1

Mission statement : “Empower people with an intellectual disability to live, learn,

work and participate in their community.”

Community Support Program

Access www.communitylivingyorksouth.ca

Chương trình hỗ trợ cộng đồng 社區支援計劃 کمیونٹی کی مدد کے پروگرام சமூக ஆதரவு திட்டம் Programma comunitario di sostegno

Programa comunitario de apoyo برنامه حمایت اجتماعی

THE ACCESS NEWSLETTER

UW Kick Off – “Halloween Slay for United Way” CLYS’s annual United Way of York Region Campaign Kick-off – “Halloween Slay for United Way” was held on October 29

th,

2014, while staff and people supported got to celebrate the Hal-loween spirit. The event began with opening regards from Ritu Singarayer, our Community Support Program/Respite Services Supervi- sor and Claudette Zabsonre, Cam- paign Representative from United Way. Sarah H. shared her story of how CLYS has impacted her life in a positive way and that it wouldn’t have been possible without the generous contributions from UWYR to their member agencies like CLYS. We would like to sincerely thank Gourmet Group of Companies for graciously sponsoring the food for the event. Programs were invited to participate in the Basket Competition. Each team was responsible to create the best basket in any of the following 3 categories: Best Fall Themed, Spookiest and Most Creative. The winning teams won pizza lunch and the wonderful baskets were given out as raffle prizes to staff and people supported. The prizes didn’t end here. All at- tendees had the chance to win prizes for best costumes and door prizes.

January 2015 Issue

UW Kick off Event………………..1

Meet the Team…………………...2

UW Gifts…………………………..2

UW Day of Caring………………..3

Wills and Trust Workshop..……..3

YRT Assistance Card……………4

Road to Financial Independ- ence……………………………...4-5

Tuck Shop Open House………...5

As part of the Strategic Plan 2013-2016, CLYS committed to providing accurate information in accessi-ble formats and communicate information to all stakeholders. The Access Newsletter is one of the communication methods. It is published quarterly and presents to you what’s going on in outreach.

ENJOY!!!

Passport Funding Tip Sheet…………….6-7

Costco Update...…………………………...8

Passport Mentoring Story…………………8

Marketplace Calendars………………..9-10

Community and Parent Run Pro-grams………………………………………11

Program Flyers………………………..12-16

Inside this Issue

2

Ellen Chan Community Support Coordinator (Provides support in Mandarin and Cantonese) 905 884 9110 ext. 267 Email: echan@communitylivingyorksouth.ca

Tharini Tharmalingam Community Support Coordinator (Provides support in Tamil) 905-884-9110 ext. 703 Email: ttharmalin-gam@communitylivingyorksouth.ca

Sadia Shaukat Community Support Coordinator) (Provides support in Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu) 905-884-9110 ext. 640 Email: sshaukat@communitylivingyorksouth.ca

Ritu Singarayer Community Support Program/ Respite Services Supervisor 905 884 9110 ext. 523 Email: rsingarayer@communitylivingyorksouth.ca

THE ACCESS NEWSLETTER

Gifts for United Way This holiday season, participants of some of the Parent Operated Programs (the Saturday Tamil Youth Group, Amaz-ing Girls’ Group, Girls’ Youth Group, and Girls on the Go

Group) came together on a Sat-urday in December to create gifts for United Way Cabinet members. The Girls on the Go Group participants used their creativity in creating and paint-ing pottery while the other group participants were involved in a variety of canvas activities. They used different techniques, including painting, stamping, gluing buttons and finger painting to design their master pieces. Some participants worked in partners while others worked individually. Everyone loved the different styles of can-

vasing and pottery and we ended up with 30 uniquely made pieces for the staff at United Way of York Region. We are so grateful for the continual support of United Way of York Region and honored to be given this op-portunity.

Meet Your Community Support Program Team Community Support Team provides support and services to people who have intellectual disability and their families all across Southern York Re-

gion and in various languages.

3

United Way York Region’s spring Day of Caring took place on Thursday, May

15th

, 2014! Day of Caring® is a joint initiative between United Way of York Region, partner agencies and volun-teers who come together to complete meaningful agency projects. Staff from various companies, organizations or groups work with a United Way member agency to complete a hands-on project like painting, gardening or building renovations. This year Community Living York South staff and people supported did gardening at our Richmond Hill location during Day of Caring. Hats off for all their hard work to improve our environment.

