This couple have been married for three years (they've been together for twenty years, but only recently tied the knot). They live together, semi-independently, in their own flat. They both work part-time. This photograph is part of a series by Richard Bailey, commissioned by the UK Down's Syndrome Association.For some reason there is hardly any provision for adults who have learning disabilities to live independently in Nova Scotia. I'm really shocked!!! Here's a letter to Minister Streatch, and a reply from Darrell Dexter, the leader of the Nova Scotia NDP whom I copied it to.
Dear Minister Streatch
I am very concerned that there is a moratorium on the development of housing for adults with learning disabilities and special needs. My son is now only 5 months old, a time when his future as an adult seems so far away, and yet I know what my hopes and dreams for him are: I hope that he is able to develop into a confident adult, feeling proud of himself, continually learning and discovering his hopes and dreams. I want him to be able to make friends, socialise, fall in love, work, and contribute to his community. I strongly believe that living independently as an adult is central to this - it was only when I left home that I really found myself. I wasn’t just a daughter, but an adult in my own right. Will the extra chromosone that my son was born with mean that he is unable to ever leave home?
I have recently relocated to Nova Scotia from London, England, and am delighted to be a part of such a supportive, outgoing and practical community. Services for preschool children are outstanding in my opinion. It surprises me then, that there is such a gap in provision for adults who have developmental delay. My previous position as Director of Westminster Arts Council, gave me the opportunity to work closely with many providers of assisted living environments for adults with learning disabilities, training staff to use the arts as a tool for person-centred care planning. In particular, I have been working in partnership with Look Ahead Housing and Care (www.lookahead.org.uk) and as a volunteer artsworker for adults with global delay in publicly run homes, and have been able to experience, first hand, the opportunities and experiences that living with peers has afforded adults who previously have lived with their parents.
I feel passionately about this issue as a parent, but also know from my professional experience that this is not just a parents fancy, but a real need that must be met. Please can you let me know if there is anything I can do to help bring about a speedy end to this moratorium.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.
Sincerely
Alice
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Here is the response from Minister Streatch:
Dear Ms. Evans:
Thank you for your e-mail of December 17, 2006, regarding the moratorium on the
development of housing for adults with learning disabilities and special needs.
A re-design of Services for Persons with Disabilities in Nova Scotia has been
underway for some time. The goal is to provide a range of services for
individuals with disabilities which will offer a complete continuum of supports
and residential programs. The Direct Family Support, Alternative Family Support
and Independent Living Support programs are three new programs which have been
implemented since January 2005.
Additional work through a provincial residential review will identify current
residential resources, capacity and demand for client services in Nova Scotia.
Following this review, a plan to meet current and future demands for residential
services will be implemented. I am confident that this work will result in the
timely response for residential services.
Thank you for providing the website for Look Ahead Housing and Care. I have
forwarded this information to staff of the Services for Persons with
Disabilities program.
Thank you, again, for your correspondence and valuable input.
Sincerely,
Judy Streatch
Minister
Department of Community Services
P. O. Box 696
Halifax, NS B3J 2T7
-----
Also, the leader of the opposition sent me an email:
Dear Alice
Thank you for sending me a copy of your letter to the Minister of Community Services regarding the continued moratorium on housing for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and services for children with special needs.
Thank you for sharing your son’s situation with the Minister. I know it is difficult for families to share their very personal stories, but it is one of the most effective ways available to make the government take notice. We hope that the stories that so many Nova Scotians have told the Minister and our office will result in an end to the freeze on small options beds. The NDP has been urging the Tories to remove the moratorium government put on small options homes and allot the necessary financial resources to provide supportive community housing for those with intellectual disabilities.
People deserve more, and the NDP will continue to keep this issue in the forefront and pressure the government to live up to its responsibility and provide small options and supportive living placements for those in need.
I attach for your review some of what the NDP has said on this matter this month in the legislative assembly.
Again, thank you for providing me with a copy of the letter sent to Minister Streatch.
