December 2011 - Continuity Care Inc.

CONTINUITY NEWS
Supporting families in Manitoba to plan for an enriched quality of life for
their family member with an intellectual disability
DECEMBER 2011
Mike Keane Celebrity Hockey Classic
The 2nd Annual Mike Keane Celebrity Hockey Classic was held at the MTS Iceplex on
November 9th & 10th, 2011. This event allowed 18 corporate sponsored teams with over
250 local hockey enthusiasts to team up with former NHL greats to play hockey and raise
funds for the Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation and Continuity Care. The tournament
kicked off with an exciting Draft Night experience held on the evening of November 9th,
where each participating team had the opportunity to draft an NHL alumni to play with
their team throughout the tournament. Draft positions were determined by the total dollars
raised by each team. Congratulations to the Richardson Pioneers for raising the most
money and earning first pick in the draft, choosing Dale Hawerchuk - HHOF.
Continuity Care was the official volunteer provider for the event and we would like to
thank all of the volunteers for donating their time to help out with the driving of the pros,
registration, ticket sales, rink coordination and security. Your commitment and support
was an integral part of the success of this year’s event and we are so happy to have had
the opportunity to share the excitement with you. We couldn’t have done it without you!
We would like to give special thanks to
Mike Keane, the NHL alumni, the
Chipman family, Winnipeg Jets True
North Foundation, Jackson Events, the
businesses that sponsored teams and
the event, the tournament players and
to the many wonderful people that
made donations to support this year’s
NHL alumni that participated in the tournament: Mike Keane (of course), Dale Hawerchuk, Steve Shutt, Lanny McDonald, Marcel Dionne, Brad Park, event. The Tournament was an exciting
Bryan Trottier, Billy Smith, Thomas Steen, Keith Tkachuk, Dave Ellett, Charlie Simmer, Brian Bellows, fun filled day and we hope you all had
Dean Kennedy, Dave Babych, Dave Manson, Laurie Boschman, Brian Skrudland and special celebrity fun. See you next year!
guest Rod Black. INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Top fundraising team Richardson Pioneers and the NHL alumni Manitoba Disability News
Sharing Circle Program
iBelong Website
New to the Resource Library
Holiday Giving
Baby Boomer Café
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pg 3
pg 3
pg 4
pg 4
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Manitoba Disability News
Accessibility Advisory Committee Members Announced – December 2nd
In recognition of the United Nations International Day for Persons with Disabilities (December 3rd), Minister Jennifer
Howard announced the membership of the 12-person Accessibility Advisory Council.
The Council is made of members of the disability community and other stakeholders and will make recommendations
on:
 Introducing legislation or regulations that would establish a process to identify, prevent and remove
barriers faced by people with disabilities
 Determining policies, practices and requirements that can be implemented by government to improve
accessibility
 Developing long -term accessibility objectives
The 12 members of the Accessibility Advisory Council are: Jim Derksen – Chair, Yvonne Peters – Vice Chair,
Eileen Clarke, Dianne Driedger, Jim Baker, Scott Jocelyn, Lanny McInnes, Doug Momotiuk, Chris Summerville, Diane
Scribe Niiganii, Judy Redmond and Karen Pirnie.
The Advisory Council will consult with people with disabilities and organizations that may be affected by its
recommendations. This includes employers and businesses as well as representatives from Manitoba’s municipalities.
One of the Council’s first tasks will be to further develop the legislation that will set out accessibility standards. They
are scheduled to meet on a semi monthly basis to the end of April 2012, and will make initial recommendations to the
Minister by early summer.
For more information please visit www.manitoba.ca/dio/acc/index.html The website will post information on future
public consultations and invites the public to submit questions, comments or concerns regarding the Council. If you do
not have access to a computer, you can contact the Disabilities Issues Office directly at (204) 945-7613.