Wills, Trust & Estate Planning—Workshop Responding to language needs of families, CLYS hosted a

workshop on “Will, Trust & Estate Planning” in Mandarin on

Oct 25, 2014 at Welcome Centre North. Barrister and Solici-

tor Iris Sze Mui Chung was the guest speaker. A total of 15

Chinese parents attended the workshop. The workshop

covered the fol-

lowing topics:

Power of Attor-

ney, Public

Guardian, Trustee

of Ontario for person with special needs, Wills, Henson

Trust and Insurance. Parents shared that the workshop

was very helpful in providing them relevant and useful in-

formation. They felt very comfortable, as they were able

to ask questions and share concerns in Mandarin. Also,

they were better able to understand and gain more

knowledge in planning the future for their children.

THE ACCESS NEWSLETTER

4

Support Person Assistance Card Effective January 1, 2015, YRT/Viva customers who need to be accompanied by a support person are required to carry a YRT/Viva Support Person Assistance Card. The Support Person Assistance Card is a photo card that identifies the cardholder as a person who, because of their disability, needs to be accompanied by a support person. The Support Person Assistance Card permits a support person to travel on YRT/Viva with the eligible fare-paying customer (cardholder) at no additional cost. Customers with disabilities who travel with a support person on YRT/Viva must apply for the Support Person Assistance Card. The card is valid for a maximum period of three years and must be renewed upon expiry. A cardholder may travel with different support persons at different times. Additional companions must pay a fare.

On the Road to Financial Independence...3 Ideas Used to Assist My Son Background: My son is 30 years old, globally delayed and has an intellectual disability. He is expected to live an av-erage life span. He is my only child. Present Situation: Like all parents, my wife and I worry about his future…where he will live, his lifestyle, safety, friends, daily activities and very importantly, the money he will require to live a dignified life. To assist with his financial security, here is what I have done… Registered Disability Savings Plan The federal registered disability savings plan works like an assisted savings plan and since this pro-gram began in 2008 I have deposited $1,500 every year. With grants and bonds from the federal gov-ernment and the growth in the investments, my sons account is worth $56,000 as of Oct., 2014. I will continue to deposit $1,500 every year. Why…because the federal government has promised to give my son a total of $70,000 in grants(Canada Disability Savings Grant) plus $20,000 in bonds(Canada Disability Savings Bond) over 20 years. It is important to note that this plan will not interfere in any way with his monthly Ontario Disability Support Plan (ODSP) payments or with his entitlement to OAS (Old Age Security) or GIS (Guaranteed Income Supplement) later in life.

For further details on eligibility and the sums that you can expect, Google R.D.S.P. (Registered Dis-ability Savings Plan) and get all the needed information. Life Insurance My wife and I have taken a permanent joint life insurance (joint costs less) which has a death benefit of little over $500,000. We took it quite some years ago and pay a premium of approximately $335 per month. The life insurance proceeds are meant to flow into a Henson Trust I have set up for our son so that it does not in any way effect his Ontario Disability Support Plan (ODSP) payments and, as we con-tinue to pay more premiums, the life insurance value will continue to increase.

Now, your circumstances may be different, but the concepts are sound. So, ask an insurance spe-cialist to assist you with your tailor-made solution.

Registered Disability Savings Plan— (An Additional Benefit to be kept in mind) As I mentioned earlier, by contributing $1,500 per year for 20 years, I will have contributed $30,000 to my son’s registered disability savings plan; the federal government in turn will have contrib-uted a total of $70,000 in grants and $20,000 in bonds, plus there will be growth in the investments over 20 years. CONT’D...

THE ACCESS NEWSLETTER

5

CONT’D...

It should be noted the government allows you to contribute a maximum of $200,000 into a reg-istered disability savings plan. I know at the end of 20 years I will have contributed only $30,000 which means I can contribute another $170,000 into his plan. One of the ways I can do this is by the rollover of my Registered Retirement Savings Plan, or my wife’s plan, into the Registered Disability Savings Plan without any taxation upon our death. It means I have the potential of contributing anoth-er $170,000 to my son’s benefit; all I have to do is make my son the beneficiary of my registered re-tirement savings plan. So, if everything works well, I will have left a legacy of approximately $200,000 in my son’s Registered Disability Savings Plan, about $500,000 in life insurance and the potential of a rollover of a further $170,000 into his Registered Disability Savings Plan from my registered retirement savings plan or my wife’s Registered Retirement Savings Plans. Seems quite a decent amount, doesn’t it? Where is the money coming from to do all of the above?

