April 2019 Issue

We kicked off our celebration of 60 Years of Service with an Open House on Wednesday April 10, 2019 at our Activity Centre. There was lots of buzz and stories shared of memories over the past 60 years. We celebrated with green and blue cupcakes, refreshments, music from 1959 and a photo booth. You can view our digital guestbook on our website www.clch.ca coming soon.

To say a big thank you for community support over the past 60 years we donated three accessible picnic tables to the Town of Goderich, Mayor John Grace was in attendance to receive our donation. Bill Strong presented a congratulatory letter to the Agency on behalf of Ben Lobb’s office. A congratulatory letter was also received from Lisa Thompson MPP. CL-CH also welcomed students from St. Mary’s Catholic School; the students presented Board President, Mia Berg, with cards from each of the classes, this was such a wonderful acknowledgement. The students had questions about the services the Agency provides and had an engaging conversation about the Snoezelen Room (if you don’t know what this is, please check out our website or call for more details).

Local businesses were asked to celebrate with CL-CH by changing their letterboard signs to commemorate this special event. We hope you saw them around town. We will be sharing some of their photos on our Facebook page.

60 years of service is an exciting milestone - thank you to everyone who celebrated with us.

Cheers to 60 Years! CL-CH celebrates 60 years of service

Other Agency News

Community Living-Central Huron, 267 Suncoast Dr. East, Box 527, Goderich ON N7A 4C7 Ph: (519) 524-7362 Fax: (519) 524-1511 Email: clch@clch.ca

For more information, to make a donation, become a Volunteer or Member, please complete this section and return it to our office, address above. I would like to become a Member, annual cost $5.00. I support the Agency’s policies, purposes and vision. Being a Member entitles me to receive a copy of the Agency’s quarterly Newsletter, information on upcoming events and activities (www.communitylivingontario.ca) and be eligible to vote at the Annual General Meeting. I would like more information about Community Living-Central Huron and/or I would like information on becoming a Volunteer. Enclosed is a donation in the amount of $ __________. Receipts will be issued for donations of $10.00 or more. Membership Application Form (Please Print) Thank you for your support! Name & Address: _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Phone No.: _____________________________ Date: _______________________ Email.: _____________________________________________________ “People live in dignity and share in all aspects of living in their community.”

Health & Safety CornerThree spring cleaning tips1. Inspect your lawn: do a walk-through of your yard before you cut the grass. Make

sure there are no stones or debris which could cause damage to your machine, other property or people nearby.

2. Check your bbq: check the grill for damage or animals which may be nesting inside – a clogged gas line could cause an explosion. Also, ensure the grill is clean and scraped free of debris before lighting.

3. Clean out your medicine cabinet: Dispose of any medications no longer required, or those that have expired. The safest way to do this is to take them to a nearby pharmacy.

–Sunnybrook Health Science Centre http://health.sunnybrook.ca/wellness/spring-cleaning-safety-tips/

Community Living Ontario: Flying to Freedom2019 marks the tenth anniversary of the closure of Huronia, Rideau, and Southwestern Regional Centre institutions. This milestone acts as a reminder to encourage conversations about exercising human rights and creating inclusive communities for all members of society. On March 19, 2019, people from all over Ontario gathered in Toronto for the “Flying to Freedom” event, which did just that. The event sold out and technology allowed for the event to be both live streamed and recorded so anyone unable to attend could share the experience.

Upcoming Events ~ Last Light ~The reception for the twelfth annual Last Light Photo Show and Sale will be held on Saturday, May 4, 2019 from 2pm-4pm at the Goderich Library. The event was first held in 2007 to honour Sarah Mann, a talented young woman with a passion for photography. Initially, the subject matter for the contest was sunsets, a favourite subject of Sarah’s, and how the contest got its name “last light”. This year the categories were: Moving Waters, Shadows, and the colour theme: Crimson. Photos will be displayed and available for sale from May 4-21, 2019 at the Goderich Library. The event is sponsored by The Citizen, MacEwan & Feagan Insurance Brokers Limited, Lighthouse Money Management and the Goderich Signal-Star. Proceeds of the event go to Community Living-Central Huron.

~Gerbera Daisy Sale~Just in time for Mothers’ Day! People who are part of the Employment Support Program have organized the annual Gerbera Daisy fundraising sale.

A variety of colourful gerbera daisies in 4” pots will be available for sale Wednesday, May 8 to Friday, May 10 from 10am to 4pm at a number of locations in Goderich including: Community Living-Central Huron, 267, Suncoast Drive East, Scotia Bank, and Shannahan’s, and Libro Credit Union in Clinton. Daisies will also be sold at Suncoast Mall on Wednesday , May 8 & Thursday, May 9.

