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ll manna-Munster»: Funding furor . I I U 0 I . Famrlresfiwefinancral 011818 asfimdmgfor developmental disabilities cha 2 .; ' :::_’- "2- _ 4.2» » ,- - a ,2, , . .~, ._ ._ ' a). ,, Bran-torreP-chA-im “She needs an active life. She 1% very hard it those famlhs ’ ' thheOtmnicle needs to be stimulated to be (that are not grandfathered in). ‘ happy,'Patsaid.'Whendie’scon- They'regettingaitoflcverything ike many other teenage girls, tent, we're all content.” until they 5) W a new assess- L Fiona Whiteside. la. spends Now retired, Pat said her days merit. and then they know there her days at school and are filled with trying to organize a will be a wait list, and they don‘t . enjoys activities such as swim- patchwork of care for Fiona, hmhowlongthatwmbe.‘ 2 ming. choir and attending camp. including finding respite care and According to the Toronto Star. ._ But Fiona. who has cerebral summer day camps. She's also figures horn last fall indicate that palsy with both developmental and joined several organizations doing we 3,7“) adults on the wait list for physical disabilities, needs help to advocacy work. Passport funds and almost 8,600 , do all those things And now that Other families are in much waitingforSSAHfimdingflommu- she’s 18, the funding needed to hire worse situations nity and Social Services spends . assistants or provide programs for about 3H3 million a year on these , her is drying up. “ ' types of supports 2 “For the last couple of years, we "Iduefls’znz: could all! be The stories that Kitchener citi- go into our own personal finances l W "fly m thy, zens Cameron Dearlove and forabouttwomonthsoftheyear.” butweneedtotakecare Submmmmanwuehem'nsfiom Fiona’s mother. Pat, said. “it costs local families prompted them to extratohaveadisahledd1ild...it ofourmoreuulnfmble stananonlinepetition. takesmoreresourws" asasocrety. T‘Aslmeardredtheismelwas The Whitesides have planned -PatWhlteaide shocked to hear about the enor- ' muchoftheirlrvesaroundthecare DaughmFmMm. 'I 1‘.me mornwuunglistsandgapsinaervâ€" of From. Both Pat and her husband m ice that have ousted for years Brianareteacherswhomovedfmm ““3 beforethischangeaacerbatedthe ‘ Toronto to Waterloo so they could “Some people have to sell their situation.” Dearloveaald. ' ~ - afiord to build a wheelchair accas homes,” said Sue Simmon, director Starting the petition was one sible home for their family. which of programs and operations at way to help families who are too . includestwootherchildren. Waterloo Region Family Network overwhelmed and exhausted to When Fronawasyoung. Pat quit Others end up with one parent advocatefordlernaetmhesaid. work and only went back part time quitting work to stay home with 1:: only one week and without after ll years away from her career. their adult child. media attention. the petition has The Whitesides receive about Simpson’s work for the WRFN generated over 2.200 signatures, $6,300 per year through Support includes helping families navigate but more importantly, it’s become a J‘:7~,._j__ > Services at Home (SSAH) funding the support system. But she also spaoeWhere peoplecan leave niec- _ , ‘ " provided through the Ministry of lives it every day. Her son Kevin. 24, sages about the significant chal- is.» CommunityandSocialServioea alsohasadevelopmentaldisability. lengestheyarefacing." as: New funding guiddines thatare “He's outandaboutinthecom- Pat and Brian arealreadylook- .. 7» ‘ :,. 2, -‘ ' beingfullyimplemented moprn‘l munity. He goes to the library, he ing ahead to the next steps in §; . ,2}; 54,. 2: ’_:;-.-“5:’ 3s, ‘ I mean peoplewhowerereceiving goesswimrning,he plays basket- Fiona'slifehithefutmetheyhope 5e; “ g" " fundingaschildrenmustreapplyat bail.Soweuseourfundingforhis tomoveoutoftheirhomeandinto I?“ g g ‘ . §§ age 18 and transition to another support worker,” she said. a smaller place. leaving the accessi- - t ' ‘ it, A t funding model called Passport. Simpson said Kevin qualifies for ble house for From. They hope she ' ‘ ' 3‘ Because Fiona turned 18 last $23,000 in Passport funding and can share the space with other ' ' year. her funding has been grandfa- $8,000 in SSAH funding every year. adults who require support and the ,2 > ‘ thered in. But Pat said she's been In addition, the family spends caregiverswhowould asist them. 3" ' ... ‘ ‘ told it is only guaranteed for one another $20,000 of their own. But creating that kind of group There is a circle of people who nipped Fiona Whiteside‘s (cum) indeâ€" year at a time, leaving her uncer- “it’s a very critical situation. home would also require financial pendent living everyday, including. from left. her mower Pat Whiteside, tain about the future. because the cost of caring for our assistance from the province. volunteer Emily Schuster. support worker Rebeca Verdun and volunteer And Fiona no longer qualifies children all along has been fairly ”i wish we could all be inde- Emily Logan. Families who have children with developmental disabilities for the free respite care and com» extensive, and nowwe're faced with pendentiy wealthy. but we need to often “(I long wall times fa services and uncertainty about funding for munity programming that is avail- uncertainty and it's really worri- take care of our more vulnerable as 9'09"“- able for those under 18. some for people.” she said. a society.” Pat said. 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