For the past several years, concerns have been raised by community
groups dedicated to helping those with disabilities. Recent headlines from the BC Community Living
Action Group (BCLAG) have screamed out:
BC government wasting $1,000/day as CLBC refuses to approve group home
placement
CLBC waitlist figures unreliable says stakeholder group … BC-CLAG urges
external review of CLBC’s mandate and operations
One-time $6 million in new funding inadequate to stem BC’s community
living crisis
$70 M needed immediately to stem community living crisis … CLAG
partners urge Premier to address growing risks, restore confidence
The Executive Director of the BCLAG is Faith Bodnar and she has stated
that … the situation is as desperate as anything she has ever seen. Disabled
individuals are being re-evaluated and stripped of services, at the same time
as others are moved out of their group homes.
A recent news story quoted her
saying, “We are in crisis here … people
are desperate. It seems the system of services and support is being dismantled
before we really realize what we’re doing.”
This is NOT new news!!
On
October 10th, 2010, a
joint letter was written by Moms on the Move, BC Family Net Society, the BC
Government and Service Employees Union, the Developmental Disabilities Association,
and the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities – the letter was written to Jane
Holland, Office of the Advocate for Service Quality. In it, this group of six began by saying, “We write to express our urgent concerns
regarding the current administration of provincial government services and supports
for adults with developmental disabilities in British Columbia, and to call for
actions to address these matters”
So what has happened at Community Living BC … a group that started with
such promise? The CLBC was established in 2005 following
four years of talks and planning. As the CLBC website
states, they were mandated under the Community Living Authority Act and
originated from a grass roots movement led by families and self-advocates who
wanted a government funded organization to focus on their unique needs.
The website goes on to further say, in their overview, that; Community
Living BC (CLBC) delivers supports and services to eligible adults and their
families in British Columbia. Adults with developmental disabilities or who
meet the Personalized Supports Initiative (PSI) criteria are eligible for
supports through CLBC. We believe that individuals and their families know best
when it comes to their needs, goals and planning for the future.
People with disabilities for years stood on the sidelines of society
--- they were marginalized – and often hidden away. In recent decades that slowly changed, and as
groups organized and came together, government support for families and caregivers
came into being; this included Community Living BC.
So what went wrong with a group that had a set of strong stated values
they were going to uphold and support – and what were those goals and values? To respect
the important role of family and friends in people’s lives … that they were
going to support people with disabilities
in making their own decisions and to achieve their dreams for the future . The values of CLBC also indicated the peoples
with disabilities should have the opportunity for life-long learning, development, and contribution, and that should
be done in a culture of responsibility,
respect and trust.
Here’s the
kicker, if you read the values section on the CLBC website it also says that
they are going to be accountable to
the people they serve … they will strive
for quality … they will be open,
honest and fair in all aspects of our work … they will work cooperatively with others … and they
will also inspire creativity and
innovation.
Well we all know how well that seems to be working!!
The government has admitted there are nearly three thousand people
waiting to receive services … and there was so much negative news surround the
CLBC that the organization itself fired CEO Rick Mowles late last week. Mowles didn’t get canned however before Social
Development Minister Harry Bloy, whose ministry oversees the CLBC, was himself removed
during a cabinet shuffle by Premier Christy Clark late last month.
“I thought it was time to make a change,” Clark
said, explaining her mini-cabinet shuffle.
“Particularly in this ministry, it’s important that the minister is
communicating changes, which are very difficult, particularly for vulnerable
clients, they’re communicating those changes to the clientele and to the
families that might be affected.”
This is one story that simply refuses to go away however, and now even
members of her own government are standing up to say something MUST be
done.
That was quickly followed in the Globe and Mail (Liberal MLAs decry
group home closures) with news of another Liberal backbencher, Gordon Hogg,
who was also expressing his concerns on how Community Living BC was meeting the
needs of those with disabilities. The Globe
and Mail news story indicated Hogg had said some of the decisions made by CLBC
have hit at society’s core values “and [they have hit at] them in a way which
I’m not comfortable with.”
It also said that he was referring to well-publicized recent examples
which had distraught parents questioning removal of their developmentally
disabled adult children from group accommodation, where they had been
comfortable, to private homes. “They
give us all cause for concern – perhaps more than cause for concern,” Mr. Hogg was
quoted as saying in the BC Legislature.
The job, goal, and function of Community Living BC is to, “… build
communities where you can feel safe and welcome. Feeling safe and welcome can
mean having a good job, a comfortable and safe place to live, and the chance to
make friends in the community where you live.”
Faith Bodnar, who as mentioned is the executive director of BC Community
Living Action, said the government needs to halt ongoing changes and involve all
stakeholders in a re-evaluation of CLBC policies. “Let’s press the pause button,” she said.
“People are desperate. It seems the system of services and support is being
dismantled before we really realize what we’re doing.”
It’s not just Faith Bodnar … the families of the disabled … and the
caregivers who are speaking out.
Hundreds and hundreds of others are as well, including a friend of mine
from the lower mainland who said …
“It's a terrible moment in B.C.'s social
history when the insensitive treatment of its clients by CLBC has to be raised
by a member of the government. Randy Hawes must be recognized for his political
courage but I don't hold out any hope that Christy and her other colleagues
will be much moved by his plea for immediate action.”
I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops, with the thoughts of one conservative on
this round ball we call planet earth.
