In our community we have an organization that owns a number of group homes where it provides care and accommodation for those who are intellectually challenged.
A number of communities across the Prairies do likewise, and in doing so they help all of us appreciate that the seeds for humane sensitivity are more fundamental than we recognize.
The movement toward community care for those who are intellectually challenged represents a radical change in the care we, as a society, offer those who find the complexities of the present world too difficult for them to survive on their own.
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As late as the 1960s, people who were intellectually challenged were housed in large institutions. As many as 80 to 100 people shared one ward, with male and female wards separated by locked doors. Most of them spent their days sitting against the walls in day rooms; their evenings crowded into large dormitories.
Their cots were not more than a metre apart and their few personal belongings were limited to what would fit into the drawers at the bottom of chairs adjacent to the beds. Bathroom facilities were not as private as they could have been and shower stalls were often designed to accommodate four people washing at the same time.
The patients, as they were called, had little or no freedom, were seldom given the opportunity for a moment of privacy and were usually dressed in institutional clothing provided by the care facility.
Despite the best efforts of many of the people who were employed in the institutions, life was not good there.
I am not sure what finally caused the change in the care for those who are intellectually challenged, but I can say that I love what I see happening. Group homes give them the opportunity to enjoy home life not all that different than the homes most of us cherish and enjoy.
For many of them, living in smaller communities is an added bonus. They can become familiar with the community and wander around without fear of getting lost or confused. They get to know ladies in the convenience stores and they have their favourite pews when they go to church on Sunday.
Most of us have learned to take for granted the benefits we have earned through the development of technological sophistication. What we sometimes forget is that as our world becomes more technocratic, it also becomes more complicated. The complexities are overwhelming to those who are intellectually challenged. They cannot survive on their own.
But they are, after all, people first, and only intellectually challenged secondarily. They have the same needs for security, for love and attention, for a few friends and for respect for their personal privacy, that all of us have.
That we have so many people in our communities working to ensure that personal needs for the disabled are being recognized is nothing less than meritorious.
To complete the picture, the rest of us can smile warmly, show respect and care about those who might otherwise struggle.
Jacklin Andrews is a family counsellor, living and working in west-central Saskatchewan who has taught social work for two universities. Mail correspondence in care of Western Producer, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or e-mail jandrews@producer.com.
