Our History
Prior to 1950, families with children diagnosed with mental retardation, (as it was called in those days) had very few options. They could place a child in a provincial facility such as Orillia or Cedar Springs (after 1961) or they could maintain the child at home with virtually no support from government or community. Children with disabilities were refused entry to the school system and had no nursery school, residential support, respite care or employment supports.
It was the parents’ movement that began in Kirkland Lake in 1947 and quickly spread through almost every community in Ontario that was responsible for initiating community services. In London, the Association for the Help of Retarded Children began in 1951 and was legally incorporated on January 31, 1952. It started by organizing classes for a group of eight children with the assistance of volunteer teachers. Members from the London Association were also very instrumental in the formation of the Ontario Association of Retarded Children (now known as the Ontario Association for Community Living) which was formed in 1953. Lobbying through the Provincial Association eventually led to the provision of grants by the Ministry of Education to provide special schools for children with developmental disabilities. With the assistance of the Kinsmen Club of London, the parent association opened the Kinsmen School on Trafalgar Street in 1959.
During the 1960′s, the Association focused much of its energy on the development of preschool services and services for adults. The Rainbow Nursery was opened in 1962, and a workshop facility that had opened in 1959, was expanded in 1965. By the end of the decade, the Association, which had been re-named the London and District Association for the Mentally Retarded, opened its first group home, Scott House, on Montebello Drive.
The Association began the 70′s by hiring its first Executive Director, Mr. Peter Gomery and moving its Employment Program, which had been renamed Opportunity Enterprises, to 190 Adelaide Street S. To celebrate its 25th year of operation, the Association opened a new Nursery School, the Scatcherd Children’s Centre on Sarnia Road. A new Developmental Centre for school aged children was opened in the same year on Ford Crescent. The number of group homes continued to expand, including a new Children’s Residence on Kathryn Drive.
The 1980′s were a time of rapid expansion of both Residential and Employment Services. In Accommodation, emphasis was placed on building more family style residences for four to six people. The sheltered Employment Program was expanded to five different sites across the city, including OPP Art, Plastic Packaging and the Recycling program.
In 1982, a major milestone was reached when the Ministry of Education assumed responsibility for providing an educational program for all children with disabilities. The Developmental Centre was closed and all children began attending classes at a Roman Catholic School. It was also a time to celebrate as during the 1980′s and 1990′s the Ontario Government advanced its commitment to the closure of facilities. By 1995, only three facilities, with a combined population of less than 1,000 remained open in Ontario. This is a dramatic reduction from 1974 when more than 11,000 people with disabilities lived in institutions.
In 1990, the beginning of the new decade, also marked a new name for the Association ….Community Living London, to reflect the goals of integration and inclusion that were emerging as the mission of Associations for Community Living across Ontario.
The last decade of the 20th Century was a difficult one. New funding from the Provincial Government was significantly reduced and Associations were faced with long waiting lists, base funding reductions and increasing requests for services.
The Association responded by developing partnerships for inclusive childcare, employment and leisure programs. A new Strategic Plan adopted in 1996, emphasized supported inclusion as the new Mission for the Association. It continued to advocate for and developed service models based on a Person Centred Approach, that designs services that reflect the unique needs of each individual.
With the dawning of the new millennium, and the 50th Anniversary of the Association, the agency continues to advocate for and develop services that will enable individuals with intellectual disabilities become fully participating, fully contributing members of our community.