Community Living London offers hope to people with developmental disabilities through new funding

On Tuesday morning, locals gathered at the Civic Garden Complex in Springbank Park to hear about Community Living London’s (CLL) recent project.

After surveying hundreds of people, the non-profit found that people with developmental disabilities and their care providers are looking for more support after the pandemic paused many services that they rely on.

The Evolution of Services Project gathered feedback from families, people with developmental disabilities and community stakeholders on what kinds of supports are needed, including leisure, recreation, respite and more.

With help from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), Community Living launched this project through a $175, 4000 grant.

“This grant has givien Community Living London the opportunity to assess our current service options and evolve to better meet new wishes and expectations for people supported and their families,” said Michelle Palmer, executive director of Community Living London.

CLL helps people with developmental disabilities by providing services and support, including employment and financial assistance.

Krystyna Fraser attended the event to see what other supports will be put in place to assist her brother-in-law, Randy who uses CLL's services three times a week.

“It’s his family, his life, his community,” she said. “He has friends and has a life here and I have so much gratitude for him being able to do all these things. It’s just amazing.”

The two year project will run from Sept 2022-Sept 2024, according to Palmner.

“During that time we will be able to take that information we’ve gathered so far, do some trials, pilots, see what people and their families want and don’t want and hopefully redesign what community services looks like at CLL,” she said.

“We learned a lot about the impact of the pandemic, for both families as well as people with disabilities which included breaking routine. It’s been difficult for families to re-engage their family members back into community,” said Maria Sanchez-Keane who helped lead the project and focus group.

“And we learned about their hopes and dreams and their worries and I think that will help in being able to evolve services to meet the needs of people that they’re serving,” she concluded.