Our deepest thanks to the families behind My Place Adult Services Inc. After 20 years of fundraising in Orillia, the families were looking for a charity that could fulfill their goal of residential services for adults with disabilities, and they chose the Empower Simcoe Foundation. The legacy of their fundraising will be a new home or facility in Orillia, to be announced by Empower Simcoe in the near future.

Journey to Belonging: Choice and Inclusion lays out the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services’ long-term vision for developmental services in Ontario, where people with developmental disabilities are supported so they can participate and live meaningful lives in their communities and have access to the same opportunities and services as their fellow Ontarians.  It’s recognizing that being included in the community is about being respected and feeling welcomed.

During Black History Month and as part of our commitment to educating, making change, and celebrating the richness of Black history and culture, we learned how a number of our Empower Simcoe Black employees and people receiving services celebrated their history and culture.

Every month, Empower Simcoe conducts Reliability interviews to gain valuable insight into the lives of children, youth, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Based on The Council on Quality and Leadership’s twenty-one Personal Outcome Measure indicators, Empower Simcoe Reliability Interviews cover various topics, including choice, health, safety, social capital, relationships, rights, employment, and more.  Each interview helps to form a truly person-centered plan and tracks progress in implementing that plan to provide a reliable measurement of individual quality of life.