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Marty McSorley Community Pavillion - Cayuga, ON - posted by
stinger503
"Note: The following includes original terminology describing people with developmental disabilities, but many of those words are now recognized as dehumanizing slurs and are therefore censored.
It’s had several names through the years, but Community Living Haldimand (CLH) is celebrating its 65th anniversary. It’s a milestone formed from a battalion of community doers, all who believe that people with disabilities have an integral place in the community.
In 1959, Mrs. Grace Baldwin was the first teacher to six students as part of the first endeavor by the newly formed Haldimand Association for the Mentally R*******
In 1958, a posse of concerned mothers led by Jennie Deagle gathered at Fisherville District Lions Club to discuss, with Lion support, starting a school for developmentally delayed children in Haldimand. A year later, the Haldimand Association for Mentally R******* Children formed and purchased a two-room school in Canfield for a dollar, opening to six students.
In true Lion fashion, its club bulletin on September 15, 1959 read: “Open House will be held at the School for R******* Children at Canfield on Wednesday evening, September 16. Every Lion is urged to be out for this occasion…. This is the particular project of the Fisherville Lions Club. We have brought this endeavour this far. Let’s not peter out now that things are beginning to roll. There is still some work to be done before we can sit down and pat ourselves on the back. Let’s put our hands and backs to a better use than that.”
On December 14, 1989, local dignitaries and active supporters of the then-called Haldimand Association for the Developmentally Challenged broke ground on a new facility that is now called the Jennie Deagle Complex at Community Living Haldimand.
A second classroom was added to accommodate the increasing number of students.
In 1965, the association opened its first workshop in the Dunnville Boys Club, which would move over the years. It is where Deagle directed what later became the Haldimand Adult Opportunity Centre.
Deagle was invested from the beginning because her son Jim was rejected from Green’s School in Caledonia for his disabilities, and the teacher worried of ‘catching’ cerebral palsy. Warren Burger, CLH honourary member and Fisherville Lion since 1972, remembers Deagle for how that dedication to her son extended to all the students and how that inspired others like himself to get involved.
“It was a relief for those parents or guardians that otherwise wouldn’t have that free time to go do the things that they needed to do,” he said. “I admired Jennie and appreciated her dedication…. I’ve come to love her very deeply and to appreciate her and to respect her for all the things that she represented.”
Also in 1965, due to provincial legislative changes and the Ontario Training Schools Act of 1965, the group was renamed The Haldimand Association for the Mentally R******* and, by 1967, Canfield opened a third classroom and the Opportunity Centre became a woodworking shop.
The momentum continued, with The Children’s Centre for Preschool formed in the basement of Cayuga United Church, and in 1971 students from the Canfield School were moved to JL Mitchener in the Haldimand School Board, becoming the first in Ontario to become integrated.
The North American community living movement, an integration model promoting the right for all children to participate in community life, saw the province begin its four-decade-long efforts to shift from institutionalized living to community living.
By 1975, to accommodate increasing enrollment, students were set up in the school board’s maintenance building.
The first group home was established in Dunnville in 1980 for adults with more complex disabilities to much controversy. A second preschool was opened in Springvale (later moving to Fisherville).
On April 17, 1982, Queen Elizabeth II signed the new Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and for the first time the country had a constitution with a charter of rights.
That same year, the association workshop moved from the former Bishop McCarthy School to Empire Corners; Deagle was director and concentrated on woodworking, crafts, and the bakeshop.
In 1984, Deagle was asked to retire by the board, an unfortunate blend of her unflinching old-school managerial approach operating the programs with increasing pressures from the province for a new, fresh business model.
That same year the workshop was renamed J.B. Deagle Enterprises in honour of her years of service.
“She was really, really nice,” said Cayuga resident and Fisherville Lion Blair King, who has been involved with Community Living Haldimand since the mid-80s. King is one of hundreds who thrived from the agency’s services; he has worked for the County for over 20 years. “She did a lot of things for those places, I learned a lot.”
Ontario boomed with supports to enable more people to live in the community, provincially serving 4,600 in 1976 to over 25,000 a decade later. It also increased spending from $10 million to $181 million, closing five provincially operated institutions and reducing the size of others.
That same year the government introduced the Special Services at Home program to help children with a physical or developmental disability live at home with their families (and it would expand to adults in 1990).
A central administrative office was set up in Cayuga, but due to limited enrollment the Children’s Centre closed.
In 1987, the Ministry of Community and Social Services published “Challenges and Opportunities: Community Living for People with Developmental Handicaps”. In this document, the government announced its plans to close Ontario’s remaining facilities by 2012. More programming also began that year for the people living in Dunnville’s group home.
In 1988, the Bakeshop was downsized and later closed due to funding shortfalls. With the province providing 70-80% of funding, finances floundered at the association until an aggressive fundraising initiative – with a battalion of service clubs – raised $77,000.
Still $23,000 short of their goal, fundraising continued with the new dream of building on the former property of Edith Filsinger, who donated the 11-acre parcel at the corner of Highway 3 and River Road.
The Filsinger House was constructed in 1991 as a group home, and on May 24, 1992 – two years after the Ontario Human Rights Code gave protections for people with disabilities – the new Jennie Deagle Complex was christened, and the Haldimand Association for the Mentally R******* had one home, all together.
In 1994 the association changed its name to the Haldimand Association for the Developmentally Challenged. This changed once more in 2006 as the agency became an affilliate of Community Living Ontario, and renamed Community Living Haldimand.
