St.Amant has announced an important shift in the services they provide. The organisation, which supports children and adults with developmental disabilities and autism, has been moving towards de-institutionalization for many years and on May 31st, 2022, announced that they are officially no longer a developmental centre.
“We’ve been working for years to change our model from a developmental centre,” explains CEO John Leggat. “Why are we making this shift? We know that those we support have a significantly higher quality of life when they are in the community.”
St.Amant will still be providing long-term and short-term care to families in Manitoba, it’s simply the model of care that has shifted. Instead of people living in an institutional setting at 440 River Road, those supported by St.Amant will live in group homes in their community.
“The fundamental difference between an institution and a home is just that – it’s a home,” clarifies Leggat. “When someone gets up in the morning, they have a say in what time they get going, they have input into grocery shopping, they can help prepare their food. Everything you and I do to maintain a home has now become a choice for the people we’re supporting. They can go into their backyard whenever they feel like it, they can go to the park or the mall or anywhere they’d like with their support worker.”
The shift towards community living is backed up by research that has been carried out by the St.Amant Research Centre in partnership with the University of Manitoba. “There wasn’t very much research in this area,” Leggat admits. “Our research team has done that work. We’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to get this data. Between the research and anecdotal evidence, quality of live improves when folks leave an institutional setting. Even health indicators went up!”
Leggat also admits that the transition hasn’t been easy for everyone. Over the past several years, St.Amant has transitioned 75 individuals into community homes, with another 60 to go. “Historically, some of those we support we admitted to 440 River Road and thought they would stay there forever,” he explains. “We’re having to work through those situations individually; some families feel that they were promised their child or sibling would stay in an institutional setting forever. We know it’s hard to change, and we’re doing everything we can to make this a smooth transition.”
Even those with medical requirements are often great candidates for living in a community home. “We have nurses that are out in the community, training staff, monitoring health conditions, and adapting as required,” continues Leggat. “Plus, many of the people we support don’t need medical care at all.”
The space at 440 River Road will continue to welcome folks from the community through its doors in several capacities. Currently, it houses a school and several programming spaces, plus a sensory pool and other amenities. It will also welcome Manitobans for short-term care, whether that be stabilization, crisis care or palliative care, to name a few.
St.Amant follows a person-centred model, which means not all of those who are currently living at 440 River Road will transition to St.Amant community homes. “We start with the basics: where would you like to live? Who do you want to support you?” Leggat explains. “That might mean living in a different area or working with a different agency. We want what’s best for those we support and their families. We want them to have choice and autonomy from the start.”