Closure of Ontario's Mass Institutions for People with Intellectual Disabilities Tuesday, March 31, 2009, 4:00 PM Presented By LiveWorkPlay in partnership with Community Living Ontario & People First of Canada Mayfair Theatre, 1074 Bank Street, Ottawa Admission: $5 for Mayfair members, $9 non-members Contact Keenan Wellar or 613-235-9550 x 223 for additional information. The doors have closed, but the pain remains. See the videos below for information about lawsuits launched by and for former residents of Ontario's mass institutions. The video on the left is about Huronia, on the right Smiths Falls. MARCH 31, 2009 UPDATE 150 people attended the End of an Era memorial and celebration at the Mayfair Theatre on March 31. This included representatives from numerous local agencies, such as l'Arche Ottawa, Citizen Advocacy, Christian Horizons, l'Association pour l'integration social d'Ottawa, Ottawa-Carleton Lifeskills, Total Communications Environment, Eastern Regional Office of the Ministry of Community and Social Services, constituency staff from the office of the Honourable Madeleine Meilleur, and many ex-residents of the Rideau Regional Centre in Smiths Falls, one of the three remaining Ontario institutions that had its doors close forever today. The agenda included opening remarks by LiveWorkPlay CEO and co-founder Keenan Wellar, which can be heard in their entirety from the video link (available right). His comments included the following: An institution does not only take the form of big buildings. An institution is any place in which people do not have, or are not allowed to exercise, control over their lives and their day to day decisions. The attitudes and practices of our society continue to control and limit the freedoms and quality of life enjoyed by people with intellectual disabilities [Attributed to the Canadian Association for Community Living and People First of Canada Joint Task Force on Deinstitutionalization]. Our history is filled with de-humanizing beliefs, with laws and attitudes that discriminated against gender, skin color, and sexual preferences, to name a few. Many of these attitudes persist, but there has been much progress. The journey to inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities does not end with the closure of institutions. This is really just the beginning. But tonight we celebrate a clear step in the right direction. The doors have closed on the historical legacy of mass institutionalization in the Province of Ontario, and there is no turning back. The future is about life in community, and there is a role for all of us. It starts with a welcoming attitude and the belief that all human beings are complete human beings. Following the opening remarks came The Freedom Tour, the remarkable documentary film by People First of Canada (see video trailer, available right). The audience was so moved by the experience that there was no need to announce the planned minute of silence. They went silent all on their own. Self-advocate Jennifer Harris from LiveWorkPlay then introduced David McKillop. A former resident of the Smiths Falls Regional Rideau Centre, one of David's first actions as a free adult in the community was to purchase a guitar and write songs. Life has come full circle: Mr. McKillop proudly, passionately, and professionally performed his song Carry Me Away For I Have Done My Share Today to thunderous applause. He was thanked with symbolic gifts presented by LiveWorkPlay co-founder and president Julie Kingstone. The evening concluded on an upbeat note with the special screening of Sprout Film Festival entry Sheri + Paul by Sprout founder Anthony Di Salvo. This joyous love story had the audience rolling with laughter, especially during the credits when Paul discusses different forms of kissing, and also remarks as follows: I thought were were going to have the perfect relationship, but now I know that's not possible. I mean, I guess you'd have to be a perfect person to have a perfect relationship, right? The LiveWorkPlay contribution to marking the end of an era took many forms, including very active participation with local media and a Community Living Ontario plaque presentation to Minister of Community and Social Services Madeleine Meilleur. You can listen, watch, and read most of these media communications from the links to the right. Taking a lead role in marking the end of an era was not without its challenges. Many media sources were unwavering in their focus on a tiny percentage of ex-institutionalized individuals with complex needs and skeptical family members. While those voices are without a doubt a legitimate contributors to the public discourse, LiveWorkPlay was in many cases disappointed that there was in essence a false debate about the merits of these massive institutional facilities. That debate took place in decades past, and surely it is now time to focus on building inclusive and welcoming communities. Never again will a person born with an intellectual disability be condemned to a future of institutional incarceration, and that is truly a social change worth