Community Living Sarnia-Lambton (CLSL) is highlighting the impact of recent grant funding on supporting the organization's ongoing efforts to improve the way staff support residents and their families.
Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey met with Community Living members on Friday to hear about how a $38,000 Resilient Communities Funding grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) has benefitted the organization.
“Community Living Sarnia-Lambton is an invaluable organization in our region, providing life-changing service and support to their clients and family members," Bailey said. "This investment will ensure staff at Community Living Sarnia-Lambton have all the tools necessary to continue delivering their high levels of service.”
CLSL Executive Director Corry Thomas said they applied for OTF funding in late 2023 and were approved in the spring of 2024. He said the funds will be fully spent as of the end of October.
"It was invested in a series of training and organizational development initiatives, so a big portion went to person-centred care to have them learn how to partner with clients and families," Thomas said.
Other initiatives included leadership development, management coaching, psychological first aid training, and safe management training for facilitators and front-line staff.
CLSL Board Chair Jenny Greensmith said almost all of the nearly 300 staff members benefited from these learning opportunities.
"Training like this is so beneficial," Greensmith said. "It trickles down the organization as well so you train one staff, and then the next one coming in is then privy to the information as well. It's one of the ways we can provide excellent care to the people we serve."
Thomas said the goal is for some of the topics, such as diversity and equity training, to become embedded in the culture of how things are done.
While grateful for the funding, both Thomas and Greensmith agreed they will seek additional funds from the provincial government.
"They're getting quite a return on their investment with $38,000, we made it really go a long way," Thomas said, as he noted future needs for additional training. "I think we're also looking at continuing to build our approaches -- more innovative approaches to care, so that will require some additional infusion of funds to support that development work in the organization."
Thomas said as a charitable organization, they're also looking at diversifying their streams of revenue, whether that's through grants, donations, or lobbying.
"We've had about a six per cent increase to our base funding in the last 30 years [while] the cost of living has gone up over 60 per cent," Thomas said. "It's very challenging for us and it will continue to be so, so I still want to be consistently on the record that we need investments."
Community Living provides a range of supports and services to those living with intellectual and/or other disabilities, as well as their families.
