My name is Shawn McCloskey, I'm at Abby Road
Housing Co-op and I have a lot of concerns about the proposed changes.
For instance, after the not-for-profit care
that I control, that affords me dignity and independence is gone, should I
drop out of university and give up on trying to start a family? Because without
the 24 hour care I have now, I am unable to do those things. And in all the
meetings I've been to with AHS, I've heard of no assurances that 24-hour care
will be available. This move takes away the independence of otherwise highly
productive members of society. Some of our residents will lose their income
without round the clock care, while others will be unable to participate in
hobbies or social functions within the community. This is wrong.
More specifically, once my current care is gone,
can the government assure me that I can even get out of bed in the morning?
Shower? Get help going to the washroom? What if staff do not show up to for my
care? Now we have back-up's upon back-up's to ensure someone will be there to
carry out essential services. We work directly with our staff to make sure
everyone is cared for. Does a for-profit agency really care about any of this?
The relationship the Abby Road members have forged with their staff is directly
related to the high quality care we have now.
And my last concern involves the very nature of my
own government. They seemed to make all of these changes, and additional
hardships to a group of people who already have enough to deal with, in the
name of "bureaucratic efficiency", so managing the homecare
system was easier on them. The government is supposed to work for the people:
it is supposed to give people the means to become independent individuals, not
take away those means. There was no conversation with us, no working
relationship — nothing. "And if you don't like our decision", the
government says, "too bad, because there's no appeal process". What
does that say about us as a province?
PLEASE CONSIDER SIGNING A PETITION AGAINST HOME CARE. CLICK HERE!!!
