Keenan and I met at the Presence to Citizenship Learning Exchange February 2017, and I became interested in talking to Keenan after I heard about the work he and his wife, Julie Kingstone, were doing with LiveWorkPlay.
In this podcast Keenan shares the journey of LiveWorkPlay from it’s start in 1995 up until now. From building their service offering including a day program to canceling the day program and facilitating community inclusion.
We also discuss how families and individuals with a developmental disability can access developmental support agencies in Ontario. The first step being contacting the Developmental Services Ontario and completing the required assessment(s).
Keenan also suggest contacting your local support agency to start the conversation and learn what is available. There are different services offered by different independent agencies, and there are different ways to access these services, such as government supported and pay-for-service.
Keenan also provides clarity on the Community Living Ontario structure, essentially every community living agency is an independent agency, but is a member of Community Living Ontario who provides advocacy for all agency members. This is why the Community Living in your community may offer different services than a Community Living in another community.
What you will learn in this episode:
- Learn how LiveWorkPlay came to be
- Discover the latest trends toward citizenship and individualized support
- Learn how to access support from developmental support agencies (in Ontario, Canada)
How to contact Keenan Wellar and LiveWorkPlay:
613-702-0332
Resources:
Developmental Services Ontario (DSO) – https://www.dsontario.ca/
From Presence to Citizenship Video
The video which was shown at the start of the Learning Exchange highlighting stories from the project partner organizations is available on the Learning Community and on YouTube. Please feel free to share this video with your Board, management team, staff, volunteers, family and friends!
The YouTube link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWd5wlrrw4w
Love & Respect,
Eric
The podcast is available on iTunes and Podbean (android) so that you can listen while on the go from your smartphone!