Community Living Windsor

In 1952, John and Laura Zoller approached the Windsor Board of Education and asked them to develop an education program for their son Charles. The result of this meeting was the establishment of a small class which began meeting at the YMCA in October 1952. Each parent paid $5 per week, out of which the group was able to hire a retired teacher for $25 per week. Word of the class spread quickly and soon others were making enquiries about enrolling their children. With such growing interest, the parents decided to incorporate as the Greater Windsor Parents Association, the second such association in Ontario.

After a year, the need for more space forced a move. The Association approached the City of Windsor, which offered a house at 1304 Church Street for an annual rental fee of $1. In 1954 the children’s program with 35 students moved to the home and named it Churchwood.

By 1958, the Churchwood program had more than doubled its size. A $50,000 cost-matching donation from The City of Windsor and surrounding municipalities permitted the Association to build a new Churchwood School on Virginia Park. This was the first Ontario school for children with disabilities built entirely with public funds.

The Association first began community placements for employment in 1961. A formal program was started in 1978 and expanded in 1982 to a Vocational Training Program that offered assessment, training, and counselling towards community work placement.

In 1962, the Kinsmen Club donated much of the cost of a building that held a workshop program called the Kinsmen Training Centre. In 1971, this centre was renamed the Adult Rehabilitation Centre (ARC) and moved to 870 Ottawa.

In 1966, seven parents organized a Saturday morning preschool program at the Kinsmen to accommodate an adult vocational training program. As the number of children increased, the program was moved to a Legion Hall, then All-Saints Church, later to the basement of Central United Church, and in 1968 to Glenwood United Church with a daily enrolment of thirty. It was here that the program was formally recognized as a Nursery School and obtained government funding.

In 1973, the association’s Children’s Services continued to expand and a full-day preschool class was initiated. After the students in the Junior and Senior Schools came under the responsibility of the public school board and moved to Alicia Mason School in 1974, the Senior School was renovated and reopened in 1976 as the Developmental Day Care Centre. In 1987, the children in the Shirley E. Taylor Preschool were integrated into community preschool programs and the program was closed.

The provision of residential support began with the official opening of the 16-bed Churchwood Residence (885 Northwood) in 1970. An Apartment Living Program was introduced in 1974 and the first of many supported homes opened in 1976 at 810 Giles. Many people continued to live at home with their families and in 1985 support came in the form of the Adult In-Home Program.

With the help of United Way Funding, a Weekend With Friends program to provide weekend parent relief and an Infant Education Program for new parents were introduced in 1976. A Pilot Parents program was launched in 1979 to offer peer support to new parents.

Two children’s supported homes were opened in 1982. In 1983, an In-Home Program was established to offer direct support to children living at home with their parents and a program offering longer parent relief was commenced in 1986. In 1989, the Adult Resource Program was initiated to offer support to seniors and individuals requiring non-employment or life-skills support.

Today our supports continue to evolve. While the approaches and philosophies may have changed over the years, the basic premise has remained the same – support for people and families in their community to help them achieve a better life.