My brother Nick moved into Jake's house in Lucan, ON in July 2022. Nick is a intelligent, kind, gentle man. He is also very passionate about his beliefs, retains information like a sponge and can recite facts like a dictionary. When he was born doctors told my parents to put him in an institution as they believed he would never amount to anything. My mom especially has been his number one fan and supporter and has fought for his rights since day one. He wouldn't be where he is today without her. As Nick entered his 30's my parents decided it was time for him to acquire some independence from them and put him on the wait list to find appropriate housing. They were told the wait could be 10 years.

When Jake's House opened as a supportive independent living home in 2021, it was originally just accommodating seniors, but after Doug Ford gave the owner the okay and agreed to the funding, plans were quickly made to allow adults with disabilities to also live there. My parents were so excited when Nick was accepted into the building as it's in the same town he grew up in and my parents could still be close to him. Nick doesn't like change and is very quiet, so the transition was stressful at first. But quite soon after some adjustment he started joining other residents in activities and even outings to sports events/ swimming etc. He really started to flourish and enjoy his independence. The home was a warm, inviting, pleasant, clean place with wonderful staff.

In October of last year the owner of Jake's House was notified that the funding provided by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services would stop on December 3, 2024. CTV News London ran an article last week that stated the Ministry said 'ongoing compliance concerns' were the reason they pulled the funding. When in reality, the reason is because the Ministry decided that younger adults with disabilities shouldn't be living with seniors. They suddenly believed it to be inappropriate. There hadn't been any complaints previous to this. I have another brother living in a group home with mentally ill adults and they are of all ages. So Mentally ill adults can coexist regardless of age but adults with disabilities shouldn't live with retired seniors? When the owner refused to remove the residents with disabilities, he was told all funding would be cut as of December. The owner, along with my parents and other families have been fighting this inevitable closure since October and the owner has covered the costs up until now but cannot continue. CTV news also stated that the local Developmental Services Ontario (DSO) office continues to be available to work with individuals impacted since early October. 

What DSO has actually done is offer temporary housing which my parents certainly didn't accept. DSO also phoned the staff at the home and suggested they get a bus to send the residents to a shelter. There has been no support from either the Ministry or DSO whatsoever. To my knowledge there haven’t been any returned phone calls or emails from the Ministry to concerned families dating back to October.

Nick is so very fortunate to have my parents home to come back to during this time, but they are nearing retirement age and were trying to have a plan set for him as they age. I know of some residents who had no one to take them in and will end up in the first group/rest home that opens up.

As I helped my dad remove my brothers furniture from Jake's House yesterday I watched as staff tearfully hugged residents goodbye. It was hard to watch. I was also told the staff weren't getting paid yesterday, but were there to help in anyway they could. They're also all unemployed now and they don't deserve that.

At this point I'm not sure what can be done, unless private funding is an option. I will attach a few contacts if anyone cares to show some support for Jake's house, it's former residents and staff. Ideally we'd love for it to reopen. But we can't do it alone. Thank you.

Ombudsman Ontario - www.ombudsman.on.ca
Michael Parsa - Minster of Children, Community and Social Services or Ontario - michaelparsampp.ca
Eden Cantkier - Director, West Region at Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services
eden.Cantkier@ontario.ca
Doug Ford - www.ontario.ca/page/premier