| Sep 08, 2011


Photo: A mural by Donna Larocque was unveiled in 2009 to mark 30 years of Community Living

The story begins more than 35 years ago, when families gathered in the vicinity of Mountain Grove to talk about how they could care for their intellectually challenged members.

Merv Rutherford, Helen Tryon, Wayne Robinson, and Donna Ladouceur, the founding members of the organization that was incorporated under the name “The North Frontenac Association for the Developmentally Handicapped” in 1976, were also associated with the early days of North Frontenac Community Services, which also sprung up in the mid 1970s.

In the beginning, services were limited. There was a weekly drop-in at the former Mountain Grove schoolhouse, but in the first years after incorporation the organisation bought the old store in Mountain Grove and established ARC Industries, which in its heyday was a commercial venture producing pillows, picnic tables, knitting baskets, foot stools, oven mitts, and more. It was also a focal point for educational, literacy and life skills programs. At one point ARC also had a contract from Tweed Steele to produce fireplace inserts.

In 1982, a group home, Sharbot Lake Residence, was opened, with residents coming from institutions as far away as Marmora and Smiths Falls, as well as from local families. They attended ARC during the day and had 24-hour life supports in place at the residence.

The model of support began to change in the late 1980s as the idea of community living began to take shape in Frontenac County and across the province as well.

In the late 1980s ARC industries began to lose its lustre. The people who were working at ARC were aging and the younger population were not as interested in the programming on offer. In the late 1980s, individuals began to express the desire to leave the Sharbot Lake Residence and move into local apartment buildings with support. This trend continued and the group home eventually closed.

In the early 1990s the organisation changed its name to Community-Living North Frontenac and the model of community integration of its clients, combined with supports offered by a dedicated staff, was firmly established. That model has remained the focus of the organization to this day.

Organizationally, Community Living established its headquarters at Highway 7 and 38 in 1994, when the ARC industries building was closed,

Throughout the rest of the 1990s, Community Living was based at Highway 7, and while cuts in funding forced some downsizing in administration, programming for aging parents with adult developmentally disabled children living at home was developed, and children’s programming kept being improved.

In 2000, Community Living moved its headquarters into the village of Sharbot Lake at Beattie House.

Moving into the village has helped Community Living live up to its mandate, by providing supports for its clients while fostering their full inclusion in community events, be they school events, community events such as Canada Day, the Festival of Trees, or the day to day comings and goings of village life.

Community Living was preparing for a large celebration of its 30th anniversary when a fire early in the morning on January 6, 2006 destroyed Beattie House.

After some soul searching, the decision was made to rebuild on the same site, and a new office building was constructed, as the agency carried on at temporary offices in the former Retail Centre at Highway 7 and 38.

While the fire was a setback, there were no injuries associated with it, and the new building, which was built as office and programming space, has helped Community Living move forward.

Community Living also took over the operation of the Treasure Trunk, the used clothing store, and moved it to a spacious location on the waterfront near the Trans-Canada Trail.

While the Treasure Trunk offers some work opportunities for Community Living clients, its main purpose, according to Community Living’s Executive Director Don Nielsen, is to provide service to local residents who benefit from inexpensive clothing and household items.

“Because of our location and the nature of our clientele and the local community, our clients are more integrated into the communities in Central and North Frontenac, particularly here in Sharbot Lake, than they could ever be in a larger centre such as Kingston,” said Nielsen. He has led the organisation since 1994 and will be retiring next March.

While Community Living looks with pride at what has been accomplished over 35 years, there are stresses and limitations that can be frustrating for the staff at times.

I met with Deb Ryckman, supervisor; Dean Walsh (a long-time employee who will be replacing Don Nielsen as E.D. next year); and Don Nielsen at the Community Living offices last week.

“The way our funding works now, we track the needs of our clients and present a plan and a cost for the supports they need, and the Ministry of Community and Social Services receives all that information. Then they give us the same, or a bit less money every year, so we have to continually stretch our services,” said Deb Ryckman.

There are changes coming in the way client services are funded, but providing service in an era of funding challenges will likely be the situation for the time being at least.

The funding challenges have also stopped Community Living from providing service in parts of Frontenac County that are under-served, particularly in communities in South Frontenac that are nominally served by Community-Living Kingston.

“We could easily expand our range to open a satellite office in Verona,” said Dean Walsh, “but we cannot stretch our funding that far.”

New Leaf Link, a community-based group, has started up in South Frontenac to deal with the issues facing developmentally challenged youth, but while Community-Living North Frontenac can offer moral support to New Leaf Link, it has been unable to offer service.

“It’s frustrating to see a need and not be able to satisfy it,” said Walsh.

“What we do now with the people we work with is provide the best support we can, help them to progress in their lives, and work hard to keep within our budget. It is all we can do,” said Don Nielsen.

Community Living-North Frontenac will be celebrating 35 years at their Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, September 14, 6:30 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church .

 

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