Village Squire, 1978-06, Page 20Margaret McQueen and Lois Raeger work in the bake shop at the
ARC facility.
It wasn't long after the interview began, that 1 was reminded
of that day last summer. The theory that he was describing nos%
rang true with what I had witnessed in my own front yard. "Our
purpose is to offer meaningful courses to these people so they':
can learn to take care of themselves in the outside world" he
said. "Ideally, the goal is to get as many as possible into the
working force" he added. He admitted that this simply couldn't
happen with some 'employees', but that many should ultimately
,take that stepuway from mom and dad's protection, out into the
working world. I pictured the fellow at our house being assured
that he could do. it. The harsh reality, Ron said, is that the
parents won't always be there. They must prepare for the future.
And that means getting strength and confidence now. But as
important as confidence, perhaps more important, is the
aquiring of real, marketable skills, with the hope of moving out
tb the competitive system beyond the walls of ARC. Hence the
programmes offered: "Maintenance Contracts" and "Wood-
working" each have two supervisors. "The kitchen", "The Bake
Shop". "Maintenance", "Education" and "The Office
Programme" have one supervisor each. Ron pointed out the
wide range of products and services available from ARC. In
"Maintenance Contracts", the employees are taking on
commissions for firms like Big '0' Tile in Hensall, cutting tile for
them. In "Woodworking" they turn out a wide selection of
wooden lawn furniture. This furniture is very well constructed.
It's all bolted together and can be bought finished or unfinished.
The "kitchen" provides hot meals at ARC and caters in the area.
"Maintenance" provides cleaning services both at ARC and for
outside commissions (this is the crew that came up to dp our
house). They also do handy work, grass cutting, etc. A fully
qualified teacher works with the employees on the basics of
English and Math. Getting them to be able to do things like
count change at the store offers them the independence they
need to develop, Ron said. A master baker helps them turn out
baked goods, and the "Office Programme" brings it all together
by being responsible for all the bookkeeping (Billing, receipts,
etc.) and the creating and printing of "The ARC Reel" (their
newspaper) "The Association in News Letter:" The staff is
obviously composed of very high principled people, because the
'employees' appear to be assigned to work virtually all the time.
It reflects planning and stamina on the part of Ron and his staff.
It was back in 1968 when the "South Huron Association", a
group of concerned parents, decided it was time to create a
facility for the handicapped. A few other organizations had
appeared already in the province, so they had precedents to work
from. Since that time the Association has grown to include a
nursery, two residences, and ARC. 'Employees' at ARC come
.from as far as LQndesboro in the north and ArLona, near
PG. 18. VILLAGE SQUIRE/JUNE 1978.
June for
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