September - Reena

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Kolreena Reena Kolreena Reena Kolreena Reena Kolreena Report of Reena Chair by Fay Rotman Over the past year, Reena has worked hard to build on the positive relationships that we have established with the provincial government, both at the provincial level and with the two regional offices. The success of our efforts in engaging the government became apparent with the approval of the Reena Foundation Act in the provincial legislature in March 2003, when Reena’s Toby and Henry Battle Developmental Centre was declared exempt from property taxes for the next five years. This will result in tremendous savings for the agency. Two years ago, Reena began a concerted effort to implement a government-relations strategic plan. The purpose of this endeavour was to heighten our visibility as a leader in the sector and to influence the policy agenda on key issues that affect not only our agency, but all others in Ontario. Our intent was to persuade the government that the field of developmental disabilities should be one of its priorities. Several critical messages were the focus of our efforts. These included: the changing demographics we are facing, in particular the increase in the number of elderly people with developmental disabilities; the difficulties in attracting qualified staff and the lack of appropriate training programs in the community colleges; and the issues faced by families of youth with developmental disabilities who are coming of age and graduating from high school with little access to services. We shall continue our efforts in the coming months to ensure that the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families are on the minds of key provincial decisionmakers as they move forward with the province’s agenda. * The preceding is a condensed version of an article that appeared in the 2002/ 2003 Reena Annual Report. For a copy of Reena’s Annual Report, please call Minnie Ross at (905) 763-8254, ext. 3024. Report of Reena Executive Director by Sandy Keshen In July of this year, Ontario Premier Ernie Eves announced that 205 new living spaces would be created for people with developmental disabilities, accompanied by $10.3 million in operating dollars to support these new spaces. We had worked 2 • Kolreena • September 2003 closely over the past months to establish good relationships with the Ministry and encouraged family members to bring the requirements of their special-needs children to the attention of their local MPPs. We were heartened by the response to our efforts and viewed the announcement as a sign that the provincial government recognizes the challenges facing our sector. We are encouraged by the support we have received from the government. However, of the 205 spaces being funded, 38 are allocated to the Greater Toronto Area, which has a waiting list of 2,500 for residential spaces; and 14 spaces have been assigned to York Region. There is a long way yet to go to fulfill the needs of all people with developmental disabilities and Reena will work with the Ministry to determine how the government’s multi-year plan can best address the issues facing our sector. While we continue to work closely with the Ministry, clearly we need to look beyond government funding. We have a responsibility as citizens and parents to be proactive and find solutions to the overwhelming pressures on families of people with special needs, without depending totally on government support. Some parents have expressed the desire to join others in looking at planning for their specialneeds children. Reena will invite these families to form partnerships and will encourage them to come together to seek innovative solutions. Together, we shall meet the challenges ahead.
Kolreena Reena Kolreena Reena Kolreena Reena Kolreena Elinor Caplan comes to Reena by Ann Szabo, Supervisor, Outreach/Respite Options Reena was recently honoured by the presence of the Honourable Elinor Caplan, MP, at a round-table discussion with summer staff and interns, sponsored by Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC). The discussion centred on the mutual benefits of HRDCsponsored programs. Two major benefits are that students gain invaluable experience working with individuals with developmental disabilities, while Reena gains the opportunity to develop a future workforce. The interns and summer staff expressed their personal and professional goals with Ms. Caplan, including developing relationships with the individuals they work with and skill building. In essence, the interns desired to learn and grow from the experience. The Outreach Department was well represented by HRDCsponsored summer staff, including Rodrigo Caballero and Tali Amar-Brin, who gave Ms. Caplan a summer 2003 Outreach t-shirt to remember us by. This Reena summer student Tali Amar-Brin (right) presents a special t-shirt to the Honourable Elinor Caplan, MP, during her visit to the Toby and Henry Battle Developmental Centre. summer was Tali’s second one with Reena, while Rodrigo has worked all year in other respite options including the very successful Rhythm Room. A third student, Shuly Fleising, rounded out the summer students for the summer recreation team of 2003 — a season that was filled with fun, sun and adventure. Occupational therapy students at Reena by Sandy Stemp, Manager, Staff Development and Training Reena was very happy to welcome four first-year occupational therapy (OT) students from the University of Toronto this past spring. Andrea Howard, Lesley Solish, Heidi Reznick and Kitty Wong were at the Toby and Henry Battle Developmental Centre from May 5 to June 13, 2003. The students worked with our clients and developed some excellent and creative programs to improve the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities. They also worked with Reena staff to ensure their programs could continue when their placements were completed. The students also worked with Reena’s Wellness Centre Committee and introduced the Program Logic model to better define Reena’s idea of ‘wellness.’ In addition, they facilitated a half-day session, designed to brainstorm this concept and further develop programming in this area. We were pleased to offer a placement to four other OT students from the University of Toronto in June for a few weeks. Their original placement was affected by SARS and they were unable to return to their original setting. Reena offered to take these students to complete their placement — and they were very thankful. We were happy to provide the placement, since our clients benefit so much from the interaction and programming these students can provide. Reena also welcomed a new group of OT students (final year) — Linna Chercover, Christy Contway and Lesley Spada — from July 7 to Aug. 29, 2003. Many thanks to the off-site OT supervisors who assisted the students and Reena to meet our objectives! Our new look Welcome to the new Kolreena. In response to the needs of our readers, we have made our newsletter easier to read, with more photos and a larger font. We have also given Reena and Reena Foundation a distinct identity. We hope you enjoy our new look. Kolreena • September 2003 • 3
Page 1: Kolreena Towards a Better Future
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September - Reena

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