, Treat Accessibly could record its largest number of participating homes. Residents can pledge their homes, nominate a street and order a free lawn sign through the Treat Accessibly website.