Between 1987 and 2004, Ontario closed another six facilities, transitioning 6,000 people from an institution to community living.
By September 2004, the government was spending more than $1 billion a year on community-based services to help people with a developmental disability participate in community life.
On October 8, 2008, Ontario’s Services and Supports to Promote the Social Inclusion of Persons with Developmental Disabilities Act received Royal Assent to replace the now-archaic 1974 Developmental Services Act. It recognized people with a developmental disability being able to live more independently with the right supports, and the need for more choice and control over the services and supports received. The legislation gave Ontario a new framework to improve and sustain its system of developmental services over the long-term.
That same year the province announced a $110 million plan to strengthen community supports for Ontarians with a developmental disability. It also launched a major review of the province’s developmental services system, which led to the eventual closure of the remaining three institutions by March 31, 2009 (Huronia Regional Centre, Rideau Regional Centre, and Southwestern Regional Centre).
But in 2016, Ombusdsmen Paule Dubé released a report, “Nowhere to Turn”, after a three-year investigation calling for a complete overhaul of the system caring for adults with developmental disabilities. The scathing report included 1,400 complaints from families, wholly exasperated trying to navigate a tangled system of different support agencies and worse, adults with developmental disabilities were living in homeless shelters, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and even jails – all without proper care.
As waitlists rose and funding fell, the Covid-19 pandemic hit, exacerbating isolation. Still CLH managed, with help, to start the Jennie Deagle Dream Fund to combat isolation during the pandemic, and to continue to bring smiles to recipients’ faces year after year since.
“To me the biggest issue is how difficult it is for people to access agency support,” said Bob Butella, Executive Director of CLH. “In Haldimand-Norfolk, there are currently almost 200 people who are eligible for supports from agencies and are not able to get what they’re asking for.
“Provincial funding to agencies for expansion has basically been non-existent for the past 30 years.”
Still, the 65th is a revival as much as it’s a reminder of hurdles jumped as part of its legacy.
A two-year endeavour, the people of Community Living Haldimand celebrated the Marty McSorley Pavillion in 2007, created through fundraising efforts. As part of 65th anniversary celebrations, the agency would like to revive and enhance the pavilion for the people it supports. -Submitted Photos
Butella concluded, “Community Living Haldimand has grown into a non-profit organization which is a major employer in Haldimand and continues to support hundreds of people who have developmental disabilities so that their inclusion in the community is as natural as a heartbeat.”
A year of celebrating: how you can join the fun
Community Living Haldimand (CLH) has a bonanza of 65th anniversary celebrations in the works, and everyone is invited! Here are some highlights of efforts so far from the 65th Committee, with more details coming as events draw nearer.
Coming soon: Local videographer Bob Fleck gathered stories about CLH from employees, volunteers, and people supported. The first of two videos will be posted on the agency’s website soon.
Spring: The blue hydrangea is the 65th anniversary flower, and the committee is looking at selling them this spring as a fundraiser.
March 23 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., join in the free Community Easter Egg Hunt on the grounds of 2256 River Road, Cayuga. Event organized with help from the Fisherville Lions.
March 23 will be Community Living Night at the National Lacrosse League Toronto Rock vs Halifax Thunderbirds game at First Ontario Place in Hamilton.
May 1 Community Living Month will kick off with raising its flag on the County’s community flagpole at 53 Thorburn St., Cayuga.
May 8 there will be a ceremonial tree planting at Community Living’s Memorial Gardens at 2256 River Road, Cayuga.
June 12 will be Community Living Haldimand’s Annual Recognition dinner at the Kinsmen Hall, Cayuga.
June 2 the Community Art Show and Sale will take place at Cayuga Memorial Arena. Participating artists can make a monetary donation or donate a piece to an online auction. Up to 48 artists are permitted.
July 1 look for some special decorations as the agency will be handing out decorating kits to the agency’s houses for Canada Day.
July 20 there will be a concert at the bandshell in Dunnville’s Central Park from 12-6 p.m., rain or shine. A huge lineup of talent is expected, from DJ Gordy to illusionists to local bands. The event will include bouncy castles, face painting, food trucks, and more. No charge to attend, although donations accepted.
September 12 is the annual golf tournament.
End of September: The committee is looking at celebration opportunities with various groups, and is planning a Great Race/Scavenger Hunt for September.
October 26 the agency is planning to host a pumpkin patch/haunted walk.
Ongoing Plans
The committee is looking at a collaborative art piece and is currently discussing ideas and options.
The committee is preparing to interview Community Living members. Their stories will be posted monthly on social media and the agency’s website.
The agency is looking to host a raffle and is looking for items. The committee has confirmed a 65th anniversary quilt, is applying for a WestJet voucher, and is looking at a piece of sapphire jewellery (the 65th anniversary stone), as well as other options.
The committee will be ordering promotional items that will be available for sale. Items include household items and clothing all bearing the 65th logo.
The committee is looking at the possibility of improving the memorial garden area and moving it closer to the pavilion on Community Living’s property at 2256 River Road, Cayuga. This will increase accessibility and the therapeutic view. It is an expensive project that will require a fundraising commitment, so more details to follow if it’s agreed to move ahead.
Community Living is planning to wrap the 65th anniversary with a gala at Riverside Exhibition Hall on the Caledonia fairgrounds on March 29, 2025. "
Type of publication: Internet Only
When was the article reported?: 02/15/2024
Publication: haldimandpress
Article Url: [Web Link]
Is Registration Required?: no
How widespread was the article reported?: national
News Category: Society/People
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