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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-05-20, Page 13Week meant to inform public about Centre BY JOANNE BUCHANAN "It's surprising how little the com- munity knows about us," says Pat Wheeler, co-ordinator of volunteer ser- vices at the Bluewater Centre for the Developmentally Handicapped. • Informing the conununity was the main purpose behind the Centre's fourth annual Education Week held May 11-15 to coincide with National Retardation Week. Each year, Education Week focuses on different target groups and this year, it _featured... _a heavy public relations .com- ponent. "Education Week is our way of opening up doors and encouraging the sharing of ideas and resources to benefit not only our residents but all those who are develop- mentally handicapped," says Wheeler. On Monday, May 11, the special week AD Tom Worthington, recreation department head at the Bluewater Centre, shows one of the items made by residents there during a tour of the fad ity by community service club representatives last Thursday. Left to right are Pat Wheeler, co-ordinator of volunteer services and tour eulde for the day, Bucky Graham representing the Shriners, Mrs. Lyle Pinkney and Joyce Chilton representing Girl Guides and John McKeown representing the Shriners. A resident looks on. The tour was part of Education Week at the Centre. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan) Controversy sparked over.. guardianship of .handicapped • BY JASON AINSLIE . Education Week, May 11 to 15 at the Bluewater Centre, ,sparked considerable controversy when parents of develop- mentally handicapped adults learned they apply to become the legal guardians of tr. ons and daughters once they reach the age of 18. But A.J. McComiskey, Q.C., Public Trustee of Ontario, said this is nothing new. Speaking to an audience of about 50 people last Tuesday at the Centre, he said any person who turns 18 years of age in Ontario is considered an adult and is capable of making decisions. And there are no altering circumstances even for the mentally han- dicapped. Concern was generated when parents learned of a Ministry of Community and Social Services rComSoc) plan to move some residents of retardation institutes into community environments. Parents of residents wondered how many persons would be moved and if the ministry worked on a quota basis. The problem arises where the ministry needs consent to move a resident. If the resident is over the age of 18, parents have no •jurisdiction in this regard unless they have been reinstated as the legal guardians. Mr. McComiskey said when anyone who is an adult is incompetent of making decisions, the Public Trustee is appointed by law as the "committee" (pronounced comma -tee). . In law, no distinction is made between the yysical age of a resident and the mental age, and where there is a conflict of wishes between the adult resident and his parents, the wishes of the resident or of . his com- mittee will be respected. Hence the parents' interest in legal guardianship. But while the issue comes down to who will make decisions in the best interests of the resident, Mr. McComiskey said the parents do not really. need to apply for legal guardianship for the child if- a good rapport exists between the institution and parents. He said parents should apply,' for guar- dianship only if they wish their children to ha ve special care or if there already exists a deep conflict withthe institution. • A question from the floor was directed to guest speaker Joy Bourget, regional co- ordinator of the adult services branch of ComSoc. The questioner asked if there is any assurance for the parents of mentally retarded persons that their children will by kept in the institution and not replaced to the community if the latter is contrary to the parents' wishes. Ms. Bourget said the goal of the system is to rehabilitate the mentally handicapped person into the community and therefore no assurance is given that the resident will not be moved if the ministry feels that person can be integrated into society. She said there are no specific qualifications a resident must exhibit before moving to a group home or other community -oriented setting. but many of the nrocrams'in which the residents participate teach basic lite skills such as cooking and money management. - , In answer to the question about ComSoc moving residents out of the institution, Ms. Bourget said, "it makes sense that if one serVice ( institution) is decreased by 10, 100, or even by 1,000, that another ('community - oriented project) is increased propor- tionately". She said, however, the Ministry does not relocate residents for reasons of numbers alone. Every ministry program is developed to meet the handicapped person. Jean MacEwen of Goderich and A.J. McComiskey, Q.C., of Toronto, chat during one of the opening sessions of Education Week at the Bluewater Centre held last week. Mr. McComiskey, Public Trustee for Ontario, spoke about wills and legal guardianship for the mentally, handicapped, '.bile another guest speaker, Joy Bourget of London, spoke about the role of the Ministry of Community and Social Services with the developmentally han- dicapped person. (Jason Ainslie photo) the aerich 1GN kicked off with a homecoming for selected former residents who have progressed to community living. Six residents ac- companied by group