The 70s

The dawning of the 70's brought with them an idealism that was spawned in the 60's. The earlier peace marches, women's liberation and back to the land movements had paved the way for communities of interest to develop social systems that promoted a sense of equality and involvement.

Two incidents of real significance galvanized attention once again to the issue of community life for persons with a developmental handicap. The government of Ontario commissioned what became known as the Williston Report, following the death of two individuals who had been recently discharged from Rideau Regional Hospital School, near Smith Falls. Walter Williston, Q.C. wrote about "...a century of failure and inhumanity in the large multi purpose residential hospitals." Then Minister of Social Development Policy, Robert Welch, using the report to set a new direction for Ontario, was the first person to coin the phrase that now distinguishes our movement: Community Living.    

Although the province passed legislation giving way to the development of group homes a few years prior, it was not until well into the 1970's that the idea and the resources to proceed were captured. Between 1972 and 1975, it was foreseen in Wallaceburg that a need would result for a residential program. The directors and members set out to fundraise and their efforts culminated in the purchase of property north of Running Creek, opposite Crothers Park. Volunteers at this time were providing the transportation for individuals to come to the workshop program. Again, many service clubs and friends of the Association came forward when it was determined a bus with a lift was required.

Wallaceburg youth were also becoming involved in promoting a new life style, a new way for their peers who live with a disability. An active Youth Across Canada for the Mentally Retarded (YACMR) group was formed at the local Wallaceburg high school. The youths provided recreational programming, friendships, fundraising and without celebrity: the seeds for school integration and inclusion. Two movements that would follow in later years.

During 1979, the Association's first group home was purchased and developed on Duncan Street. Eight people were given the opportunity to establish a new home for themselves. Some were individuals who had returned from the regional center program at Cedar Springs. The property previously purchased north of Running Creek was too expensive to develop with the monies available. As such, the home on Duncan Street was leased and was later purchased. The Association sold the Running Creek property. In a twist of fate, some ten years later, the Association re-acquired the vacant lot. Today, on that same property, now known as Nelson Street, sits a home owned by the Association and leased to several individuals.

The decade of the 70's saw perhaps the most significant and extensive community developments to date. The Ontario Association for the Mentally Retarded (OAMR), as it had become known, was extremely influential on government policy and assisted to establish many of the social welfare programs and thinking that exists today. Government committed to moving people from institutions to community, to address prevention, to establish bona fide college programs to train and graduate qualified staff, and to introduce a licensed day care system and infant stimulation programs for children with disabilities. The National Institute on Mental Retardation, an affiliate of the (CAMR) had become the G. Allan Roeher Institute and their efforts were focussed on coordinating a ComServ project intended to develop and demonstrate regional, coordinated, comprehensive community service systems, developing constituencies for change, and for shaping government policy. It was at this time that the competing priorities of service provision versus advocacy converged. ComServ pilot projects approved in ten communities throughout Canada were intended to address this and other issues. A pilot site was approved for Kent County and was to include Wallaceburg and Chatham associations. The projects, however, did not get underway.

Our economy it seemed was bustling, and so too were services for persons with a disability. Through the hectic pace of change and expansion could be heard a voice asking ..."how about listening to me?"