Making Choices -Individual Appartments

Emma Chen's WC-Club

1 year ago

Transcript

00:00Hi, I'm Paul Gauthier. I'm with the Individualized Funding Resource Center and I'm also the

00:12co-chair of the Disability Advisory Committee of the City of Vancouver that has been very

00:17involved in the redevelopment of the Pearson site in collaboration with the Vancouver Coastal

00:24Health Authority, the Disability Alliance BC, and we're pretty excited about this video that we've

00:30got together today. This video has been designed so that we can show the different supports and

00:37housing that would be available on this land after the redevelopment. I would like to introduce you

00:47to Julie. She lives in an individual apartment with shared care. Shared care allows Julie to have access

00:56to someone during the day at specific times. There's someone in the building 24 hours a day

01:03and if Julie needs someone at a specific time for assistance, she's able to call upon them.

01:17My name is Julie Griggs. I live here at Noble House. I've been here for about seven years now

01:26and I've enjoyed every moment of living here actually. As you can see I have my own apartment,

01:35kitchen, spare room, bathroom. This is a home and I'm very lucky to have it.

01:43This place was empty when I came here so I had to get all the furniture, I had to get prop to get all

01:52my stuff set up, till to get all my electric things going on, my TV control, opening my door. It was

02:00quite a lot of work but lots of support to do it so it's made it quite easy. And this arm acts as a

02:08mouse as you would use a mouse on a computer if you had your hands. I use my mouse to use the mouse.

02:14So that allows me to use the computer like anybody else. It took about I'd say six months because it's

02:21in chaos for a while because you know it's all new and I had to buy loads of stuff to fill my house.

02:27And some stuff I got donated which was nice. And I got some grants to get some of my electrical

02:33equipment that set up for me as well. This is my spare room which at the moment I use for my sister

02:41or other guests. From my experience I remember when I first moved in I was a little bit scared

02:49and apprehensive because you know because I did have a vent and I am in a chair but you know each day

02:55each day gets easier and easier. You have so much support around you to help you settle in your house.

03:02And I can put all my personal things around me that make me happy like my grandchildren and paintings

03:09and I can make it a home. You know it's somewhere I love to come in. I like to be here. So much

03:16independence you can have as possible makes your life better. It really does. You make your own

03:22decisions you pay your own bills. You're doing everything that you were before except you're

03:26in a chair. And I feel that's better for a person to feel better about themselves.

03:35The rent I pay is 375 which includes my heat hydro. I have to pay for my phone and I have to pay for

03:43my internet. That's on top. Well we get like a certain amount each month. I pay all my fixed bills and

03:52then what's left is variable I can spend on whatever I want. Save it, spend it on my grandchildren or myself.

04:01We have an elevator here which on the floor there's a little sensor pad so we can open the elevator with

04:08our chairs. Like sure. I do feel I get the care that I need here. It's 24 hour and I can get them at

04:17any time and that makes me feel very safe. We have 24 hour care here. There's seven of us and we share

04:24that care. We all have allotted times morning and evening and then they're here all day long if we need

04:31them too. Oh it's nice and warm. I just want to fall asleep in the sun. If we're sick or we do need

04:40extra attention we always get it. For example I do suffer from coughing sometimes so I need assisted

04:48coughing so that means I have to call them whenever I need it. So that is always there for me which is

04:54another thing that makes me feel comfortable and safe too. I usually go around by my chair if I can

05:02because obviously we have the seawall there so I can go to Granville Island. I do use Handidot and I do

05:08use the buses on my own. If it's a train I don't like to be on my own because you have to go up and

05:15down in lifts so I feel very safe and I never thought I'd go on a bus on my own with Zip and Buff but it's

05:23possible. So this is my favorite favorite place. As you can see the view of the mountains and the sea

05:32air which is really good for your lungs and it's very quiet down here. I love to talk to people down

05:38there and just watch the dogs or I go to Icord where there's a gym and I also do some clinical

05:46trials with them as well. It keeps me busy in the winter. I go to theater if I want to, movies,

05:54I like to go to movies or just going to Granville Island to the market. I love that. Imagine having

06:00this eh? Every day you know this is here and you can come here. Strangers talk to me all the time.

06:07I don't know why. I don't get lonely because I have my computer, I have friends, family,

06:16there's always somebody around and I can always shut my door if I feel like it too. And plus my

06:21sister is a great support to me and my son. What would I change about my life? Well I'd like not

06:26to be like this but as I am like this I don't think so really because I'm very lucky to be here.

06:35I have so much access around me, so much to do. Yes, I love it down here.

