Jan 23, 2019
Hello Esteemed Members of Provincial Parliament – sincere greetings from Kitchener-Waterloo!
Dear Deepak, Jill, Teresa, Ted, Ian, Roman, Aris, Bob, Toby, Doly, Jessica, Rima, Peter, Gilles, Will, Guy, Jeff, Paul, Raymond, Stan, Steve, Lorne, Michael, Stephen, Rudy, Nathalie, Doug, Jill, Christine, Victor, Amy, Catherine, John, Jennifer, Merrilee, Wayne, France, Goldie, Parm, Chris, Michael, Lisa, Ernie, Joel, Mike, Faisal, Percy, Randy, Christine, Andrea, Mitzie, Sylvia, Logan, Belinda, Bhutila, Vincent, Terence, Andrea, Daryl, Natalia, Marie-France, Stephen, Laura Mae, Lisa, Sol, Michael, Robin, Gila, Jim, Jane, Monte, Norman, Paul, Christina Maria, Judith, Suze, Caroline, Taras, Rick, Sam, Billy, Lindsey, Michael, Randy, Rod, David, Tom, Kaleed, Greg, Jeremy, Ross, Sheref, Amarjot, Prabmeet, Peggy, Mike, Laurie, Sandy, Amanda, Gurratan, Sara, Donna, Dave, Todd, Jennie, Marit, Kinda, Peter, Nina, Monique, Vijay, Lisa, Michael, Effie, John, Daisy, Bill, Jamie, Jim, Kathleen, John, Kevin, Jeff and Doug!
Independent Facilitation has been in the news lately, with the announcement that there will be no continuation of funding for the service.
This is a real tragedy.
I want to share some perspective with you all, as Independent Facilitation is a new medium that represents a significant advancement over existing models of care. Because of this, there is a fair amount of ambiguity and varied understandings of what it actually is, and the benefits it provides. It seems, based on the premises asserted in the Toronto Star, that there is a real disconnect between the perceptions of MCCSS and the actual benefactors when it comes to the efficacy and the value of the service, that is ultimately going to lead to a bad policy decision.
Before we get too far into it, some of you may be a bit curious about me. My name is Jamie Moffat. I am on the board of Bridges to Belonging, one of the Independent Facilitation Organizations that participated in the demonstration project. This is a volunteer position, completely separated from how I earn a living for myself. Like many of you, I have professional certifications – in my case, a CPA and MBA. I like numbers, and I have a good understanding of economics. Also like many of you, I had not heard of Independent Facilitation before joining the board of Bridges almost two years ago. At first glance, it is hard to understand the tremendous impact Independent Facilitation has unless you have had experience in caring for a loved one with a developmental disability or witnessed a close family member doing so. It is a paradigm shift, to say the least. A revolutionary approach with a much higher degree of successful outcomes than traditional interventions.
Now, I am not sure about your family situation or background, but I want you to imagine something with me. Imagine you’re the loving parent of a child with a moderate-to-severe developmental disability. Imagine the almost all-consuming amount of stress this has caused you – first, the diagnosis, the battery of tests and appointments, wanting nothing more than a clean bill of health for your loved one, the anxiety of not knowing how severe it will be, then the crushing feeling of all the expectations you had around family life and raising children slipping away. Imagine that coupled with getting to experience the sweetest little person; the unmitigated joy you see in their smile and eyes when you make them laugh with delight. This person, who you know better than anyone, yet who, chances are, will not be known in this way by anyone else. Imagine the struggles of raising this child through school, where kids can be so needlessly mean, especially to those more vulnerable in the social pecking order than them. Imagine the tears, the frustrations, you have tried your absolute best to help guide them through, as they encounter situation after situation where they are told they are different, where they are made to feel unwelcome, where they don’t feel like they belong. Imagine watching them struggling to express their feelings to you, wondering why they don’t have friends. Imagine watching them slowly recede into isolation, spending time only with you, or by themselves. Imagine wondering – will they ever experience a romantic kiss? Will they ever know love aside from you? Imagine your heart breaking as you realize the thing you want to provide to them most – a sense of community, the joys of companionship – is beyond your ability to build by yourself. Imagine the terror that keeps you up on some nights, as you consider what life might be like for them once you are dead. Once the one person who knows them, their champion, is gone. Imagine the concern you feel, not knowing how they will fend for themselves. Sure, they may get lucky and get into a group home. But the vast majority of connections your loved one has developed inside the medical system over the years have been largely transactional, with no real depth of relationship with any of their health care providers. Sure, they know your child’s name, and can tell you up and down about their condition, but that’s about all they know. Imagine everyone telling your son or daughter what they can’t do, what they won’t be, and informing them what their very limited options are.
For so many families, this is not imagination. This is heart-wrenching reality.
Now I want you to imagine a person who comes and visits with your child weekly. Who forms a relationship with them. Who gets to know them, as an individual, not just as a collection of conditions. A person who is geared towards helping your child realize the skills and talents that they do have, that they can use to create meaning and happiness in their life. A person who will work to help build friendships and community up around your child; a network of care that will persist well into the future after you are gone. A person who walks beside your loved one, helping them find their own voice, to be able to make their own choices. A person who listens, and helps them feel understood. A person who can help bear the burden and can offer you a break. A person who, beyond the health of your child, cares about their empowerment.