In my case, I can tell you that I do not make a lot of money. The above steps are about lever-aging my money to buy more money with the passage of time. To summarize, Registered Disability Support Plan contributions of $125 per month; life insurance premiums of $335 per month and my tax deductible Registered Retirement Savings Plan contributions. All these decisions I have made are to help my son. It costs me $460 per month for the first two ideas and the last is for my retirement or to be contributed to my son’s Registered Disability Support Plan in the event of my death. The $460 per month may come from my son’s income or his grandparents/relatives might pitch in.

These are just examples to explain the possibilities. I’m sure you will agree that the three ideas

are solid and we must act now to protect the financial future of our children. General Disclaimer: These are just suggestions and should be discussed with an insurance &/

or investment advisor before acting on them. This article has been contributed by Surjit Sachdev, an insurance specialist, who may be con-

tacted at s.sachdev@sympatico.ca or (905) 471-8174 for any clarification.

Tuck Shop—Open House: With the ongoing support of CLYS, Silver Linings Family Circle was created in Dec 2013 to provide individuals with an intellectual disability an opportunity to lead a meaning-ful life once they graduate from high school. A group of 8 families came together and rented out a space in Leisure-world Caregiving Centre Richmond Hill to plant the seed for the Tuck Shop. The shop sells gifts, snacks, bagels, samosas and coffee to the residents and staff of Leisure-world and is run by people with an intellectual disability. By working at the shop, the individuals have gained more confidence and learned basic computer, customer service, interpersonal and money management skills and most of all teamwork. The families were successful in receiving the Youth Opportunities Fund in early 2014 to hire a facilitator who can overlook the Tuck Shop and support the individuals at work. Silver Linings Family Circle hosted an open house on Nov 14, 2014 to share their success with the community. It was a proud moment for CLYS, as they saw families come together to create opportuni-ties for their son/daughter with an intellectual disability within their community.

THE ACCESS NEWSLETTER

6

Passport Funding Tip Sheet:

THE ACCESS NEWSLETTER

7 THE ACCESS NEWSLETTER

8 THE ACCESS NEWSLETTER

“Expressing Through Art”—A Student-Mentor Match

The Passport Mentoring Program was implemented in Markham in August 2013. Within one year of starting the program, 26 students were matched with mentors in their field of interest. From August to December 2014– the program was able to provide mentorship opportunities to an additional 10 people supported. Below is a success story of a student-mentor match. Abilaash Kandeepan is a grade 10 student currently enrolled at Bur Oaks Secondary School with the interest in sensory art, using tools like sponges or his fingers. I decided that since Abilaash has an in-terest in exploring his emotions through art, to find an urban artist for him. This is where Saffron Fran-cis comes in. Saffron is an urban artist who uses the emotions of animals to express her emotions. She has been creating art with different techniques and using different tools since high school and has furthered this interest into college and now has an art exhibition that will be happening at the Regent Park Community Centre later this month.

Saffron had no idea what to expect when she first met Abilaash, but after flipping through pieces of neatly put together art projects that Abilaash’s mom, Anuradha K. brought to the meeting, she con-cluded that they are “even better than some of my own abstract art.” The first art project that Abilaash and Saffron created together was a hand piece, where they traced their hands on a piece of paper twice, overlapping them. They then proceeded to color the different pieces of the overlapping hands with different colors. Because Saffron enjoyed meeting Abilaash so much, she asked if she could meet him several times after to create more art pieces. Abilaash’s fa-ther, Kandeepan P. and I ended the meet by jokingly saying that Abilaash could “possibly sell,” his art pieces. - By Mandy Li

Costco Update: Ready, Willing and Able (RW&A) is a national initiative designed to build and increase employer confidence and demand to hire people with intellectual disabilities and peo-ple with autism spectrum disorder. CLYS has been an ac-tive member of the RW&A initiative in York Region since October 2013, resulting in 11 people successfully securing employment oppor-tunities with four Costco locations across Southern York region. CLYS will con-

tinue to work with the RW&A team to help build more job opportunities for people with an intel-lectual disability.

As part of the Strategic Plan 2013-2016, CLYS committed to develop and maintain collaboratives and partnerships within the community to increase service options and create inclusive community models. The 2 articles below outline some of the things that we are doing….

