Fight to save centre for disabled adults continues

The fight continues to save a care facility for adults with developmental disabilities in Red Deer.

Earlier this month, the provincial government announced plans to close the Michener Centre by next April.

Friends and family of people who live there have organized a series of public meetings throughout the region this week to try to keep the facility open.

Gordon Pearce, whose son Gary has been at the centre his whole adult life, said he's worried about where he will end up.

"I have no idea. That's what worries me and it worries a lot of other people. You know, we're 83-years-old. He's happy where he is and has been there for 20-some years. It's a terrible move on the part of the government," Pearce said.

About 125 people call the Michener Centre home, a sprawling facility that’s been in operation since 1923 and once had more than 2,000 residents.

Government officials have said the needs of the people at Michener would be better met elsewhere.

But 85-year-old Mildred Miller, whose son David has been living at Michener since he was a teenager, disagrees.

She said even though her son does not speak, she knows he is happy at the centre.

"He’s had the best care that could possibly be given to him," she said.