I hope this helps open your eyes a bit to the importance of Independent Facilitation to both the individuals we support and their families. I encourage you strongly to read some of the first hand accounts of what the service has meant to the people actually receiving it. Here’s a video that had a strong impact on me: http://webelongwr.ca/2017/05/02/gregs-life-independent-facilitation/ Hearing what Independent Facilitation has enabled people to do in their own words is so powerful.
The project, which ran for 4 years, created positive differences in thousands of lives. Immense amounts of peace of mind was generated for parents and families, many of whom were seeing their loved ones be happier and make more progress than they ever did inside of institutions or group homes. Bridges to Belonging was provided $235k annually, which we used to successfully support 85 individuals in Waterloo region; approximately 2.5k per person per year. This is a small investment to make for a lifetime of difference.
We helped people create meaning and connection in their lives. Finding a job, joining a club, volunteering – these are all outwards signs of the real change that is happening; the creation of social networks and instances where the individuals can use their talents to give back and feel valued. To feel like they belong.
Belonging is something that everyone strives for. Independent Facilitation is about providing champions to people who need them, in order to help them find their own way and develop into their own champions. It is about individual empowerment in a way that existing institutional forms and structures are not adequately equipped to provide – by design.
This is prime space for Ontario, and Canada, to exhibit leadership in; how we treat our most vulnerable populations says more about our culture, province and country than any number of political slogans ever could. It is a crying shame to see our provincial leaders poised to their backs on it, effectively turning Ontario’s back on a significant portion of our own. Honestly, I can’t help but feel that if Doug Ford had a family member with a developmental disability, he would get it. He would be Independent Facilitation’s biggest champion instead of being the guy who is about to drop the axe on the service.
Independent Facilitation, as evidenced by numerous impact statements from individuals receiving the services, is a literally life-changing service, not just for the individual themselves, but their families as well. Providing Independent Facilitation to individuals who require it eases many downstream systemic burdens – on the healthcare system, housing, missed work for parents. The increased quality of life resulting from reduced stress on the family, as well as the self-directed aspect; helping people find their voices to make their own choices, is hard to overstate.
Most of these people live very solitary, isolated lives – not by choice – and have to deal with systems and institutions that provide certain things – money, a roof over their head perhaps, but not care for them as individuals. There is no one out there asking them – ‘what would make YOUR life better?’, and going through the steps of strategizing and determining options and a path forward. That’s what Independent Facilitation is. A much higher degree of care, which a first rate country like Canada, and a top-notch province like Ontario should be proud to offer to its vulnerable populations.
One of the biggest benefits of Independent Facilitation, above and beyond what is provided through the existing institutional approach, is the impact it has on depression and loneliness. In a community that is very prone to these feelings, many people for the first time had someone to walk with them and help guide them through how to structure a meaningful life. Through Independent Facilitation, many individuals were able to find ways to give back to their community that they otherwise would not have found – either through finding a job, joining community clubs, or volunteering. It is very human to want to feel useful, to have some sort of purpose. Independent Facilitation helped individuals who otherwise would have been overlooked to determine theirs, and helped them structure the necessary steps needed to achieve it.
In terms of economics, here are the some of the important considerations to take into account:
– a significant percentage of Independent facilitation arrangements result in gainful employment – changing a tax burden into at least a partial contributor
– reduced burden on the healthcare system – there is a strong correlation between isolation/loneliness and negative health outcomes. This is a rising concern throughout greater society – it is endemic in the communities served by Independent Facilitation.
– reduced burden through network development – every thing that a network does for an individual freely is one less thing that the government has to pay for, whether we are talking about transportation or home care.
– reduced usage of group homes etc – many people using Independent Facilitation were able to proactively find living arrangements outside of their parents that involved pairing them with people in the community. Finding living arrangements like this tends to provide better outcomes than group homes, and also frees up space in those same homes
– the relief of parents’ burden – many parents take sick days etc, and spend a considerable amount of their time and resources preparing to provide for their children. Having an Independent Facilitator frees up more of the parents bandwidth, either for further contributing activities to society or at the least reducing stress etc, improving their long-term health outlook.
Most importantly, though – this is about empowerment. Independent Facilitation helps these people find their voice, and create their own sense of belonging, just like we all try to do. It becomes it’s own living thing, not something that is given or provided to them. On the one hand, the work is performed by charities, but on the other – the people we serve aren’t given a handout. They have someone working very closely with them, going through needs identification and skill development in a very personalized way that leads to hugely successful, positive outcomes and a greater sense and amount of independence. It helps people lift themselves up, not by relying on a series of never-ending handouts, but rather by helping them develop the capacity to do it themselves, and to show them they CAN do it, sometimes in spite of a lifetime of people telling them otherwise.
Surely, this is an approach that any government, be it Conservative, Liberal, or NDP can get behind and champion forward.
This is a very powerful thing. Let’s be leaders.
Best regards,
Jamie Moffat
P.S. Certain statements made by the government indicate conclusions are being referenced from a 3rd party report, Power Analysis Inc’s ‘Evaluation of the Independent Facilitation Demonstration Project,’ supporting the merits of ending funding.
There were several flaws in the analysis of that report – faulty methodologies and over-reaching conclusions presented. The OIFN, the Ontario Independent Facilitation Network, of which we are a member-organization, prepared both a formal response to the Power Analysis, as well as a document outlining some of our own findings around Independent facilitation.
I have attached both of these documents for your review, in the hopes it will give you a clearer picture of what Independent Facilitation is, and why it is so valuable to our vulnerable communities. Thank you