Pots will be sold for $5 each and money raised goes to Community Living-Central Huron’s Employment Support Program.

Last year over $4000 was raised.

~ 13th Annual Golf Classic ~On Thursday, June 20 and Friday, June 21, 2018, the 13th Annual Goderich and District Golf Classic will be held at the Sunset Golf Club, just north of Goderich. This event started in 2007 and it is one of the largest fundraising events for Community Living-Central Huron. Last year, the event raised over $27,000, bringing the total funds raised since inception to over $273,000. The funds raised assist individuals involved with the various programs of CL-CH including the Activity Centre, Employment Support, Community Support for Families, Respite and Residential Services. The Agency supports over 400 individuals with physical and developmental disabilities who benefit from community programs and services.

~Community Living-Central Huron Board of Directors Scholarships~This is the 11th year that the Board of Directors Community Living-Central Huron proudly offers two (2) Scholarships.

The Evelyn M. Carroll Scholarship is available to students with a developmental disability who are pursuing post-secondary education, training or apprenticeship. Mrs. Carroll began as a volunteer with the Agency and later became an employee; she was very passionate about supports, services and opportunities for all citizens. The scholarship was named in her honour.

The Florence and Arthur Maskell Scholarship is available to students who are pursuing post-secondary education in the field of developmental services. The Maskells generously contributed monies to the Agency, allowing the Board to provide the scholarship.

The deadline for both scholarships is Friday, May 10, 2019.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact CL-CH at 519-524-7362 or clch@clch.ca.

~Annual General Meeting~The Agency’s Annual General Meeting and Dinner will be held Wednesday, June 26, 2019, at Lakeshore United Church Hall, 56 North St., Goderich. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. with dinner to follow at 6:00 p.m. There will be no cost for dinner this year, but those wanting to participate must RSVP by Thursday, June 13, 2019.

WelcomeWelcome to Wendy Sherret, Residential Support Worker, Team B.

On Thursday, February 28, 2019, the Huron Respite Network partnered with Nicole MacKechnie from Sweet Love Eats who put on a lunch of three soup choices and a bun for $5. The soup choices were carrot ginger, potato bacon, or tomato pesto. 100% of the proceeds were donated to the Huron Respite Network. The fundraiser was an outstanding success with over $1100 in funds raised.

Warm the Heart a fundraiser supporting the Huron Respite Network

The 31st Annual Heartwarming Luncheon was held on Friday, February 8, 2019 in conjunction with the Dave Mounsey Memorial Awards. For $10, people could choose between a Hayter’s turkey or Metzger’s beef sandwich, or (new this year) edamame salad. The lunch also included pickles, carrot sticks, tangerine, and a

brownie for dessert. Despite some winter weather, the event was very successful with 730 lunches sold and approximately $4500 raised which will assist the Agency to provide quality services, and assistance to individuals.

This weekend my niece and two nephews visited my mom and I. This reminded me of some of my favourite memories from when we used to go camping together when they were younger. Usually we go camping in MacGregor Point or the Saugeen conservation area. Sometimes we would camp in tents, but other times we would stay in my parent’s camper. We would go for nature walks, stay up at night with a campfire and tell stories, and go in the camper to watch movies. Every time they drive up to visit us we go to the beach to swim and skip stones; and my niece used to collect interesting stones, shells, beach glass, and drift wood for her collection. My niece’s favourite movie we used to watch together was The Goonies. My favourite

part of camping with my family was always the food; I really enjoy barbequed hot dogs and especially s’mores. My niece and nephew’s favourite part of camping with us was always swimming in the lake, because they are from Windsor and the beaches here are a lot nicer for swimming.

I am looking forward to hiking and swimming with my niece and nephew’s again. In the summer my family plans on visiting again so that we can go camping like we used to a few years ago, I am super excited!!

March 21st was World Down Syndrome day. To start a conversation and raise awareness, people are encouraged to wear their funkiest socks, take a photo/video and post them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtags #LotsOfSocks, #WorldDownSyndromeDay and #WDSD19. Staff at Central Admin. and our Clinton office participated by rocking their socks.

Employees of CL-CH work in supporting roles, whether it be a role working directly with People Supported, supporting co-workers, or in a management position. In our various supporting roles, we have opportunities, if not responsibility, to use our words of kindness and encouragement, to improve people's lives by establishing and maintaining a positive environment.

