Message from the CEO
By Rick Mowles, CEO
The community living movement is a change movement. Research, practice and policy are constantly evolving as we learn from the experiences of adults with developmental disabilities and their families, and hear about their needs and goals. Over the years, this has included options for living more inclusively in community.
Our homes are the base from which we all connect to our communities. In the last 30 years, the community living sector has shifted from housing people with developmental disabilities in institutions and isolation towards more inclusive housing. This direction is based on the hard work of families and advocates to move communities towards full inclusion.
Home sharing is one option that helps people live more inclusively in community by enabling an adult and provider to live in the same home and share many aspects of their lives. Providers are qualified, trained and experienced people who offer support and assistance based on the needs and goals of the person they are caring for, while still providing a level of independence, and connection to community and family for the individual. Relationships between individuals and home sharing providers often last for many years (many providers have been supporting the same individual for 15 years or longer). Currently, over half of CLBC supported adults receiving residential services have chosen home sharing or semi independent living to meet their needs.
Home sharing is not a new option, but has been known by different names since the 1970s when it was first introduced. In this edition of The Citizen, you can read about a family’s experience moving their son from a group home into home sharing. Over the coming months, we will continue to share stories to show the successes and the challenges that can come with living more inclusively in community. We will also soon be posting an information sheet for families about home sharing on our website to provide more information to families about this option.
It is an exciting time in the community living movement as we continue to build on the decades of progress made towards community inclusion. As we near the close of 2010, let’s acknowledge and celebrate that progress – and prepare ourselves to continue to make the necessary changes to help people live “good lives in welcoming communities”.
I wish you all the best for the holiday season, and a happy and healthy new year.
