Agency Highlights

Brokerage

Lake Ridge Community Support Services (LRCSS) continued to broker funds for Sunrise Developmental Support Services (SunriseDSS).

SunriseDSS had a successful year with the Day Program. With the decrease of COVID-19 restrictions, the Day Program reintroduced community outings.  Unfortunately, due to the lack of reliable and cost-effective transportation, community outlines had to be limited to once per month.

The Day Program has four full-time staff and seven on-call staff who ensure that SunriseDSS provides outstanding support and exceptional programming for all members. The addition of the newly renovated kitchen from the Ontario Trillium Foundation grant allowed for many exciting programs, such as increased life skills, cooking/baking programs, and independence in the kitchen.

SunriseDSS continued to have 28 members (7 full-time, 21 part-time). The program was able to accept 4 new members for the day program, and 2 members decided to move on either due to health issues or other opportunities. The Day Program continues to have an extensive waitlist, allowing spots to be filled immediately.  In August 2023, the Virtual Day Program was discontinued due to low attendance and loss of funding.

A new service was created in response to the Day Program’s lengthy waitlist and closure of the Virtual Day Program.  In September 2023, the Community Pilot Project was implemented.  This program takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Iroquois Sports Centre and Lake Vista Clubhouse and provides a combination of in-house programming and various community outings.  The program hopes to remove many barriers, such as access to transportation and community inclusion. The program is facilitated by two staff and supports 8 members each day.  The program, although highly successful, is struggling to keep the program affordable.

The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Service (MCCSS) annually funds $71,241 to offset the cost of $204,682 to operate the day program and the balance is paid through member fees.

Durham Staff Training Committee

LRCSS also brokers the Durham Staff Training Committee fund. This fund enables developmental service agencies to plan and access additional training throughout the year. The training committee continued to adapt and organize many virtual training events to support learning and development for all staff across the sector.  Some training was also offered in person, where appropriate. Topics offered over the past year included Developmental Disabilities and Addictions training, dementia training, Trauma and Care for front line staff, skill development for challenging behaviour, and person-directed planning.  Over the past fiscal year, 359 Durham Region staff received training through MCCSS funding of $40,000.