When she was asked to predict the future for inclusion Powell River, executive director Lilla Tipton paused for a moment and said that could be hard to do. She then was able to forecast what she sees.
“One thing for certain, government funding will continue to decrease. There is a lot of pressure and challenges for non-profits.”
Tipton has worked in that sector for decades. Her experience with people with intellectual challenges is both personal and professional. She has a younger sibling with Down Syndrome. Returning to Powell River, where she went to high school, from Prince George in 1995, she went to work for inclusion Powell River. One of the reasons she came back was to spend time with her aging mother and she “was tired of shovelling snow.”
While in the Interior city, she was a founder and developer of the handiDART program before it was taken over by the province and expanded throughout BC.
She started with inclusion Powell River as manager for the day programs and the employment/life skills program.
With expected cuts in the future, inclusion Powell River is looking at ways to be sustainable, to ensure continuation of services for the clients it serves.
“One of the things inclusion Powell River is looking at is social enterprise,” Tipton said, adding that the association is “a little ahead of the curve” in that regard.
Looking at expanding services to children and their families, the association also is looking into providing childcare for clients and typical children. Research undertaken by inclusion Powell River indicates there is a need for additional childcare in Powell River. With trained staff and a building— Community Living Place that can be modified for different levels of daycare—the association could be a provider, if everything falls into place.
“CLP sits on 11 acres so part of the learning can be growing and eating healthy food,” said Tipton.
More services for seniors will be part of inclusion Powell River’s future. Currently the organization is contracted by United Way of the Lower Mainland to deliver the Better At Home program to assist seniors to remain in their own homes by providing non-medical services. “It’s going very well,” explains Tipton. “Both United Way and we are pleased with the number of people we are assisting and the number of volunteers who have come forward.”
The services being provided are not available for those without the ability to pay, elsewhere in the community, she added. A sliding scale for some services to those able to pay means the program can help additional seniors and provide volunteers who take people to appointments or grocery shopping with a mileage stipend.
Another social enterprise that inclusion Powell River is investigating is seniors’ housing. It co-owns vacant land that can be developed for such a purpose.
In anticipation of a growing number of people with mobility issues, the association also is researching how to use its fleet of accessible vehicles to make them available to seniors and others using wheelchairs and scooters who require specialized transportation, when the handiDART is not available.
AiMHi Prince George Association for Community Living started a successful partnership with Value Village to collect clothing in bins. “That was the inspiration for us to begin that kind of fundraising,” said Tipton, adding that inclusion Powell River is awaiting delivery of branded bins. The association has secured locations around the community where the bins will be placed. “Research from inclusion BC indicates that only five per cent of households recycle used clothing.”
In terms of the people inclusion Powell River serves, Tipton sees a future where more of them are working, and starting with jobs at a young age, after school and weekends, like typical 15-year-olds do.
She sees more clients living in the community, with the level of support they require. “There will be fewer group homes and more people living independently or in home-shares for those who need more supervision,” said Tipton.
She also sees more people with intellectual disabilities attending post-secondary programs.
“I see them out more in the community, volunteering and giving back, more involved in sporting activities, participating and enjoying all the amenities that are offered here.”
Tipton envisions more community connections and networks for people inclusion Powell River has been serving for 60 years. “I see them being invited out for coffee, dinner, parties, having more friends. Personal networks have been set up for many people and we’re looking for them to happen more organically. It has started but the experiment goes on as we figure out how to nurture them without it seeming artificial.”
What she does not envision in the future is a decrease in the number of people requiring services of inclusion Powell River. “Community Living BC is showing an increase of six per cent per year of people with intellectual disabilities needing services. In this community, at least a half a dozen new families per year come to us needing what we offer.”
