This is a 6 minute video showing some of the closure of some the institutions in Ontario.
Closing all the facilities took a long time, but many people were starting to be moved out in the mid 70's. In this process I saw many changes in the quality of care in institutions , but they were still warehouses for people. I was involved as a Senior Counsellor in opening a new home in the early 80's for youth with medical and physical care needs coming straight out of an institutional setting into a community living style home. I show this video as a way to capture the elation and hopes of people coming out of institutions that they would never be opened again. I placed this clip here for those who have never had a flavor of the moment of seeing massive change in a system with many flaws. I also place it as a cautionary tale as I witness the serious cuts in social services funding across BC and Canada. The plan to place people in smaller group homes worked for many years and met the needs well for persons requiring 24 hour care. The current arrangements, closing of group homes, programs and budget slashes put the whole system in crisis. My concern is an not unfounded , is that this created crisis will return people with developmental disabilities to Warehousing situations..some which are being built now at a different scale, as people within the current system fall through the cracks and their are no group homes or programs to return to. The Keys in this video are symbols of multiple facilities closing and the freedom of people to live lives outside of warehoused care.
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