home directors and staff visited the Centre to tell staff there how they were doing on their own, what programs they were involved in and what new skills they had learned. The Centre's staff, group home staff and staff from other facilities discussed facility training programs and- how adequate they are in preparing residents for community life. Tuesday, May 12 was organized for the parents of the developmentally han- dicapped. These parents expressed con- cern about moves to the community for their sons, daughters, brothers and sisters, how they will adjust and whether or not a group home can ever replace the programs, opportunities and staffing standards of Bluewater Centre. They also expressed concern over whetherthey would have a say in the matter -what happens when a parent dies and are their wishes respected or considered then. Joy Bourget, regional co-ordinator of adult services, spoke to the parents about current and future plans for community placement of the developmentally han- dicapped and A.J. McComiskey, Q.C., the Public Trustee, spoke about the role of the Public Trustee and the relation of that office to the subject of wills. (Signal -Star staff reporter Jason Ainslie has outlined Tuesday's session at the Centre in more detail in another story) . On Wednesday and: Thursday,- May 13. and 14, members of various community service organizations and county coun- cillors from Huron, Perth, Bruce and Grey . were invited to the Centre for tours both outside and inside (councillors from Bruce and Grey chose not to attend however). The residents at the Centre come from those four counties. A bus tour of the grounds each morning revealed 325 acres (35 in cultivation) featuring a camping and picnic area for both staff and residents; a paved road to the beach; dwarf fruit trees which the residents help harvest; a lagoon with geese, ducks and wildlife; a 11 acre garden cultivated"' by residents; a swim- ming pool under construction; a greenhouse project; a farm with animals which residents look after; a play area with baseball diamond and four -hole golf course; a halfway house for residents about to enter the community (presently closed); a car wash run by residents; and a woodworking and mechanical trades shop. The inside tour included the chapel where a short service is held for residents each Sunday; the canteen where residents have their coffee breaks and buy treats; the program resource area where lower functioning residents learn perceptual and fine motor sills, sensory stimulation and for those who can't communicate, the language of Bliss symbolics; St. Clair House, one of six 25 -bed houses in the Centre where residents reside and learn living skills; the kinesiology department where residents are tested for proper diets and physical fitness levels; and the ceramics room, greenhouse, plant room, woodworking shop and craft room where residents work to turn out products for sale. Those people on tour learned that .Hluewater Centre has 141 residents, all of them adults and all of them enrolled in living and working skills programs.. The six- houses where the residents live are. divided into different levels of functioning and each is named after one of the Great Lakes. Two houses are on the second floor and all the rest are on the first. All are co- ed but one. Besides workshop and living areas, the Centre also features an isolation unit and an infirmary which will be expanded soon to include dental and kinesiology depar- tments. Blue water Centre opened in the building which formerly- housed the Oiitari.o - Psychiatric Hospital,which was closed in 1976. One unit of psychiatric care is still operated at the Centre.. by the Alexandra Marine and General Hospital but this unit will be moved to the hospital in Goderich in a few weeks. The Centre is run and funded by the provincial government under the Ministry of Community and Social Services. Residents pay for their stay there through family benefit allowances. At present the Centre is running at almost 95 per cent occupancy and there is a waiting list. People from the four county catchment .area of Huron, Perth, Bruce and Grey are given first preference on this list. Friday, May 15, the Last day of Education Week, was designed exclusively for the Centre's staff with lion Rennie, director of the Ministry of Community and Social Services communication branch, briefing them as to the branch's current and future plans and how the Centre fits into the master plan. An added highlight of Education Week was a visit from Frank Drea, the Minister of Community, and Social Services himself.._ He gave a speech to staff and toured the Centre (Signal -Star staff reporter Cath Wooden has written a more detailed ac- count of his visit in another story)'. The visit by the Munster on Friday completed what Pat Wheeler considers a `marvellously' successful week. AL STA 133 YEAR -20 WEDNESDAY, MAY 20,1981 SECOND SECI1ON Grooming the beach Photos by Dave Sykes A • K • 1" •+ M ' b • 1 . es .r' tor • rI "4 . f • .4 •\wg• • fi M 9. rr a o- • .. , .k . • • 4 • � ..**;aft ' • •.. 4 1 . •` r0* • B ql..• , • 4 d/ - _ oe• • -- - e —„- .rs tea. -- ,or. .s -S .✓ , -+ f♦ Y •"1.'4*. • v 4e ` ` ^' • eC o..- !. fir, • 4 t -4 4is ,1 ':10-•., 41,4( rOry Workers were down at the beach last week removing stones and adding sand for a new season -• r'' .4.,4 ore 4. • . r •• - '-`• - 9 .N-3 r„ l • ,+h.�, -' eve .44 i+ .- s 0