December 3, 2014 Acorn Financial Services 210 Kortright Road West #5, Guelph N1G 4X2 Dear Acorn Financial Services,
As the holidays approach and I reflect on the milestones we’ve achieved together in 2014, I’m particularly mindful of the special people we serve. Frank is one of those special people, and his poignant story says so much about the power and dignity of community living.
Meet Frank
Born in 1960, Frank was just 4 years old when he was placed in an institution on the advice of a family doctor. Like the thousands of developmentally disabled Canadians of his era, he grew up in an environment that was more hospital than home, and where loneliness, anxiety and the inability to communicate were everyday struggles.
It wasn’t until Frank came to Hillsburgh in 2006 – and began receiving support through Community Living Guelph Wellington – that he really started to live.
Frank’s support worker, Ashley, says that many of the behaviours Frank demonstrated after being institutionalized for so long have disappeared, and she’s thrilled to see how far he has come, living in a house that is truly a home.
“Where we are today is a complete ‘180’,” Ashley explains. “He’s able to communicate, use his words, and remove himself from situations that are bothering him. Just to be able to say ‘no thank you’ or ‘yes please’ to something, to communicate friendship to his peers and the staff and his housemates….his ability to do these things has grown tremendously.”
Frank has also been able to reconnect with his family after a chance encounter in 2006 with his brother John, whom he hadn’t seen for decades. That joyful reunion in Fergus led to get-togethers with the rest of Frank’s siblings and a solid relationship that continues to this day. His sense of connectedness, of being engaged in his community, of enjoying the small pleasures in life – like the sights and smells of a farm – has breathed new life into Frank’s world. “Looking back at when I got to know Frank until now… I can’t imagine him not having been given the opportunity to become who he is today,” Ashley says.