Disability advocates say Manitoba day program gaps leave many behind through pandemic
Cracks 'become canyons' with staffing shortages, redeployment of support staff due to COVID-19, advocate says
Nancy Hamilton is a people person. She loves spending time with her nieces and nephews, and she has a wry sense of humour that she doesn't get to show off as often lately.
The 39-year-old has Down syndrome and lives in a group home run by the non-profit Direct Action in Support of Community Homes (DASCH). Before the pandemic, she went to a day service program which kept her busy, but it's been closed on and off due to pandemic restrictions.
As of Feb. 1, day services run by Community Living Disability Services are allowed to reopen gradually — according to a memo from the Department of Families that was posted online — but participants are being prioritized now. Only people who fit a "critical need" category can attend without question.
That includes people who can't be safely supported at home during the day, those whose mental health has suffered and people who are at risk of losing their jobs.
Because of the criteria and the pandemic, Hamilton hasn't been able to go to her program for nearly two years.
"I feel a little bit upset about it," she said.
One of Hamilton's two volunteer jobs was at the Grace Hospital. She'd bring water to patients and help with paperwork, and she was good at it. It's something Hamilton says she misses.
"I like going there to help out people," she said. "I care about a lot of people."
Her mother, Andrea Nowosad, says Hamilton watches a lot more TV and has become dependent on her family. Nowosad says it's heartbreaking to see society reopen and life inch back to normal when her daughter's life is still so restricted.
"Nancy and the other people who access these programs, it's just like they've been forgotten," she said.
Services to gradually resume
Day programs have been impacted by ever-evolving public health restrictions, says Karen Fonseth, the chief executive officer at DASCH.
Programs are reopening, but not everyone is getting access. Add COVID-related illnesses to that, and the services aren't nearly what they used to be.
"People don't get to do their activities, they don't get to do anything outside of the basic needs in life," she said.
The Salvation Army-run Community Venture program has been serving people who meet the province's critical needs criteria, according to an emailed statement from executive director Kim Park. She says just before Christmas, the organization was at 80 per cent capacity.
Nowosad says those critical needs definitions are another hoop to jump through for people like her daughter.
Nancy Hamilton is not alone. Jacqui Hopkins' daughter Ashlee has Down syndrome and has some physical limitations. Her day program hasn't resumed since the pandemic began.
Hopkins says she understands it's difficult to balance protecting immunocompromised participants with reopening programs, but she says the lack of routine and isolation has been hard on her daughter.
"Her whole routine's changed," Hopkins said. "The only thing she's been able to do for the last two years is come and see me."
She says she retired six months ago so she could better support Ashlee.
While day programs are technically back up and running, Park says this latest wave of the pandemic is presenting new staffing challenges. The program has had to put people on a waiting list until it can meet staffing requirements and follow safety guidelines.
Trickle-down effect
Day programs are also being impacted by a persistent labour shortage, according to Abilities Manitoba. The organization represents most of the non-profits that support adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
It's all hands on deck for organizations that run both residential and day programs, says executive director Margo Powell. Now, staff from day programs have been moved to help out in group homes.
"What's happened in COVID is those cracks that have always existed have really become canyons," she said. Organizations are struggling to fill positions and their recruitment has also stalled. Powell says it's creating a crisis.
Part of the problem is there's a disparity between the job expectations and wages for front-line direct support professionals, Powell said. The workers need a well-rounded skill set to help their clients with transportation, health issues, meal planning and more.
The starting hourly wage for those workers in a day service program is $12.15. Manitoba's minimum wage is $11.95.
Abilities Manitoba is calling on the province to commit to a long-term plan to improve and standardize training for the workers and fund a wage increase of 60 per cent above minimum wage within three years.
The Manitoba government says it increased the Community Living Disability Services program budget by $12.6 million in the 2021 fiscal year.
"This additional funding directly supported the costs of providing staffing support to program participants," a provincial spokesperson told CBC in a statement.
Direct support professionals were also eligible for two support programs introduced during the pandemic, including the Manitoba Risk Recognition Program and the Caregiver Wage Support Program, the spokesperson said.
Powell says her organization has been working with the province and she's encouraged by recent meetings with the minister of families. But it's going to take time to repair the pandemic's impacts on the community, from routine disruption to isolation.
"We're very cognizant of the devastating impacts that COVID has had that the stress, the staffing crisis has exacerbated," she said.
"We know it's going to take a long time to recover emotionally and in terms of mental health from this."
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