Residential Services
A variety of community residential options for adults and children are available. Homes may provide permanent or relief placements depending on availability and need. Each home is staffed and designed to meet needs in areas such as life skills, social skills and behavioural support. Some homes are accessible and able to support more involved physical or health-related needs. Support is also available to those living independently and requiring the services of a counsellor only a few hours weekly.
Respite Services
Respite Services are offered through the residential services of Community Living Cambridge. Currently there are three adult beds and one children’s bed that may be accessed to allow for care givers to plan for the person’s stay in a supervised, structured setting. Length of stays vary and are arranged on a case by case basis. The fees charged for each nights stay are the responsibility of the care giver. This service may be accessed by first ensuing that the person is registered with the Developmental Services Access Centre (DSAC) and that the referral package is forwarded to the respite services of this agency. Arrangements will then be made for an interview and tour of the various sites to determine candidates suitability and level of care required. Respite beds may be booked one month in advance, although special considerations may be made to accommodate future planning for extended trips, by contacting the association and speaking with the Manager responsible for respite services. For further respite information within the region refer to www.respiteservices.com
If you want more information about eligibility and the access process for this service, or to determine if these respite services may meet your needs, please contact the Regional Respite Coordinator, Tracey Anne Corrigan at the Developmental Services Access Centre (DSAC) at 519-741-1121 or Barb Foster, On Call Manager here at Community Living Cambridge at 519-623-7490 x4460.
NEW! ODSP News
Work Related Benefits
Beginning in November 2006 ODSP introduced an incentive program for people who are currently receiving monthly benefits, and who are pursuing employment and training. This is referred to as Work Related Benefits and includes those people involved with ARC Incustries or any employument programs.
This is the way that this benefit is calculated....
1. The total amount of any wages/training allowance that an individual receives from the 16th of one month to the 15th of the next month must be reported via pay stubs to the ODSP office each month. (If the ODSP office doesn't get these stubs, they will uspend full ODSP payment until the stubs are submitted).
2. 50% of this total is deducted from the person's ODSP cheque.
3. The person receives a separate cheque in the amount of $100.00 each month.
So an example might look like this:
- John Doe who attends ARC Industries migh receive $60.00 training allowance for the month. 50% of this ($30.00) is deducted from John's ODSP cheque.
- John receives an additional cheque for $100.00
- Overall, John receives an additional $70.00 for the month.
We have been able to arrange for the pay information to be submitted directly from our office to the ODSP office for those who have signed releases for us to do so. For those who have given their permission to submit on their behalf, the need for individuals to track their stubs and submit them in a timely fashion is eliminated. The people at the ODSP did explain that it will take until January to get all the timing correct with their computers and our submission, so in the meantime, many of you will have received automatically generated letters indicating that you are in an overpayment situation. This should all be sorted out for the January cheque, however, if you have any questions about letters you have received, contact your worker at the local ODSP office. The number is 519-623-1230.