The development of the Guidelines for Employment for individuals with an intellectual disability using a family lens was possible with the funding received from the Ministry of Children Community and Social Services (MCCSS) through the call for proposals for the Employment Modernization Fund and the Family Leadership.

We are grateful to our exceptional unconditional partners Brockville District Association for Community Involvement (BDACI) and Lulo Films Inc.

Kimberley Gavan guided us with her values, wisdom, expertise and experience in the provincial arena. Michael Stanley‘s inquiries around the issues that arose allowed us to clarify the journey; he was always there to support whatever was needed.

Lulo Films’ team under the leadership of Jaime Escallon put together all the information we were able to collect over the year and a half in a dynamic, easy to navigate and engaging way for families to understand Employment for those who need “third-party” support. To Lulo Films team members Elena Lombardi, Michael Montana and Laura Montenegro, we are indebted. 

Drafting and writing the proposal was possible thanks to the support from Luisa Sotomayor who provided the FSNE with her knowledge and skills in putting our ideas into a comprehensive plan.   

Families around Ontario in Brockville, Parry Sound, Sarnia, Essex County, Windsor and Toronto shared their journey, their success and failures, their dreams and hopes. It is thanks to them that we keep pushing the boundaries on what is possible. Special thanks to those families and individuals who agreed that their lives could be portrayed in our portal. They will become our inspiration. Cory and Jennifer Jarick, Julian Escallon, Marc Ceci, Scott MacHattie, Donald Stead, Noah McCann and Oliver Douglas-Cates.

Carla O’Neill; Carrie Ahrens; Rima Al-Salah and Ross MacHattie supported the work as members of the advisory committee.

When we ask Jeff Dobbin if we could use P4P amazing infrastructure to develop the content of the Webinars he was quick to respond “of course you can”. 

Service providers shared what they are working on, their challenges, and how they measure success. We heard from: Avail, Community Living Essex, Community Living Huntsville, Community Living London, Community Living Parry Sound, Community Living Sarnia, Community Living Toronto, Community Living Windsor, Evolution Group Inc., Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (School of Social and Community Services), Inclusion Alberta, LiveWorkPlay Ottawa, Ontario Disability Employment Network (ODEN), Ready Willing and Able – RW&A, Toronto Enterprise Fund (TEF).

Our most sincere thanks go to so many employment experts that have supported us in our workshops and webinars providing state of the art information about best practices: Allen Anderson, Angela Hoyt, Brad Horne, Bruce Uditsky, Chris King, Connie Laurin-Bowie, Courtney Ayukawa, Derek Roy, Diane Richler, Jacqueline Harrison, Jeannette Campbell, Joe Dale, Keenan Wellar and Michael Kalfus.

We know that what we have done is just planting a seed for future generations to come.

“Dreams bring responsibilities,” we were told. We believe that families that work together towards a common goal will become catalysts for change. Welcome to the Future!