Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Bobbi Ann Brady met with Community Living Access team members recently to learn about how an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant was put to use.
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CLA received a $28,000 grant in July 2022 from the Resilient Communities Fund of the OTF that provided staff training for in-house trainers and reliable interviewers.
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The training was designed to build up team resilience and to address trauma experienced due to isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This grant demonstrates the diversity of causes the Ontario Trillium Foundation assists,” said Brady. “Shutdowns associated with COVID-19 impacted many people in different ways. This programming addresses one of those areas that might be overlooked.”
The trainers were able to train other CLA staff members in the use of personal outcome measures, a system of measuring the impact of services on the lives of CLA clients.
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Reliable interviewer skills allowed those with the certification to interview CLA clients and garner feedback on how the services work for them.
“Resiliency and revitalization are two words we have all embraced as we rebound from the many challenges of the past three years,” said Tricia Morris, executive director for CLA. “The impact of the pandemic not only took a large toll on the people who welcomed us into their lives and homes but also on our incredible staff who helped the people we support cope with a multitude of hardships and life transitions.
“I would like to express our warmest thanks to the Ontario Trillium Foundation for their support as we rebuild our capacity in providing our staff the tools and knowledge to empower the people we support to reengage in the community per their goals and dreams.”
Begun in 1991 after the closing of many larger institutions across the province, the CLA’s mission is to advocate with, support and empower people with disabilities to live the lives they choose with individualized and community-based services and supports.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the provincial government last year invested $110 million in 1,022 community projects and partnerships with the aim to build vibrant and healthy communities.
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