06:54I would like you to meet Lorraine. She lives in an individual apartment and uses the CECL program,

07:01the Choices and Support for Independent Living, which is an individualized funding program that

07:07has the funds come directly to the individual to hire her own caregivers. Lorraine is able to utilize

07:15these dollars to be able to hire someone that is able to help her with her personal care needs

07:21and have them come at the time that she's looking to have them come. So for example if she needed them

07:26to come at 6am and then need them to come later on in the day she can do that and arrange it directly

07:33with the individual. So I have three birds here, Zoe and the other two is Moxie and Jazz. I like the

07:45privacy. I like that I was able to set everything up the way I want it, have as much stuff as I want

07:53and if I want cluttered, cluttered. If I want, you know, plain, plain.

08:03I pay about 375. It was 325 and it's 375 now. How do you manage your budget?

08:13I don't. I like shopping. I like going to thrift stores and I like going to Value Village and I

08:29like eating out. But you know, I don't keep myself poor. I pay my credit card off. I make sure that I

08:36pay my tithes at church. I make sure that that my bills are paid. This is my kitchen. I do my own

08:48grocery shopping. When I go grocery shopping, if I don't have anybody to help me, I just ask people

08:54if they could just grab something for me. And most people are pretty good that way.

08:59I get three showers a week. I chose three showers a week and one day I get my hair washed.

09:10I have five different staff that come here. Every staff, I have given them different chores to do.

09:16So they all have their fair share of workload. That's one thing about the CESA program. It's a

09:23program for people that want to live independently and not on a shared care model. In Lorraine's case,

09:30she's been able to use the CESA funding to be able to access 24-hour support. She has a caregiver that

09:37can go with her out into the community, drive her van, and be able to do a bit of shopping when needed.

09:45The CESA program provides a lot of flexibility to be able to meet her needs.

09:53I like traveling. Wherever I can go, I'll go. I have a van. And so I, if I want to go,

10:03you know, like to Rice Lake, North Shore, or say I want to go visit my dad in Langley,

10:11you know, we just hop in the van and off we go.

10:15The neighbors, they're pretty helpful too. I have a gentleman friend upstairs and I call him up and

10:26I ask him for computer help because he's a computer whiz. So I can call him up and he'll come down and

10:33help me with my problem.

10:35Yeah, I get kind of lonely. That's one of the challenges I found is making friends. I think

10:46people have to learn to get out of their comfort zone and approach people in chairs because they'll

10:51be totally completely surprised what a kind person that those people are or how smart they are or how

11:00creative and what, you know, what beautiful mind they have. You know, so people need to really get

11:05out of their comfort zone and approach people with disabilities.

11:13It is scary at the beginning, but I just put my best foot forward and walked forward and said,

11:20okay, I'm going to do this. If it's doable, do it, you know, and allow yourself to to be scared,

11:29but allow yourself also to explore and challenge yourself because it's a good life.

11:47Greenhouses are a new idea, something that we haven't seen here in British Columbia,

11:57but it's been working very well in the US. I'm excited to be able to talk to you more about this

12:03because greenhouses have a home feeling to it. You have your own bedroom, you have your own bathroom,

12:11uh, you have shared areas such as a living room and a kitchen area. We don't have this, as I said,

12:19here in BC, but Connect Communities is a good example of something that is similar.

12:27I'm looking forward to introducing you now to Michael, who lives there and is going to be able

12:33to share his story. I share a group home with five other residents, so we share the common bathroom,

12:43the kitchen, the social room, the living room, etc. We are like family. We get along well together.

12:51We socialize. We interact. We go to Tim Hortons or Starbucks for a cup of friendly coffee.

12:58We laugh. We joke. We watch TV. We watch movies. We go bowling. We do fun things together as a group.

13:06We have carrots. One of the things that I know that people are excited about is being able to be

13:11involved in the cooking and having an accessible kitchen where the food is going to be prepared

13:17on site and people are able to make some decisions about what they would want to eat

13:22or not to eat for that matter. This is pretty exciting because there's going to be a lot of

13:27creativity that's going to happen within this kitchen.

13:33In a greenhouse, the individuals are going to be able to have access to their own private area,

13:38their own bathroom, their own bedroom. And what's nice about the bathroom is it's fully accessible

13:44with a roll-in shower so that people can feel comfortable in regards to their personal care needs

13:49being met. There's also going to be a separate area so that if someone wants to have a bath,

13:55they can and it's fully accessible with a lift that'll be able to put you right into the tub.

14:02Individuals will also have access to both doctors and RNs on a 24-hour basis within the greenhouse.

