Northern Ontario families, caregivers and friends of people born with developmental disabilities, or on the autism spectrum, have long understood the struggle for inclusion and citizenship. Up until the 1950s, institutionalization was the only other option to raising a developmentally disabled child at home.
Like many stories of success, it was a dedicated group of people who brought about change and created opportunities. They lobbied the Premier of Ontario to provide funding to open an experimental classroom in Kirkland Lake. The educational successes experienced in this church basement classroom drew attention from across Canada. Shortly afterwards, the Ontario Association for Retarded Children was founded (Source: Community Living Kirkland Lake). It has been a long journey, however, we continue to move forward towards enabling people with developmental disabilities the opportunity to live their best lives.
From the 1950s through the early 1990s, Algoma families then had the challenge of determining which of several service support organizations was the one that could provide support to their loved one. With a goal to provide ease-of-access to supports and services, amalgamation of the various services, across Algoma, officially took place in 1994. On April 1, of that same year, the newly created Community Living Algoma (CLA) became responsible for providing service and supports to individuals with a developmental disability. Now in its 70th year, CLA has offices in Sault Ste. Marie, Wawa and Elliot Lake and provides support to 567 children, youth and adults, across Algoma.
CLA continues to advocate and educate to ensure that people with a developmental disability are afforded all rights and choices and that they are welcomed, respected and valued in their community.
On Wednesday, September 4, 2024, Community Living Algoma is hosting a family engagement session to talk and answer questions about CLA and the various services they offer to support people with intellectual disabilities including: person-centred care and planning; inclusive education; housing supports; employment services, LifeShare Algoma and Authentic Citizenship. The session will be held at 9 & 11 Saskatchewan Road in Elliot Lake from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. To register for this free event, please click on the link below.
Register for CLA's free session
For more information, visit Community Living Algoma online.
Whether it has been a while since we last communicated, or even if you are new to learning about our services and supports, we warmly welcome you to join in the conversation.
