Despite public statements to the contrary, the B.C. Liberal government continues to force people with developmentally disabilities from group homes against the wishes of their families.
Two more homes face closure in Langley and Richmond amid intense opposition from parents and other relatives.
The families say they are shocked by the behaviour of the government agency Community Living B.C., which provides services to the developmentally disabled and has repeatedly denied forcing people from homes to save money. CLBC says such moves are done to better meet the needs of the disabled and only when people and families are ready to make them....
"I'm horrified, to tell you the truth," Pollard-Elgert said "My daughter has blossomed since she's been there." As in other cases, Pollard-Elgert said the decision appeared to have been made before families were consulted. "It sounds to me like this is a fait accompli and they're going to be closed on Aug. 31," she said.
The Times Colonist tried last week and again Thursday to get an interview with Social Development Minister Harry Bloy, who oversees CLBC. His office said he was on holiday.
Rick Mowles, the chief executive officer of CLBC, was in meetings and unavailable, his office said.
In an interview Thursday, Carla Thiesen, CLBC director for the Fraser region, admitted that CLBC wanted the company that runs the Langley home, Western Human Resources, to do it for less money. "But there was no impact to the individuals," she said....
6 comments:
Thanks for this, Ross.
It's not my British Columbia either.
It should also be said that so many of these parents and caregivers feel they are living under a veiled threat that if they speak up there will be consequences.
This government and CLBC is moving so swiftly on so many fronts it has left parents, caregivers and support workers reeling. This is the dismantling of the structure that supported developmentally disabled adults.
It is such a heartless and ruthless move. No consultation. No compassion.
It reminds me of the warp speed they similarly dismantled senior homes, and the cruel distress that decision caused to both seniors and their families.
Thanks for the added insight lynx.
In response, I have to ask the question...
Do you think this is being done this way to smooth the PR effort?
(ie. would real consultation raise the profile of this enough that more of the media, and thus, the public, become engaged thereby threatening the ability to ram through the foregone conclusion?)
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I think that's part of it, Ross. (The attempt to smooth the PR effort)....real consultation would certainly result in much more in depth questions being asked....but this tactic of surprise, of catching people unawares so that they do not have time to respond and organize effectively is also part of it.
This is a big and largely untold story. There has been one funding cut after another - support worker jobs under threat or in constant flux, so you can imagine what this is doing to morale. More importantly parents and caregivers are fearful of the direction this is heading - that their children lives are being uprooted and are being put at significant risk because of these changes.
Thanks again for helping bringing our concerns to light.
So, lynx, do you have a feel for the real why?
Is it another attempt to centralize and go all CareNet all the time all over again?
Or is it something scarier (ie. a drive to take this kind of service outside of the public sphere)?
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My opinion is it's the scarier option.
The direction taken is remarkably similar to all privatizations. Take what was working and dismantle and under-fund it to the point that it no longer functions effectively.
There is a move afoot ( actually for some time now) to distance government responsibility and accountability from the lives of people with developmental disabilities. It is being set up in a way that responsibility will be re-directed away from government and unto the caregiver alone.
Most people don't know that much of the foster system has been re-created into a 'service provider' and 'client' model. That's how dehumanized this new business model of care has become. Funding and support worker job cuts have resulted in those in care losing treasured services once provided to them. At the same time increasingly more responsibility is being down-loaded onto the shoulders of caregivers, who are being 'positioned' to have to account for any failure of the system.
That's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, Ross. What is quite evident is that CLBC seems in a bigger hurry than usual to initiate and wrap these changes up as soon as possible. Few details are being provided to either parents or caregivers.
Thanks very much for you insight lynx.
It's much appreciated.
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