own home. This isn’t a unique situation to Yarmouth and Digby. They worked as hard as I’ve ever seen anybody work to get this off the ground – and it didn’t happen overnight. It takes incredible commitment and I’m sure my counter- parts have similar stories. KL: Yes, that’s the basic need that got us rolling in the town of Windsor: People looking for supports for their family at home. HS: The move from institutions into the community clearly necessitated increased capacity, but it’s a need that persists across the province. More community homes need to be built and I’m sure everyone else in the NSRAA would agree with that. And that requires the release of more capital funding from governments. “Everyone we serve knows to some degree how they want to participate in their own communities, so it’s not about what we think is best or not.” I sit on the board for the Western Regional Housing Author- ity, so I know first-hand that it’s an issue that’s tied-up with many more issues. The question of housing models and independent living apartments are directly connected to our clients’ rights to land, their ability to own their homes, and their rights in general. We’re always watching devel- opments closely and working with governments to move things along. But there are hundreds and hundreds of people in institutions waiting for our services. We can do better. It seems like it’s not an issue pertaining to inclusion, but one of community enrichment. KW: And that’s just it. Everyone belongs in the community to enjoy and contribute to laughter, love, happiness, and friendship. That should be everyone’s goal. KL: I agree. One of our clients here at King’s Meadows, who’s been there for over 40 years, has recently retired from work. He worked in the community and was involved in the community. He’s just a driven man. He worked at a local garage and, like a lot of people, struggled with his decision to retire. He’s 67 now, so needless to say the decision took him a few years. One of his supports, his advocates, sat down with him and told him that if he retired, they’d get him drumming lessons once a week so that he could take on a new challenge post-retirement – and reminded him that he could shovel more snow if he retired, which he loves. He’s also taking French classes at a local library as well, because, he says, he has French heritage and it brings him a lot of pleasure. He still stays involved with Special Olympics,
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • MAY 2017
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