More programs, services needed for adults with disabilities says Sudbury mother
Pamela Rowe of Sudbury is optimistic following a provincial report about services for adult children with disabilities.
The report from the Ontario Ombudsman stated service gaps are leaving adults with disabilities abandoned, abused and without proper care.
Rowe's 21-year-old son Alex has both mental and physical disabilities.
Rowe finds it extremely difficult to find any resources for her son. She says this is because technically Alex is an adult, but has the mind of a child.
She feels when it comes to hospital stays or medical care, adults with mental disabilities should be in a ward or semi-private room with others with similar disabilities.
Rowe also feels there isn't enough for adults with disabilities to do in Sudbury, due to a lack of funding.
She says many people can't afford to pay for programs for their grown children.
"If you don't have that funding, then they sit at home and they just wither away. That's not fair to them," says Rowe. She added these adults with disabilities should have the same quality of life as everyone else.
Rowe would like to see the provincial government provide more funding for programs and centres for younger adults in northern Ontario who have disabilities.
Rowe is the only primary caregiver for her son Alex. She says it terrifies her to wonder what might happen to him if she were to pass away.
She says she's been told if this happened, Alex would be put in a long term care home. "And he's going to be sitting there the rest of his life like this? That's not right," Rowe adds.
With files from Samantha Lui. Edited/Packaged by Angela Gemmill