Effective Wednesday, April 7th, 2021, The Ford government has issued a "Stay At Home" Order, which has closed day programs for Adults with Special Needs, as they are not deemed "essential" programs. I am an essential frontline worker, who educates children for the Hamilton Wentworth Catholic District School board, and I have a 28-year-old daughter with special needs who attends a program every day for her own mental development and personal care, so I am able to work to support my family. Without this program that she has been attending for approximately 8 years, I would not be able to work and bring in the income we so desperately need during this pandemic. 

She attends this program with 40 other adults with a variety of disabilities and special needs that also need care daily, so their caregivers can support their families. This essential program (called LUSO Canadian Charitable Society - servicing Toronto, Hamilton, and Peel) has been called non-essential and has been ordered to close as of Thursday, April 8th at 12:01 am, also giving parents less than 24 hours to find alternative care for their special needs adults, if it's even possible. The support workers in this program that work alongside these high-risk adults daily were also not "essential" enough to be vaccinated in the early phases of the vaccination rollout.

It is important to recognize the crack in the system and the fact that the adults and employees in these communities, considered non-essential, are being denied the opportunity to be vaccinated. The main issue with this is the fact that they are not able to open safely. The ordering of the shutdown for programs like these causes emotional hardships for both staff and the participants as well as the families left with no care. Many employees have tried to get their vaccinations and have been denied. There are so many empty spaces of people refusing to get vaccinated, but when employees, who are at high risk and close proximity with these adults in order to care for them, are being denied. 

If daycare for toddlers is deemed essential, how come daily care for these adults with special needs is not? 

We are calling on all of Ontario to come together and sign this petition to support our special needs community and the people that make sacrifices every day to improve their quality of life. We are also calling on DOUG FORD and the GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO to deem adult day programs ESSENTIAL and VACCINATE the employees and participants so they can get the care they need.