Parents left in 'huge lurch' after centre for children with disabilities suspends respite service
CBC News | Posted: April 15, 2023 1:15 AM | Last Updated: April 15, 2023
ErinoakKids Centre for Treatment says move is a temporary measure while it works to expand services
Parents of children with disabilities say they're being left in the dark after one of Ontario's largest treatment centres for children and youth paused its services and laid off a number of staff.
ErinoakKids Centre for Treatment and Development, which has locations in Brampton, Mississauga, Oakville and Orangeville, says the move is a temporary measure while it works to expand its services.
But some affected families say the short notice, or no notice at all, has left them in a challenging position.
Natasha Lakhan says she's been a client of the centre for nine years.
Lakhan says she has two sons "who are medically fragile" with "complex needs." ErinoakKids Centre for Treatment and Development was the only organization able to take them both.
"My sons are in a wheelchair, they're epileptic, [have] ADHD... so their needs are quite complex and Erinoak was the only place that we had to give us a break," Lakhan told CBC Toronto.
Lakhan says she was counting on her boys getting respite service in May, but that's no longer available. The service, which provides short term relief to caregivers, has been cancelled until the summer.
Lakhan said she hasn't heard directly from ErinoakKids about the suspension. Instead, it was one of the terminated employees who told her what was happening.
"This service that has been so vital and so important to our family is no longer there," she said.
"These are workers that work for them from their heart... It gives us a peace of mind for them going there and we know that they're in great care. But they're no longer there.
"My son was so close to one of them, he called them grandma, and so that's gone. She's gone. So, it's quite disheartening," Lakhan added.
'Our kids cannot be left just with anybody': parent
Another parent, Sian Gray, says her 17-year-old daughter has a genetic disorder called Angelman syndrome, is non-verbal, cannot walk without assistance and also lives with epilepsy.
She says her family has been using ErinoakKids' services since her daughter was a year old, as well as their respite service since her daughter was four.
"About every quarter [she] would have a weekend overnight stay, and then she would go for one week in the summer months," Gray told CBC Toronto.
Their next respite was scheduled for the last weekend in April, during which Gray and her husband had both made plans to be away. This week, they got a call saying all the respites for the spring session had been cancelled and that the service was temporarily on hold.
Both parents say this is the first time they have experienced this kind of abrupt cancellation of services in all the years they have been clients of the centre.
"This leaves parents in a huge lurch. Our kids cannot be left just with anybody. They require 24/7 care to meet their medical needs," Gray said.
"I think they have to take some responsibility for the way they've cancelled it."
Expansion requires pause in service: ErinoakKids
ErinoakKids Centre for Treatment and Development did not address questions about why parents weren't given further notice about the move.
In a statement, the centre said that as a result of recent fundraising and donations, it will be able to offer service on a more continuous basis, and to more families.
According to ErinoakKids' communications director Leona Hollingsworth, that expansion requires a short pause in service to redesign and reschedule the program to make it available up to 44 weeks per year for about 40 per cent more families than it serves today.
"Given more resources, we will also be able to move away from the use of casual staff in providing this program to offering full and part-time permanent positions to those interested in supporting children with disabilities, including, we hope, some of those staff who have worked with us casually in the past," said in an emailed statement.
"In this way, we will provide increased service and continuity of care to clients and families, as well as more stable employment options for staff."
Hollingsworth added that "this is a good news story, made possible by the generous support of community philanthropists."
"We look forward to welcoming back both existing and new families when we resume respite service, approximately mid-summer," Hollingsworth said.