Save Day Programs

Caregivers of adults with developmental disabilities, community members, and developmental services workers are concerned and angered by the abrupt closure of day programs by Community Living Oshawa/Clarington.

Day programs provide valuable opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities to congregate, have a good social life, get out of the house, and learn new skills. Day program closures have forced adults with developmental disabilities to be home-bound, isolated from their friends, and have left their parents and caregivers without any much-needed respite.

Dozens of parents and caregivers of adults with developmental disabilities are now stuck without any support. In many areas impacted by the day program closures, there are no similar programs that parents can turn to.

Community Living is eliminating congregated day programs in favour of limited supervised community outings, which poses many challenges for workers, parents, caregivers, and adults with developmental disabilities. The closures have resulted in:

• A dramatic reduction in support hours
• A lack of access to accessible community programming and support for adults with developmental disabilities
• Individuals in congregated residential settings are being denied access to any form of day program, despite not having access to quality, accessible programming

We call on Community Living Oshawa/Clarington to immediately save day programs, invest in appropriate community outings for program participants, and begin a meaningful consultation with caregivers, parents, and adults with disabilities to develop a new and inclusive path forward.

Please add your name to our letter to the Community Living Oshawa/Clarington Executive Director, Terri Gray; the Board of Directors of Community Oshawa/Clarington; Lorne Coe, MPP for Whitby; Peter Bethlenfalvy, MPP for Pickering–Uxbridge; Jennifer French, MPP for Oshawa; and Lindsey Park, MPP for Durham.

Dear Terri Gray,

I am gravely disappointed by your decision to suddenly close day programs at Community Living Oshawa/Clarington. Your decision to eliminate this service has completely uprooted the lives of parents, caregivers, and adults with developmental disabilities.

For many parents and caregivers of adults with developmental disabilities, day programs were the only accessible programming available in the community. Now, without congregated day programming, many adults with developmental disabilities will be cut off from their friends, forced to be home-bound, and will receive significantly less hours of support per week.

The proposed model of limited, supervised community outings will be disastrous. Direct support professionals, workers in developmental services, caregivers, and parents all recognize the importance of day program sites.

People with developmental disabilities deserve better and have been ignored for far too long. I call on you to restore day programs and create additional encompassing services so that adults with developmental disabilities have access to the supports they need and deserve.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Email