9 THE ACCESS NEWSLETTER

Markham & Stouffville:

Marketplace programs and Parent Operated Programs have been created in communication and collab-oration with families and people supported in an effort to create flexible service models that will meet support needs and enhance service quality to people in service and their families. Another progression towards 2013-2016 Strategic Plan. Pages 9-11 of the Access Newsletter outlines the Marketplace pro-grams and Parent Operated Programs.

10

Richmond Hill:

Vaughan:

THE ACCESS NEWSLETTER

11 THE ACCESS NEWSLETTER

Current Parent Operated Programs

Parent operated programs are one of our strongest run-

ning groups, with parents taking the initiative to facilitate

and launch new programs with the guidance of the

Community Support Coordinators. Currently, the follow-

ing programs are running in each area:

Markham:

Crafts and Cooking Program - runs every Sunday

evening from 6:30pm to 8:30pm; activities include

baking, learning how to make sandwiches, etc.

Yoga - runs every Saturday from 6:30 to 7:30pm

and is facilitated by a trained yoga instructor.

Girls on the GO Group (ages 15+): runs every

Saturday from 11:30am to 2:30pm, starting Jan 10th

to Feb 28th (total of 8 sessions). The program aims

to improve self-esteem, encourage experiential

learning and much more.

Amazing Girls Group (ages 16+): runs every Sat-

urday from 2-5pm.

Girls Youth Group (ages 15+): runs every 1st and

3rd Saturday of each month from 10am—1pm at

Welcome Centre Markham North

Richmond Hill:

Building Friendship Program (ages 10+)—runs

every Wednesday from 7-9pm; starting from Feb

11th to Apr 8th. Activities include: bowling, bingo,

drumming, pottery & much more

Autism Spectrum Social Group: runs every Satur-

day from 11am-12:30pm starting Jan 10th. Meeting

will be held bi-weekly.

Vaughan:

Friday Night Club — runs every Friday from 6:30-

9pm starting Feb 6th to Apr 10th (total of 10 ses-

sions). Participants engage in various activities such

as arts/crafts, cooking, music and dance, etc.

To register for any of the above programs, please

contact the Community Support Coordinators

(please refer to page 2 of the newsletter).

Cooking Easy Snacks —> Marketplace: When: January 7, 14, 21 and 28, 2015 Where: Fortinos - 3940 Highway 7, Woodbridge ON, L4L 1A6 Time: 1:30pm to 3:30pm Cost: $60.00 per person For more information or to register, please con-tact: market-place@communitylivingyorksouth.ca or 905 884 9110 ext. 450

Other Programs Being Offered in the Area

12 THE ACCESS NEWSLETTER

13 THE ACCESS NEWSLETTER

14 THE ACCESS NEWSLETTER

UPCOMING FREE RDSP INFORMATION SESSIONS!!!

The Registered Disability Savings Plan can help you save for the future. If you or someone you know has a disability and is under 50 years old, find out how the Government of Canada may help, even if you don’t have money to contribute.

The information sessions will be held from 6:30pm-8pm at the follow-ing locations, on the specified dates below:

1. VAUGHAN on Thursday March 26th, 2015 Location: TBA

2. MARKHAM on Monday April 13th, 2015

5694 Highway 7 East, Unit #13, Markham, ON L3P 0E3

3. RICHMOND HILLL on Wednesday May 20th, 2015 101 Edward Ave, Richmond Hill, ON L4C 5E5

Register today to find out more and to request accommodation! To RSVP, please contact Sadia Shaukat at 905 884 9110 ext. 640

Information sessions are scent-free environments.

This session is funded by the Government of Canada.

15 THE ACCESS NEWSLETTER

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS!!!

Community Living York South in partnership with Partners for Planning is hosting 2 focus groups for families. We are interested in learning about your experience with Partners for Planning Resource Network. What did we do well? What can we do better? The 2 focus groups are organized on the same day at different times. Please see below: Date: Tuesday March 3rd, 2015 Location: 5694 Highway 7 East, Unit #13 Markham, ON L3P 0E3 Time: 6:00 to 7:30pm OR 7:30 to 9:00pm Interested families can register for one of the time slots.

***Families will receive a $100 visa gift card for participating in the focus group.*** To REGISTER, please contact Tharini Tharmalingam at 905 884 9110 ext. 703 or via email at ttharmalingam@communitylivingyorksouth.ca

16 THE ACCESS NEWSLETTER

REGISTER NOW!!!