Province Announces Human Rights Complaint Against Manitoba
Developmental Centre Settled
The Province of Manitoba, Community Living Manitoba (CL-MB) and the Office of the Public Trustee have agreed to a
mediated settlement that resolves a human rights complaint involving the Manitoba Developmental Centre (MDC),
Minister Gord Mackintosh announced on November 25, 2011.
“We believe this agreement supports the right of residents at MDC to choose to live in the environment that best suits
them, reaffirming some of the core goals of our services to adults with intellectual disabilities,” said Mackintosh. “We
look forward to working closely with CL-MB to explore the option of community living for those residents who are
interested, while continuing to offer the best quality of care to those residents who remain at MDC as it moves from a
traditional institution setting to a new focus on outreach and continued specialized residential services.”
In June of this year, the province announced an advisory committee would work on a new, long-term plan for MDC
with a focus on determining how it can be redeveloped to provide specialized services including options for crisis
stabilization, respite, day and residential supports, and community services. This would include the development of
homes in the Portage la Prairie area so individuals could move out of the centre and choose to access MDC for
professional services like day programming and recreation.
The province and the public trustee have always maintained the personal choice of the resident and/or their substitute
decision-maker is paramount in considering any change to care or living arrangements, Mackintosh said, adding the
government remains committed to ensuring the best possible residential settings for persons with intellectual disabilities
including those at MDC.
The government will continue to invest in necessary health and safety upgrades at MDC but any new development at
MDC will be focused on specialized residential care and community-based services, the minister said.
The full news release can be found on the Province of Manitoba’s website at:
http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/press/top/2011/11/2011-11-25-115600-12683.html
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Sharing Circle of Support Program
A “Sharing Circle of Support” or “Sharing Circle” is Continuity Care’s term or model of a support network for a person
with an intellectual disability. A Sharing Circle is a group of people who genuinely care about the person at the center
of the circle and want to be a part of their lives, now and in the future.
The goal is to build and strengthen friendships and relationships to support people who are vulnerable and help them
live an active, enriched life in the community. The key is that collectively, a Sharing Circle increases the amount of
social and recreational opportunities and can enrich the person’s life in a variety of ways.
A Sharing Circle can help to support the individual by:






Developing friendships
Exploring social opportunities
Assisting in supported decision making
Problem solving
Advocacy
Promoting safety
 Helping to connect with services and
supports that are needed
 Assisting and responding to life changes
 Promoting health and wellness
 Ultimately sharing the caring and the
responsibilities
Individuals may, or may not have family members who are part of their lives. In either case, a sharing circle can help to
build and strengthen relationships and enhance the support that is provided by agencies/paid service providers. A
Sharing Circle can also help provide peace of mind for parents, knowing that there are others who will be part of their
child’s life, now and in the future.
Members of a Sharing Circle are usually volunteers in a person’s life and are not paid to support the individual. They
can be family members, friends, former staff, neighbours, co-workers, members of church or spiritual community,
members of cultural groups or organizations or people from the community who share common interests. In some
cases, paid service providers become friends and become part of a person’s Sharing Circle. A Sharing Circle of
Support is not meant to replace the formal supports or paid supports already in place, but rather work with them to
provide the individual with the best supports possible.
Continuity Care offers two options to assist individuals and their families or supporting agencies in creating a sharing
circle. The first option is a resource tool kit will be available for those who would like to get started on their own.
Continuity Care will offer direction and support and share practical tips and resources. Continuity Care can also come
out and present a workshop on Building a Sharing Circle of Support to your group or organization. This workshop
provides practical information on how to get started and how to maintain a sharing circle of support over time.
As a second option, Continuity Care is providing a service to families and agencies who wish to work with a facilitator
to develop and/or maintain the sharing circle of support. Continuity Care has currently hired 5 Facilitators on a contract
basis to work with individuals and their families/agencies. The services of a Facilitator are available on a fee for
service basis. Support will not be contingent upon the ability to pay.
If you would like more information about Continuity Care’s Sharing Circle of Support Program, please contact our
office at 779-1679.
