Mary Centre strives to give people who have a developmental disability the opportunity, when building a good life, to live as independently as possible within their community.
Making Connections
Whether people with a developmental disability live in their family home or in one of our supported community group living or supported independent living apartments, Mary Centre’s community connection supports and encourages building inclusion in the community through education, recreation and volunteer activities.
With the objective of building independence, creating community relationships, and developing meaningful experiences, we plan activities to meet individual preferences.
We offer specialized Community Connection Support within Toronto and Peel Region for two (2) age categories:
- Elder Connection Services for individuals aged 55 and older, and
- Adult Connections for those 54 and younger.
We organize services to address different adult life stages, however, we remain flexible to some crossover as we accommodate individuals based on their specific needs and interests.
Within the Elder and Adult Connections Services we offer two (2) types of community connections services:
- Individual service (one-on-one) matches people with a direct support employee. Together, they plan activities according to personal interests. We utilize community resources such as public libraries, recreational and senior centres, schools, parks and special events to participate in fun and interesting excursions. In addition, working on skills such as banking, budgeting, menu planning, meal preparation, grocery shopping, household management, community safety, and knowledge are examples of the focus of this program. This service can be considered as what we formerly referred to as In-Home Respite Services.
- For adults who are interested in meeting new people, we offer our Networking service, which is a group gathering. A small network of people will meet to enjoy activities together. Participants will be given the opportunity to learn important social, communication, cultural, educational and vocational skills that they can transition to community experiences.
People are supported with neighbourhood outings, building healthy lifestyles and learning to use local supports and services to allow full inclusion in the area.
Community Connections Support helps people with developmental disabilities to build self-esteem, confidence and independence, which assists people in being contributing members of their communities. As well as providing new adventures and networking opportunities for people, Community Connections offers recreation and leisure activities. Mary Centre employees supervise all get-togethers and arrange for transportation.
Transition into Long-Term Care
Mary Centre’s Transition into Long Term Care Program is only provided in Peel, and provides six (6) to eight (8) weeks of support to people with a developmental disability who are aged fifty (50) and older, and are either preparing to move into a long-term care facility or who have just done so. Mary Centre employees assist with the transition between home life to long-term care or help with adjustment to the new living arrangement. We will support and be a resource to the Long-Term Care employees in developing a plan that will facilitate the person’s transition.
