BCGEU, families and disability organizations call on B.C. Advocate to intervene in group home closures

The BCGEU, families and other key stakeholders are appealing to the province's government-appointed advocate for adults with developmental disabilities to intervene to halt the current crisis in the community living sector.

BCGEU President Darryl Walker and others sent a letter yesterday to Jane Holland, B.C.'s Advocate for Service Quality, calling for immediate action to end cost-driven group home closures and other service reductions currently being implemented as a result of government budget pressures. Ms. Holland's job as the Advocate is to assist individuals and families in their dealings with Community Living B.C., which administers government supports for adults with developmental disabilities.

"We fear that these budget decisions are putting adults with developmental disabilities at risk and are reducing service quality and capacity in the community living sector, at a time when demand for CLBC-funded services continues to rise," wrote Walker, Cyndi Gerlach and Dawn Steele of Moms on the Move, Anita Dadson of BC Family Net Society, Alanna Hendren of the Developmental Disabilities Association, and Jane Dyson of the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities.

The BCGEU is aware of at least 10 recent group home closures, including homes on Vancouver Island, and in the Fraser Valley, the Interior and the North, as well as staffing reductions at other group homes. Service agencies have advised that at least 10 more group home closures may be coming soon, including closures in the Lower Mainland.

"Financially-driven group home closures and staffing cuts reduce individual choice and service options for adults with developmental disabilities," the letter stated.

The letter also expressed concerns about the rapid movement towards home sharing placements, in which adults share a home with an individual support provider.

"Home sharing may be a good service option for some individuals, and many home sharing providers likely provide excellent support to the adults with whom they live. Still, we worry that CLBC is moving too quickly to a residential service delivery model that is largely unregulated and untested, and that it is doing so primarily on the basis of cost considerations that should not be the driving force for service planning and policy."

Read the letter here.

BCGEU members and others in the Vancouver area are encouraged to attend an upcoming forum on provincial budget cuts and service redesigns in B.C.'s community living sector. The forum is co-presented by the BC Association for Community Living, BC Coalition of People with Disabilities, BC Government and Service Employees' Union, Developmental Disabilities Association, Moms on the Move, and United Community Services Co-op. More information is available here.