Sincerely,
Darrell Dexter
NDP Leader
-----
Here is the discussion about this topic in the Commons:
HANSARD FROM THE LEGISLATURE
NOVEMBER 8, 2006
COM. SERV.: SUPPORTIVE LIVING - WAIT TIMES
MR. DARRELL DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, my question this morning will be for the Minister of Community Services. Taran Ritcey is a 23-year-old woman with an intellectual disability. She has been on the waiting list for supportive living since 2003. Her family has been told that the system is a one-in, one-out system, and there will not be a placement for a long time. My question, through you, to the Minister of Community Services is, why are supportive housing options for adults with disabilities so poorly funded and kept in such short supply?
HON. JUDY STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, I thank my honourable colleague for the opportunity to rise today to discuss something that is of the utmost importance to all Nova Scotians. Certainly, while I would never comment on the specifics of any case, I know that there are families in Nova Scotia who come to us looking for assistance, they come to us looking to provide the best possible care that we can for their families, and that is absolutely what we do at the Department of Community Services, and we will continue to do that through a variety and a myriad of supports, and supports in the community, and through our programs and facilities.MR. DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, contrary to what the minister says, this is exactly what the department does not do. Taran's family and three others bought a house to provide supported living for four young adults. Community Services refuses to fund this home, although it would give these young people the supportive housing that is their best choice. This government places adults with disabilities in long-term care facilities, in adult foster care, or alternative family adoptions. Yet, those options limit the independence, and many consider them demeaning to grown adults. I would ask the minister, through you, why is her department so determined to enforce a moratorium on community-based housing that it turned down these families?
MS. STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, at the Department of Community Services we take very seriously the entire issue of programs and supports. We have a very dedicated, competent staff who work diligently, work extremely hard to ensure that the needs are being met. I'm very pleased that this government brought in the direct family support, the alternate family support, and the independent living support programs to provide the up-front preventative proactive assistance to those families in order for the family members to be kept in the community. Now, currently underway we have a review of all of our programming and facilities in the province, and we look forward to receiving all interested applicants and all interested programs, and we will consider them all and move forward in the best interests of all Nova Scotians.
MR. DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, it seems that every day that we come to this House we have to point out to the Minister of Community Services the failures in her department. This is another one. The minister might think that it is okay for adults to live in foster care, but most adults with disabilities disagree. Wendy Bird and other parents want their adult children to live independently, with dignity and with respect. (Applause)
I ask the Minister of Community Services, when will her department finally listen to the Kendrick report, families and adults with disabilities themselves, and start offering more supportive housing?
MS. STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, this government, indeed, the Department of Community Services takes very seriously the lives of all Nova Scotians who we deal with daily, and we have a very dedicated, competent staff who work extremely hard to meet their needs. Forty-seven hundred Nova Scotians' needs are being met through the Services for Persons with Disabilities to the tune of $183 million. That's the commitment of this government.
**
NOVEMBER 21, 2006
COM. SERV. - SMALL OPTIONS HOMES BED: FREEZE - STATUS
MR. DARRELL DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, my question this morning is for the Minister of Community Services, through you, of course. This government has had a freeze on small options home beds for 11 years, with no end in sight. The results have been devastating to intellectually-challenged adults and people with long-term mental health issues who have few housing options available. Many families held a press conference this morning, and have come to the Legislature today for answers. So my question to the Minister of Community Services is, when will the freeze be lifted?
HON. JUDY STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the opportunity to rise and speak on this very important issue. The importance of services for persons with disabilities is clearly evident with this government's commitment of over $183 million; that's approximately 25 per cent of our budget. We want to ensure that the 4,700 Nova Scotians who we service are being serviced to the best ability that we can. As well, we offer a wide range of services and programs, and we will continue to offer a wide range, and that continuum of supports and programs will stay in place for the duration of this government and certainly, hopefully, long in the future.
MR. DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, the minister doesn't seem to realize what a dismal failure her department has been in this regard. A committee of experts and Community Services staff recommended licensing and expanding small options homes for intellectually- challenged adults and people with long-term mental illness who need support of housing. Instead, we've got a freeze on small options beds and interim standards that are over a decade old. So my question through you, Mr. Speaker, to the minister is, how can this government justify forcing disabled adults to wait for years for a supportive living environment?
