Filling a need: Centre for adults with disabilities expands

When Joanne Bouchard opened the first Adult Enrichment Center in Sudbury last year, she had ambitious plans to expand throughout the northeast, but she never expected that growth would happen as quickly as it has.

On June 2, exactly one year after Bouchard launched the first centre on Lasalle Boulevard, she and her team opened a second centre on the same block.

“Demand is there, so we have to provide the service,” she said.

The Adult Enrichment Center provides full-day programs for adults with developmental disabilities, and teaches them a wide range of skills — from workforce preparation to basic math — after they've graduated from high school.

The first centre, located at 1895 Lasalle Blvd., reached its capacity with 45 regulars. The new centre, only a few steps away at 1899 Lasalle, will allow Bouchard and her team expand services – with more options for physical activity, for instance – while also increasing the number of people they can accommodate.

Bouchard already plans to open a third centre in Sault Ste. Marie, and has also eyed North Bay as a possible market for expansion.

She has also been able to hire new employees to help participants learn and grow in a safe environment.

Jeremy Beauvais, a recent graduate from Collège Boréal's paramedic program, was brought in to organize sports programing for more high-functioning participants.

Bouchard also hired Danielle Serré to run an employment opportunities program in collaboration with the YMCA. Five people have already signed up to learn employment skills.

The Adult Enrichment Center's explosive growth in the last year, said Bouchard, points to the “huge lack of services” available to adults with developmental disabilities.

Sudbury Developmental Services administers the Jarrett Resource Centre, a program that helps adults with developmental disabilities find work, but there isn't much else available for people who are no longer in the school system, say parents.

One of those parents, Carmen Papineau, said the Adult Enrichment Center was the answer to her prayers.
Her daughter Mélissa, 21, started going to the centre last September, and in April, thanks to funding from the provincial Passport program, she was able to go five days a week.

“When your child is happy, there's no better feeling,” Papineau said. “I've been praying for this for many years.”

For a five-day week, attending the Adult Enrichment Center can cost anywhere from $312.50 for basic care, to $500 for complex care.

For many families, the Ministry of Community and Social Services' Passport program helps cover those costs.

There are an estimated 65,000 adults with developmental disabilities in Ontario and more than 15,000 have access to the Passport direct funding program.

Bouchard said since she opened the first centre in 2014 the province has made great strides to increase access to the Passport program.

Through an $810-million investment, the province plans to increase its $1.7-billion developmental services budget to more than $2 billion by 2016.

In March, the province announced it had eliminated the 2014 wait list for the program more than a year ahead of schedule.

Thanks to its recent expansion the Adult Enrichment Center is ready to accept new participants.

Anyone interested in their slate of programing should visit the centre's website or call Bouchard directly, at 705-470-7474.