f WA'l'l-llillx) CHRONICLE ' Wednesday, February 5: 2014 - 3' a 0 e o . Local mothers parthpate in LHIN review to advocate ï¬r the developmentally disabled Bumps Manson on different agencies or groups to try and Chronicle Sin/f a“; ’ meet the needs of their boys is difï¬cult. . pow, But knowing their sons can go to their local mothers took advantage of the , ' flit?“ , group home once per month, and knowing I recent review of the local Health lntegra~ 0 . g f *;"‘°.""t*,’§. it"?t the other two boys and the care workers who lion Network to raise the proï¬le of fami- ». 3, "I, i . ' it? - look after them turns it into a second home lies in the community stringing with developâ€" it, ' ; it" / and a place they enjoy visiting. mental disabilities "y ' _ . it also provides a brief period of normalcy Deb Pfeiffer, Susan Simpson and Moira ' [w for the families and a weekend to catch up Hollingsworth spoke in front of the review 41; on their to-do list or to even go out for an last Wednesday in a bid to have the province -':‘=’~ evening without having to worry about findâ€" provide more funding opportunities to ingacaretaker fortheirsons. create more group homes and respite care "When he comes here i know he's well opportunities to those with disabilities. ‘ cared for and Hayden is familiar with Ian All three have sorts between 20 and and Kevin and everything is the some when . 30 years old living with a range of develop- he comes.†said Pfeifft'r. mental delays. , ' The local Health System integration Act “We wanted to bring more awareness to ‘ of 2006, which governs LHINs. stipulated a the situation," said l’feiffer, whose 207year- ‘ public review needed to be complete by old son Hayden has autism. epilepsy and is a», March 28, 20l0. That review never hapr nonverbal. "There are other parents out †pened, but is now underway by the standing there and the government needs to step up committee on social policy. to the plate with what they're going to do KitchenerWaterloo NDP MPP Catherine “These kids are growtng up. and we're Fife was part of the review in Kitchener last aging, and then- are no answers." ' week and said it is long overdue. In this province alone, Autism Ontario Susan 53mm left, Deb Met, middle, and’Molra Holllngswonh spoke atthe Local Health "Our focus is to find better ways to I't‘dl estimates 12,000 people with developmental Integration Network review in Kitchener last week to raise the proï¬le of developmental dis- rect administration money to better front disabilities are waiting for a proper home. abilities in the community. Msmsoumto Iinecare." Fife said The Ministry of Community and Social “There were sortie very emotional and Services spends about $2 billion annually to They each receive between $800 and implement it in Waterloo. compelling stories around moving mental assist developmentally disabled adults. $1,100 per month from the government in “There's a big gap. it seems the govern health services fully into the Ministry of As the waiting list for group homes and child care payments for their sons. and they ment has moved away from the traditional Health and Longï¬l‘erm (late so mental respite care continues to grow in the can only afford respite care one weekend group home model. but they haven't health is identiï¬ed asapriority.†province. the three families took matters per month because of the high costs associ- replaced it with anything else." said The LHIN review wrapped up today ill into their own hands in April 20| 1. They ated with it. Their suppon workers are par- Hollingsworth. whose 30 yearâ€"old son in Thunder Bayand a report on the outcome of purchased a home on Bridge Street West in tially paid for through Elmira» District (jom- has autism and epilepsy and is nonâ€"comâ€" that review will be prepared once the legislaâ€" Waterloo for $289,000 and one weekend per munity living. municative. She has had to delay her retin- tune resumes Pd), lll. month their sons spend l-riday afternoon As far back as 2006 the Ministry Of (lom men! due to C086 555003100 With his care. The Waterloo»WelIington LHIN receives through to Sunday afternoon in the care of munity and Social Services acknowledged “There's no specific fund that we can just chr 51 billion annually and physicians two support workers, They are at home the the need to encourage families to work apply to in this situation right now. and are paid separately by ()HlP. The provrnt'c mm of the time together with service providers and other that’s what we’re trying to address. liters are has 14 1,“le and they receive roughly $34 liach family contributes 51,000 per families to create innovative solutions and families like us who are gouig to need that billion annually from the gcwemment. month to the upkeep of the hofllt' and to alternatives for residential suppon. kind ofsuppon.†locally, that money is invested among 77 help build a reserve account for any unftlrt' Implementing around-the-clock tart- at it goes beyond money. though. and the health service provrders. including eight set-n costs or emergencies. llkt' a new root or the home would cost about $90,000 per year women say they require ongoing support hopsitals, four community health centres. l l ,, fem-e in the back yard per child. they say, but that includes the from the ministry as they transition through mental health and addiction agencies and lo date, they've each spent $53,000 on price of upkeep and maintenance for the their lives and struggle to not only ("are for is community support service agencies the home Simpson even had to sell her own house ~ 3 cost the three women have now their aging children. but lhl‘lf own aging “Local is so important, because what s home recently in Waterloo to help pay for taken out ofthc equation parents awe". right in Toronto isn‘t necessarily right for the ongoing care of her 24 year old son, They've also had several other families in The group home dynamit is critical for Waterloo,†said Bruce lain-knâ€, (l (l of tin- Kevin. who has tercbral palsy. profound the community approach them to ask about the health and well being of their sons they Waterloo-Wellington I â€IN, of win rin- di'velopmental delays, epilepsy and (“hrtinii their unique housing model. but so far they say Adults with developmental disabilities provinte should commm‘ to fund and sup Asthma. They now mm a home In Kiri-honor say they're the only ones to successfully thrive on routine. and being forced to rely pon local health lnlllali\r-\ voun TOP “In“ WINNING SPA i ' . s K a if, if “a? A} â€"- ‘ r 0 .’ T†- “w A? i, ,/' r 5 1 t _ . ( r l N A S ‘) 19! I‘ll Vi." “ll S'I 910.000.2090 I emu-Leon I I. Gin-much