If you are a young adult with an intellectual disability who
wants friends, this website is for you!
www.ibelong.ca
L’Arche Canada launches a new website about friendships for young people with intellectual disabilities.
Here you will find videos, stories, ideas and resources about how to make friends. You will also find
information for others who want to help you form lasting friendships. Beth Porter of L’Arche Canada met
with Suzanne Swanton in May 2010 as part of her research for this project. Excerpts from this interview
are included as an example of “Good Practices in Action” under the Additional Resources section.
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New to the Continuity
Care Resource Library
Did you know that with your Continuity Care
membership, you can access our Resource Library?
Call the office at 779-1679 if you are interested in
borrowing this book or any other item from our library.
Planning for Real Life After School
by Gary Bunch, Kevin Finnegan, Jack Pearpoint,
Peter Park & Barb Fowke
This book is about transition from school to work. It
has research that confirms what we all know: that for
individuals with disabilities, the close collaboration
between families, teachers, and students facing
‘transition to work’ is rare. When done well, it works,
but it seldom happens. What is different is that this is a
proposal
for
collaboration without
blaming - a good tool
for all parties. There
are two volumes, a
Plai n
La ngua ge
edition and a regular
edition. The Plain
Language edition was co-edited by People First
Ontario and for those with second language issues and/
or learning difficulties.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY NEW
YEAR TO ALL BABY BOOMER CAFÉ
MEMBERS, FAMILIES & GUESTS!
We are having a very special New Year’s Baby
Boomer Café and are very excited to announce our
new, warm location at Kildonan Community Church.
What a great opportunity to start off 2012, by sharing
companionship, food, games, music, singing, and
laughter with one another in a supportive and respectful
community! Come one, come all!! Everyone is invited
to attend this New Year’s Café. Please RSVP to Albert
& Sharon @ 334-1839 or Jane & Brian @ 667-4596.
Sunday January 15th, 2012
4:00 - 7:30pm
Kildonan Community Church
2373 Main Street
(North of Chief Peguis Trail)
Holiday Giving
These are tough economic times, business have been
affected, foundations have been affected, family incomes
have been affected - most of us have felt the impact in
one way or another.
At Continuity Care, we are continuing to invest in the
future - supporting families to plan for an enriched quality
of life for their family member with an intellectual
disability now and for many years to come.
Our organization is not government funded. This was
important to our founding Board members, as they
wanted to remain autonomous to provide advocacy to
families when needed.
Our main source of funding is our Endowment Fund held
at The Winnipeg Foundation. Each year, we receive
quarterly payments from the interest earned on our fund.
As of August 31, 2011, the market value of our fund was
$1,815,903.54. Our fund payments currently do not cover
all of our operating costs, therefore we continue to
fundraise and seek out grant opportunities and donations.
As we come to the end of 2011, we want to thank those
who have contributed to our success and ask that you
consider making a donation this holiday season.
There are 2 options to financially support Continuity
Care:
1.
Support Continuity Care directly. We can accept
cash, cheques, VISA and MasterCard. Contact our
office at 779-1679 for more information.
2.
Support our Endowment Fund held at the Winnipeg
Foundation by credit card at www.wpgfdn.org or
cheques can be made out to Continuity Care’s
Endowment Fund and mailed directly to:
The Winnipeg Foundation
1350 - One Lombard Place
Winnipeg, MB R3B 0X3
Continuity Care Inc.
2 – 120 Maryland St.
Winnipeg, MB
R3G 1L1
Ph: (204) 779-1679
Fax: (204) 786-6766
Email:
[email protected]
www.continuitycare.ca
If you would like to be
removed from our mailing list,
please contact our office.
Don’t miss our exciting Baby Boomer Grand Opening!
Continuity Care Inc. provides information for the benefit of the readers and does not endorse any particular organization, company, firm or service. Advice
and strategies in this newsletter are general guidelines and families should consult professional legal and financial advisors when developing plans. 4