celebrating. With the end of the mass institutional era, a new era of change begins. Smaller institutions may be an improvement, but they are not an end goal, and there are many smaller institutions that remain the predominant residential destiny for people with intellectual disabilities. Shared rooms and doors without locks are not the future. This too shall pass. LiveWorkPlay representatives were first exposed to the power of The Freedom Tour while attending the 50th Anniversary Conference of the Canadian Association for Community Living in November 2008. Representatives from People First of Canada, including self-advocates and ex-residents of mass institutions, were on hand to provide a real world context to the film's message: let our people go! The development of the People First organization in Canada started in British Columbia in 1973 by people with intellectual disabilities who were advocating for a life beyond the walls of institutional living. People First movements spread across the country, and the national body People First of Canada rose from a founding convention in 1991. Development of The Freedom Tour documentary started in 2006, and grew out of a meeting of People First Winnipeg and a cooperative effort by People First of Canada with provincial bodies in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The Freedom Tour chronicles a remarkable journey of self-advocates standing up for their beliefs and sharing their stories of anguish and triumph. The Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL) and People First of Canada work cooperatively on a number of national projects, including the joint Task Force on Deinstitutionalization (institutionwatch.ca) which aims to close the remaining mass institutions for people with intellectual disabilities, which continue to operate in seven provinces across Canada. In addition to national campaigns, extensive efforts to include people with intellectual disabilities as full citizens are ongoing at the local and provincial levels. The challenge is not insignificant: the CACL 2008 Report Card on Inclusion found that about 50% of Canadians are not comfortable simply "being around" people with intellectual disabilities. The closure of institutions is only the beginning of a longer process that ends with inclusion and full citizenship. In this province, Community Living Ontario (founded 1953) has been a consistent and persistent voice working with the Government of Ontario to promote the closure of institutions. This process began with the transfer of responsibility for services to people with intellectual disabilities from the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Community and Social Services in 1974, at a time when some 8,000 individuals with intellectual disabilities were living in mass institutions. In September 2004 the Government of Ontario committed to the closure of the three remaining institutions at Rideau Regional Centre (Smiths Falls), Huronia Regional Centre and the Southwest Regional Centre by March 31, 2009. Approximately $1 billion a year has been dedicated since that time to the development of community-based services to help people with intellectual disabilities transition to a life as full citizens in the community. Much of this work is done by Community Living associations and other agencies at the local level. LiveWorkPlay was founded in Ottawa in 1995. None of the 60 individuals and families involved with the organization have direct experience with mass institution life. Through direct and indirect efforts, LiveWorkPlay supports real homes in real communities for people with intellectual disabilities. This could be an apartment, condominium, townhouse, or single family home - the full range of choices to which all citizens are accustomed. LiveWorkPlay became an affiliate of Community Living Ontario in May 2008, joining a federation of 120 local associations with more than 12,000 individual members. LiveWorkPlay welcomes the challenge and the opportunity of working with like-minded citizens and organizations in helping to spread the message of inclusive values throughout the Ottawa area community. Current efforts in support of community housing include the development of supported affordable housing offered in partnership with the Canada-Provincial Affordable Housing Program, the City of Ottawa, and the Ministry of Community and Social Services, as well as On Our Own Together Too, a transitional independent living project supported by the Community Foundation of Ottawa. For more information about The End of an Era, including coordinates for representatives of all organizations mentioned, please contact Keenan Wellar, LiveWorkPlay co-founder and CEO, at 613-235-9550 x 223 or keenan(at)liveworkplay.ca. If you would are interested in volunteering, finding out more about our supports and services, or making a donation (registered charity 896222775RR0001) please contact President and co-founder Julie Kingstone at 613-235-9550 or julie(at)liveworkplay.ca. You may also make a donation online using the link from the graphic to the right. |