MS. STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, I would remind all members of this House the commitment made by this government for the three programs that provide support for persons with disabilities in their homes. Of course, I'm speaking about the Direct Family Support Program, the Alternative Family Support Program, and the Independent Living Support Program. Those three programs are upfront programs that provide support for individuals in their homes and in their community. As well, upon becoming minister, the five-bed transitional home in Dartmouth was announced, which provides transition for individuals who need transition back into the community. As well, we have, of course, a residential review underway, and we're looking forward to fulfilling that continuum of supports and programs as we move forward, and I look forward to the information that comes back through that review as we move forward.
MR. DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, the minister is willfully blind to the needs of the people in her care. We needed more small options and supportive living placements 15 years ago, and now we need them more than ever. Instead, they have gotten five studies in six years, and delay after delay, while disabled adults continue to wait for a place to call home. My final question to the minister is, why won't her department start to listen to the experts who have already weighed in on this issue and end the moratorium on small options homes?
MS. STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, I will reiterate for my honourable colleague across the way, the listening and the action has resulted in direct family support, alternative family support, independent living support, a five-bed transitional home, and a transitional option at the Cobequid Health Centre. That's the commitment of this government to the people of Nova Scotia.
MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Dartmouth South-Portland Valley.
COM. SERV.: COMMUN. LIVING - ASSURANCE
MS. MARILYN MORE: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Community Services. Last week the minister announced a 25-bed group home in the old Cobequid Multi-Service Centre. This is good news for those11 men who have languished at Sunrise Manor for years waiting for a new home. However, the choice to build a 25-bed group home, while maintaining a freeze on community living placements, is sending a frightening message to families whose disabled adult children cannot get supportive housing. So my question to the minister is, what assurances can she offer these families that the government is not favouring institutional settings over community living?[10:30 a.m.]
HON. JUDY STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my honourable colleague for the question, and I know she asks it with all sincerity. The commitment to move forward with the Cobequid residential community, as the honourable member mentioned, is the fulfillment of a commitment made by this government and the former Premier. I'm pleased to be able to follow through on that commitment, and although I can't speak to the specifics of any cases, I know that the families are indeed extremely pleased with that commitment, as it warms their hearts to know that their families will be having a very loving and supportive home.
The renovations that we do, Mr. Speaker, will include such ideas as green space and park space to ensure that this residential community is, indeed, a loving environment. Again, this is an option. This is not for everyone, we recognize that. It's part of our continuum of programs and services that we provide to the people of Nova Scotia, and I look forward to the day when we can go and join those families in their new homes.
MS. MORE: Mr. Speaker, I'd suggest to the minister that for the hundreds and thousands of other families waiting for community living placements that the government is moving too slowly and too late. These families are so concerned that they are holding a press conference while we're starting Question Period here this morning - they had planned to be here for Question Period to hear the minister's response themselves.
Five studies in six years, and the waiting list for community placements grows longer and longer. Families are frustrated at watching their adult children continue to be forced to live at home or in other inappropriate settings without the programming and services that they require. I ask the Minister of Community Services, is her department working towards phasing out small options homes, yes or no?
MS. STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, this government and the Department of Community Services is committed to providing a continuum of services and programs, and that includes the programs I mentioned earlier which provide that on-the-ground, in-the-community, in-the-homes, financial and respite support. It includes small options; it includes the new Cobequid residential community; and it includes the five-bed transitional home that I mentioned. While I can't do everything today, the Department of Community Services, and certainly since becoming minister - we've moved in a progressive manner forward to ensure that the needs of all Nova Scotians are being met, and we will continue to do so.
MS. MORE: Mr. Speaker, well, the reality is an 11-year freeze on new option beds, five studies in six years, and interim standards that are over a decade old - too little, too late, too slowly. That's not a very good track record on supportive housing. So my final question to the Minister of Community Services is, why does this population, one of our province's most vulnerable, continue to be treated this way?
MS. STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, to my honourable colleague across the way, I will repeat - a $183 million commitment on the part of this government, over a quarter of the department's budget, is dedicated to fulfilling the needs and requirements of persons in Nova Scotia who require the assistance of the department. Direct family support, alternative family support, independent living support, the five-bed transitional home in Dartmouth, and the Cobequid residential community are just fine examples of this government's commitment.
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