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INLY L °> Tom Brockelbank Chronicle Staff The local office of the Ministry of Community and Social Services had no choice but to cut back the number of families it supplies with homeâ€"care workers, says MCSS area manager Marilyn =«â€"â€"~ Stevenson said over 500 area families are benefitting from the ministry‘s Special Services at Home (SSAH) program, but because demand has been growing at rates far in excess of the government‘s ability to fund the program, many familiesâ€"previously getting inâ€"home assistance from homeâ€"care workers have been cut from the program. © "New requests for servicé this year have exceeded the growth in allocation by 20 per cent," she said. The Ministry of Community and Social Services‘ Special Services at Home program was introduced . in 1983 to provide specialized training and * support to developmentally handicapped persons and their families. Under the program, a worker comes into a home regularly to help the parents of a disabled child cope and help the child develop new skills. Unfortunately, the program was so popular that funding has had to be increased by an average of 23 per cent in recent years â€" a rate of increase no longer feasible, Stevenson said. "In tough economic times you can‘t sustain that kind of growth.". Stevenson said each of COMSOC‘s district offices had to choose between offering services on a firstâ€"come, firstâ€"serve basis, or restricting services to only those families "who are in greatest need‘". She chose the latter after consulting with parents, most of whom found it to ito*fi;gl.:mnun-‘me wmmmfihfiu'mdw apartment ir home â€"leaving municiâ€" housing," palities with little power over neighborâ€" Mh&hmflnufi.fidm hood density. ments in was first released in June. ‘‘We‘ve‘ lost a tremendous amount of â€"Over the summer, interested parties subâ€" jurisdiction," Waterloo Mayor Brian Turnâ€" ~mitted written responses to the draft The legislation involves amendments to with municipal representatives and housâ€" the Planning and Municipal Acts. Accordâ€" ing advocates. ing to the Ministry of Housing, it will Turnbull said the city supports the permit homeowners to create one apartâ€" principle of homeowners in a given neighâ€" ment in their house, improve municipal borhood having the right to rent out part of pom(thnfi:mdpmp- their homes, as long as everyone in the erty permit unrelated people to neighborhood knows of that right when form a household and help municipalities Turnbull said the city has consulted with that wish to encourage garden suites. homeowners before making any past deciâ€" Minister of Housing Evelyn Gigantes sgion to allow apartments in houses in a Tom Brockelbank The provincial government is set to make it éasier for all homeowners to create an The parents further recommended that new &Qfiowm&mfityd‘ roughly 100,000 existing apartments in houses across Ontario. "Clearly, both tenants and homeowners want and need this form of affordable housing," she said. e 3 Draft on the subject of apartâ€" mmmmwmm. Over the summer, interested parties subâ€" mitted written responses to the draft legislation, and government officials met in the protest, said she is concerned about keeping these families together and also about the high cost of the institutionalization of disabled children. "(The provincial government) is going to have to prioritize. We need to give the appropriate support to keep the families together in the home, " she Turnbull said the legislation borders on "ridiculous" in the case of highrise apartâ€" ments and townhouse complexes, which w'l'ho report stated thatut;h: City of government‘s heavyâ€"handed attempt to interfere within the local municipality‘s mew neighborhood. Conversely, the provâ€" ince plans to allow almost anyone, anyâ€" where to rent out part of their home, and the neighbors have no say and no recourse. In August, council approved a report mmmmw which expressed ity‘s ‘"grave concerns" with the proposed legislation. Turnbull said he would like the legisiaâ€" A young woman leads a group of protesters through the Waterioo Town Square pukht\g.lot during last Thursday‘s mmmmm Ministry of Community and Social Services‘ Special Services at Home program for tamilies Uuoveqp waTeRLdo CHHONitLe, WwebnEsbay, Novemsen 4. i00> : PaGQ 3 * strengthen the City of Waterloo‘s powers of entry, Turnbull said the issue "is not a big However, Turnbull said that is not signifiâ€" cant because the existing apartments in houl:h:Waurlooconudnotbemorenfe than already already are as a result of fire department checks. release, the legislation makes it easier for municipalities to enforce health and safety 'l'lndlnh _for llltypa of housing units. have not been exempted. "If you‘ve got a 100â€"unit apartment building, this legislation allows it to become a 200â€"unit building," he said. "I don‘t think the average homeowner understands that this is happening. And the average homeowner could wake up tomorrow with a duplex next aoor to Pete Cudhes photo will