Aleshia and Sonya attended the Juno Awards at Budweiser Gardens on Sunday March 17th, 2019. Aleshia said that it was really good! There were a lot of good singers there and Aleshia claimed that it made her and Sonya “want to get up and move”. Corey Hart was amazing! He was very cute looking and sang very well. He even threw out sunglasses to people in the audience during the performance of his “Sunglasses at Night” song! There were some people doing acrobatic acts where they were thrown up into the air and then caught again, they used Hula Hoops and there were ribbons coming down from the ceiling. Their seats were pretty close to the stage as well. Aleshia and Sonya were really glad that they went!

To update you on the Agency’s Strategic Plan “Together Better” the Agency continues to move towards completion of the four priorities identified. Some of the Sub-Committees have moved quickly with their actions, while others are still working diligently to complete tasks, while we also know other responsibilities will be ongoing.

From the Advocacy & Partnership Sub-Committee, the Board of Directors have approved the following actions: ensure staff share information, challenges and successes with the other two Community Livings in Huron County, specifically with the County-wide services administered by CL-CH; continue to seek ways to partner on common issues, whether it be training, recruitment, or best practices on supporting inclusion, advocacy or meeting with our MPP to inform her of important matters with the developmental services sector.

Congratulations to the Communications and Public Relations Committee who did the bulk of the work for the Agency’s 60th celebration held April 10th at the Activity Centre; the place was a ‘buzz’ with memorabilia, displays, music from 1959, Agency ‘swag’ and lots of people with a long history and some with less history to visit and share stories. Thank you for engaging the community, those with digital signs, with congratulatory messages. This event along with others and upcoming ones for 2019 did and will increase awareness in our community. Also, the Agency has recently installed computers at all ‘residential locations’ and will advance the usage of such for improved internal communications.

The Supports & Services Committee has continued to discuss options for the Activity Centre and with the support of staff are actively seeking important and meaningful alternatives for those that attend, and also for all individuals supported. Opportunities for staff training around inclusion continues to be a focus, to name a few: Person-Centred Thinking, Social Role Valorization, PASSING, Who are Your 5 (5 unpaid relationships). Also the Board of Directors has recently reviewed and approved revisions to Agency’s Guiding Principles, Vision, Mission and Service Principles, keeping in mind the # 1 goal of the Strategic Plan, move to full inclusion.

The Organizational Culture Committee has had much discussion on what is needed to improve organizational culture, asking what other agencies/businesses have done to create and maintain a healthy work culture where everyone feels valued for the work they do. Input has been received from various levels of staff and the Sub-Committee; staff training has been investigated. Volunteers and Staff are all working towards the same goal, as set out in the Vision and Mission Statements.

Executive Director, Rosemary Foran

The Board continues to appreciate the work of the Community Inclusion Committee and looks forward to more stories on how staff have made a positive impact on the lives of people the Agency supports – Thank you.

The Community Inclusion Committee welcomed its newest member, Kim Weese, to the Committee in January. She joins Joelene Duncan, Marcia Dykstra, Loretta Boucher, Natalie Steenstra, Lynne Armstrong and Mary Lamb.

Results from the “Who Are Your 5?” survey were collated and out of the 40 responses received, 100% of the respondents were able to identify at least 1 person in their life who makes them feel connected to their community. 72% of the respondents identified 5 people; however, 78% of the respondents listed at least one functional (paid) person on their list. We hope when the survey is completed next time, the respondents will have even more personal

relationships on their list!

The Committee has requested stories of personal accomplishments pertaining to people supported by CL-CH. The stories will be reviewed by the Committee and submitted to the local newspaper in May, along with reminders of upcoming CL-CH events, and motivational quotes. The stories will be in conjunction with Community Living Month (May), and Community Living-Central Huron’s 60th Anniversary.

“It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.” – Helen Keller (1880-1968)

1. See the person as their gifts and what they have to contribute2. See opportunities rather than limits3. Look for “people” rather than “activities”4. Seek out resources5. Find the “right” person6. Become an “asker”

7. Be sensitive to both parties8. Be persistent9. Develop a “community” sense, different than human services

Amado, A.N. (2013). Friends: Connecting people with disabilities and community members. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration, Research and Training Center on Community Living

31st Annual Heartwarming Luncheon Strategic Plan – Together Better

Rock your Socks!

CL-CH Wellness Committee

Raise the Bar on Inclusion

Nine Skills for Staff to Make Connections

Corrine’s Corner

CL-CH celebrates World Down Syndrome Day

Pause for thought

An update from the CL-CH Community Inclusion Committee

An update from the Huron Respite Network