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Community Living History continuesby Lillian Barker-Godfrey and Paul Kyte The Sharbot Lake Residence closesFor years seven developmentally handicapped adults lived in a group home administered by the North Frontenac Association for the Mentally Handicapped (NFAMH now Community Living - North Frontenac). This grouping of handicapped adults meant that regardless of our attempts to provide individualized services to enhance and maximize each persons independence and quality of life, they had to settle for far less than normative living arrangements. Each individual had to deal with co-residency with six other people. They had no say in who they lived with, as their home was a government-run program, and beds had to be filled to pay the bills. Living arrangements can be strained in any group setting; to make things more complicated, imagine having twelve staff inhabiting your house. Although there was never more than two staff on shift, there always seemed to be many reasons for having staff and community people come and go with an open door policy (eg. board and committee meetings, staff picking up their pay or checking their schedule, staff meetings, other service providers and staff visitors dropping by).

During the latter part of 1989 the NFAMH initiated redeveloping residential services. We adopted a new form of planning which assists each developmentally challenged individual to enlist support from those closest to them (family, friends, service providers, etc.) to plan for their future. In this, the individual was the focal point of the planning, and he or she determined, with the assistance from their friends, many aspects of their future ideal lives. Most of the identified goals were not unrealistic in fact, many of the things identified are things that non-handicapped people take for granted. For example: living in their own homes, choosing who they live with, increased privacy, having more control of their personal environment, and having friendships with people in their community.

In February 1990, two gentleman were assisted to move from the Sharbot Lake Residence into their own apartment, and the vacant space at the Residence was not filled. At first, it was challenging for residential staff to adapt to providing support services to the gentlemen for a few hours a day as needed, rather than overseeing all the intricacies of their lives. However after a few short months we could see them thriving in their new homes. The novelty of making day-to-day decisions for themselves became the catalyst for further experimentation and personal growth. Over the years that followed, the individuals continued to learn and develop. In retrospect, Community Living employees felt that for years the Sharbot Lake Residence unintentionally suppressed individual achievement. While these people resided at the group home, staff activities easily became a controlling force in their lives.

In the fall of 1990, a third gentleman was helped to move from the group home into his own apartment, and the resulting vacancy was not filled. Again, while assisting a third individual to fulfill his independent living dream, staff observed another transformation. Like the first two gentlemen, this individual became empowered as a result of his life changes. By 1992, the final four individuals moved from the group home into their own rental accommodations and the Sharbot Lake Residence closed its door permanently. The NFAMH finally got out of the landlord business, and employees were now focused on assisting individuals to live in their own homes as independently as possible. This situation presented new challenges to the developmentally disabled individuals, the support people, and to community persons as well. Today, almost ten years later, Association employees are still laboring to achieve their ideals. On a day-to-day basis, our supports are adjusted to each individuals welfare, personal growth, and development. We see ourselves, service providers, as visitors in people's homes/lives. We have no right to tell people what to do. We take all of this very seriously. The majority of the people we assist have lived their entire lives with little or no personal control, and we believe that a consistent and steadfast approach to battling this historic problem is essential.

To learn more about Community Living - North Frontenac and the services we provide, please attend our annual general meeting on Thursday, September 20 at 7:00 p.m. at the Oso Community Hall. Also, you are welcome to drop by our office which is located in the village of Sharbot Lake directly across the street form the Anglican Church (279-3731).