14:09We live in a supervised 24-hour care home so our needs are all met. If something unexpected happens

14:19or worse to happen, we feel safe, secure within that environment.

14:32I have been living now within the walls of Cadet communities now for about five years.

14:39There are also plans on the way on this wonderful property to have a YMCA and also a therapeutic pool.

14:50What's great for the people that will be in the greenhouse is that they're going to be able to

14:54access this and be able to take a total care worker with them.

15:00Having a total support worker is someone that's going to be able to assist an individual

15:05both in their home or outside of the home. So if someone needed to go out to an activity,

15:13their support person will be able to come with them to help them do that.

15:16This is my very proud roommate Carla Henderson. We are going to see the concert tonight at Rogers Arena

15:26called Madonna. Our plan is we're going to teach people a few new brain injury dance moves.

15:34Why not? I have a small weekly budget of XML that allows me to purchase shaving cream, shampoo, body wash,

15:43etc. and allows me to enjoy a nice cup of coffee, go see a good movie, a sporting event,

15:51or a similar attraction. So it requires careful planning and budgeting on my behalf. But the budget

15:59that I'm allocated is sufficient to meet my daily needs.

16:06We're hoping that as Michael has found so much happiness in his home, that our greenhouse that we're

16:13developing is going to provide that same kind of happiness to the people that are going to live there.

16:19It was a real pleasure having all of you in my home today. I hope you enjoyed the experience.

16:26Come back again for a friendly cup of tea. Thank you very much and the best of luck to you all.

16:32I would like to introduce you to Min and Paul who both live in small group housing which can be up to four people.

16:53They both have their own bedroom and there is shared living areas such as the living room and the kitchen.

16:59Both of them really enjoy this environment.

17:08Min is currently in her bedroom and she communicates by computer primarily and through i-spelling.

17:16So this is one of the reasons why we've started the interview here.

17:20Min spends a lot of time in her room at her computer and she works as an advocate for differently abled

17:30people. All of our clients at Duke House are in wheelchairs so that that's why we have a very open

17:37concept living area. What was the most challenging part of settling in the community?

17:43Min, Min's got a great sense of humor. She says, I moved from my parents place in Penticton to this

17:52group home 22 years ago and honestly the most challenging task for me was learning how to fill

17:58out a simple form independently because my parents always did all that kind of paperwork for me.

18:04When I had to fill out my first form I remember seeing address and phone number shrugging my shoulders

18:09and writing the address and phone number I had all my life. Only problem was it was my parents address

18:15and phone number it wasn't mine anymore. Needless to say my key worker taught me all that kind of

18:21information really quick after giggling under her breath at what I wrote down.

18:27We assign a key worker to each client in the house and that will be somebody who is on staff permanent

18:34part-time or permanent full-time and Min says she's got the best key worker ever. Yeah you do don't you?

18:44Do you share your care with other residents? Yes and in saying that everybody is aware that that

18:51everybody has different needs and you know if somebody needs to go to the bathroom we can hold off for

18:57a minute on something else. The the care is pretty flexible but with the staffing ratio being

19:03so high I think those needs for the most part are covered off aren't they Min? Yes.

19:13Min has a shower three times a week. Do you get enough showers or baths and she says realistically

19:18yes but I'd live in hot showers. That is true Min likes a nice long shower. We'll often

19:29have picnics and celebrate birthdays and whatnot outdoors. Min is out on her own quite a bit. You

19:37you just book a handy dart don't you Min? Yeah Min books books handy dart and heads out to wherever she's

19:45going. So Min has written I meet colleagues or my church family when I go out. Do you eat meals on

19:54your own or with other people? And Min says sometimes I have to go to work late and attendants just save

20:00my dinner and then when you get home they warm it up for you and that's when you have your meal.

20:06My name is Paul Owen and I am pleased to see all these group homes away there. They're being funded for the disabled and it allows me a heck of a lot of freedom.

20:19You can go places like you can go to the Metrotown Mall and you can also go and visit visit your friends like I come over here to Duke house the odd

20:31time. Fire Friday's club. VRS gets paid out of our checks $675 per month. You get to be with staff 24 hours a day

20:44and you get to meet your neighbors. The best day of my life was finally moving into Greyhouse. I finally moved out into the community which I have enjoyed.

21:03Come three three more years it will be 30 years I will have lived at Greyhouse. Folks believe me have enjoyed every minute of it.

21:22A-S-D-Y-U-I-G-N. Can I guess at the word? Dignity? Okay, so you have more dignity. Let me guess at that word. Freedom. That's right.

21:50So you have more dignity and you have more freedom. And that's true. Sitting in the sun baking for a little, actually it's evening time that you're often out here, right?