Community Living Ontario

In 2009 we adopted A Call to Action in a New Era, an ambitious challenge as we look at eliminating large institutions that still exist in our province, eliminating harmful and controlling approaches offered to people and helping communities welcome and respect citizens who have an intellectual disability.

People First of Canada and the Canadian Association for Community Living believe “an institution is any place in which people who have been labelled as having an intellectual disability are isolated, segregated and/or congregated. An institution is any place in which people do not have, or are not allowed to exercise control over their day to day decisions. An institution is not merely defined by its size.”

At the Community Living Ontario Conference in June we engaged in a facilitated discussion called Transformation and Shifting Ground. The participants struggled with the challenges laid out in the Call to Action and how to move forward.

We heard disturbing comments such as: “parents are encouraged to segregate their children!”; “supports are often too regimented”; “services limit choices”;  “relationship building is not happening enough”; and “there is an assumption that all needs can be met by specialized services instead of by the regular community”.

However those in attendance were not all doom and gloom…many talked about how services and supports can be changed, modified and personalized to truly enhance community participation…indeed many shared positive examples of moving forward.

I am reminded of a recent Good Life Workshop – sponsored by Community Living Ontario. Over twenty people were helped to dream and talk about the type of roles they would like to assume…who they want to live with…educational opportunities they want to experience…travels they want to take…relationships they desire…employment opportunities that interest them…advocacy roles for which they are striving…simple yet profoundly important dreams to which we all aspire.

The questions that come to mind include…Do we truly encourage and support people to dream?   Do we really help people express those dreams?   Do we actually listen to and hear those dreams?   Do we help each person reach his or her dream?

I believe this is the explicit challenge of A Call to Action in a New Era…building upon our past…listening carefully to those for whom we work…finding new ways to see that people are supported to become welcomed citizens in their communities.

It will be a seminal challenge for this federation, one to which the Deinstitutionalization Working Group is committed over the coming year.

Please join us as our federation embraces the challenges of A Call to Action in a New Era.