Dear Editor:
I have been reading the Advertiser’s letters to the editor for many years. In recent months I have read many letters and responses to groups, essentially, proclaiming their rights and privileges and quite rightly so. We all should have fundamental human rights.
I would like to bring one more to the attention of your readers: the plight of people in our community with truly “special needs” and hopefully some of these groups of activists and the general public will join the battle to improve services to these people. I refer to a true minority who today we refer to as developmentally disabled people 18 years of age plus.
Centre Wellington is severely under-serviced with programs and resources for these people, especially new ones entering the system. Many parents have to take their young adults out of the community to find care during the day.
Having day programs properly funded is essential to parents who have to work and in their spare time are caregivers themselves.
My observations tell me that a myriad of government officials and spin-off groups are not providing a duty of care.
Can the average reader imagine the strain on family life of these families with adult children that essentially require the needs such as, toiletry and or diaper changing, showering and feeding? Some of these individuals also need medical assistance or care.
Many PSWs do their best to help at fairly low income levels paid by private health care providers. There is also a shortage of these PSWs.
So let’s get behind this true minority. Many of these people cannot speak for themselves. I also challenge the Advertiser to challenge our MPP, who for more than 30 years has also seen this decay in service and “cannot,” it seems, do anything to make positive change.
Alan Darby,
Elora