Karen Metcalfe

541 Days Road, Kingston, ON K7M3R8, CA

The Reclamation Project: The Value of Living Life at the Helm

Stories of life in an institution and the voices that closed them

Karen Metcalfe

I started working at Prince Edward Heights (PEH) in 1982 as a social work assistant. I felt that PEH was a very progressive place for the day. The people that lived in the village at PEH had a lot of fun and the village was a place of integration and inclusion.

PEH was the original starter of family homes, long before they were called family homes or begun officially. They had the first romantic couple who moved in together and got married. The couple had their own bungalow in the village, and they were given a wedding with lots of gifts for their new house.

At PEH, family involvement was encouraged. The facility had a guest house, where families could stay during a visit. Their meals would even be dropped off by the meal truck that delivered meals to all the homes in the village.

When PEH closed, I was a ministry planner for 1.5 years to assist in the repatriation efforts. As I had worked on both sides of the table, I found this work challenging. While working as a ministry planner I was very careful and respectful while planning for individuals, while at the same time being sympathetic to staff who thought they were getting laid off. It was an emotionally challenging time for staff. Everyone was worried as they didn’t know what the community had to offer but it all worked in the long run.

As a social worker, I had discharged individuals for years so I knew of the services that were available. All individuals made a good transition to life in the community, with good experiences from the institution. Most individuals coming from PEH kept the same staff, which helped greatly in their transition.

We started by opening 5 homes. We worked to ease family stress by trying to keep existing standards. Properties were chosen strategically and families had options in housing. If individuals were moved to a location where they shouldn’t be, they were moved to another location.

After working as a ministry planner, I began working for Pathways to Independence (PTI). PTI was always very careful to keep their homes and yards in immaculate condition. They were careful with parking, especially as there were often many staff cars. They maintained tact and diplomacy with the community. Homes were strategically located to minimize behavioural issues. There were times when neighbours would even take individuals to church. There were some challenges around neighbours but we did a lot of community work with letters, visits and introductions. Most people in the community were welcoming and most neighbours were very good.

One of the biggest challenges, and the most opposition, was from existing community services agencies. They didn’t agree with staff coming from the institutions into the community. They felt that they should become bigger, instead of people being supported by staff coming from an institution to Pathways to Independence.

As far as community services and supports, it was challenging finding medical supports. Doctors had no knowledge of how to serve people with intellectual disabilities. Eventually everybody was served.

Many families were reunited and I worked hard to reconnect families. As all I had were phone books at that time I would often make 100’s of phone calls just to find one family.

There were some things that were taken for granted in assisting people to transition. Individuals coming from the institution should have been trained about living in the community, especially after living in the village. In the village, they would go to the house next door if they were out of things like coffee or toilet paper. In the community, an individual walked into the neighbours house to retrieve toilet paper, and alarmed the neighbour. One individual had no idea what a suitcase was and it sat on their bedroom floor until staff assisted them to unpack it.

I feel that the history of Developmental Services being taught now is not accurate around the institutions. It’s sad to think that people thought it was a negative place and I am often surprised at the reaction I get from students when they learn I worked at an institution. It’s easy to look back and see criticism. We did good work for the time. We did the best we could under the circumstances. PEH was a shining example of progression and trying to make a difference and families would agree. I agreed with the closures and that community living is better. We were the thinkers that made the transition successful. We left a good legacy and should get the respect we deserve.