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LETTER: In support of the now-cancelled day program at ARC Industries

'The Day Program model remains the right thing to do, it works, it serves its purpose, it is indeed a critical component of what full citizenship looks like for so many of our most vulnerable citizens'
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Photo by jules a. on Unsplash

The following letter in support of ARC Industries day programs from Peter and Loreen McCaskell was also sent to MPP MIke Schreiner and Mayor Cam Guthrie.

We wish to share how devastating it was for us to learn of Community Living Guelph-Wellington's (CLGW) shocking and unexpected decision to shut down their Day Programs; and to ask for your help please.

Our daughter, Kerri McCaskell, has been a long-time participant in CLGW's Day Programs.   Kerri is 37 years of age, but her mental age is, and will remain, around 3. CLGW's  Day Programs are one of the greatest joys in Kerri's life and we are so grateful for their existence.  

The Day Programs give Kerri a sense of purpose, build her self-esteem, and provide a safe, supportive, and nurturing environment in which she can spend quality time with friends under the supervision of caring and trained adults.

Like all of the many other parents we have been in touch with, who also have family members who benefit so richly from CLGW's Day Programs, the sudden and unexpected news of the Programs' demise was a gut punch for us.

This is especially the case with the sudden announcement coming in the midst of these stressful COVID-19 pandemic times when families who have vulnerable family members are struggling in so many ways.   

Perhaps what is most distressing of all about this development is that even those families who were given the opportunity to participate in CLGW's focus groups and surveys were equally shocked by the sudden news of the program shutdown.

These families are sharing that there was no indication in the consultations, surveys, or in the recently released Strategic Plan that this devastating withdrawal of life-enhancing and effective Day Programing was at hand.

At best, communication and consultation with Day Programing clients and their families about the future of the programming was weak, nebulous, and in many cases, non existent.

What limited consultations that did take place do not appear to have created an accurate understanding amongst CLGW's senior leadership of the vital importance, and powerful effectiveness of these Day Programs for Guelph and surrounding areas' most vulnerable citizens. Instead, senior CLGW leadership appears to have formed the false impression, from this flawed communication / consultation process, that the Day Programing model is out of date, is no longer effective, and needs to be replaced with something "new", although they are unable to define what "new" is or why there is a demonstrated need for something "new.”

We, as people with vulnerable family members who have benefited so greatly from CLGW's Day Programming model wish to communicate that we are in full agreement with Ms. Hanley's statement - the current approach was indeed "right to do at the time, it worked, it served its purpose."

The essential point for CLGW's senior leadership to realize is that the same holds true today: the Day Program model remains the right thing to do, it works, it serves its purpose, it is indeed a critical component of what full citizenship looks like for so many of our most vulnerable citizens. This is especially true for CLGW's lower functioning clients, including our daughter Kerri and her many co-participants in CLGW day programming.

We look forward to, and appreciate learning that there will be extensive consultations with clients and their families to even further enhance programming. We hope those consultations will be more productive, and transparent than those that led to this devastating and misguided decision.

The overriding reality remains however - reductions to merely a token few hours of in-community engagement will not replace the life-enhancing day programming that is being taken away, most especially for CLGW's lower functioning clients.

Our specific requests for help:

Ms. Hanley:  please ensure the removal of the Day Programs is not replaced by simply a few token hours of in-community engagement.   If the Day Programs must end, then it is vital that the replacement provide similar or enhanced quantity and quality of contact hours for CLGW's lower functioning clients.

Mr. Schreiner and Mayor Guthrie:  with CLGW discontinuing its Day Programing, please use your offices to lobby Queen's Park for a substantial and sustained increase in clients' Passport funding to enable them to access these life-enhancing Day Programing services as delivered by other providers, such as the highly respected and effective Live and Learn programs here in Guelph.

Yours sincerely

Peter and Loreen McCaskell