Communitas began when parents asked this question: “Who will look after my children?” Nearly every service Communitas provides is, in some way, a response. That holds true for our Contracted Caregiving Services, offering Home Share and Respite (which today is collectively referred to as Individual and Family Wellness.)

Children First – the early years

Over the decades, these services have evolved alongside the needs of the families. Children’s respite began in the mid-1970s. Caregivers were contracted to provide temporary care of children with disabilities, giving parents a break. Loretta Ortis oversaw children’s respite in its earliest years and remembers how much she enjoyed visiting with families.

“My best memories are of doing home studies and meeting families for the first time,” she recalls. “So many families were going through a hard time. I loved seeing them feel supported.”

Growing with Families

Tamara Harder coordinated children’s respite until her retirement in 2021. She says that through her work she met single moms, two-parent families, and grandparents all committed to supporting the children they cherished.

“These were some of the most resilient and determined people I have ever known,” Tamara recalls.

Elinor Neufeld also coordinated children’s respite for several years. Then, in 1992 she was asked to do a pilot project, exploring the same service for adults. She started with seven families and by the time she retired from Communitas nine years later, there were 40 families being served. Her greatest joy was also her greatest challenge: gaining the trust of parents.

“Many of these parents found it very difficult to trust that someone else would be able to give the same level of care that they gave,” Elinor explains. “But when we found a good match and parents realized how much they needed that break, that was a great moment.”

Responding to a Calling

Communitas staff, past and present, talk in superlatives about the people who sign up to be caregivers.

“I so appreciated the care providers we found,” Tamara says. “Many of them were Educational Assistants (EAs) in schools. Their skill level was impressive as was their dedication to these children and youth.”

Edith Silva agrees. She has been the Adult Respite Coordinator for five years and says these providers often find that their own lives are enriched in ways they had not expected.

“The people they serve become part of their own family and their children love it,’ Edith says. “It’s really inspiring to see and it feels so good for the parents of the people we serve to know that their adult children are having such a positive experience.”

Welcoming Home

Shelley Fritzke has been coordinating Communitas’ Home Share services for several years. Finding people who would welcome someone permanently into their own home, to become part of their family, marked a shift in how services were being offered to adults with disabilities living outside of their parents’ homes. Shelley says caregivers who are willing to do this are special people.

“You have to love it, it really is a calling,” Shelley says.

Home Share is also a part of Communitas services on Vancouver Island where Kathy Saunders oversees this service. Some of the Home Share Providers she works with have been caring for the same person for more than 20 or 30 years.

“The people we serve in these long-term placements are treated like family, which is so incredible to witness,” Kathy says. “All the Home Share providers that I am blessed to work with are dedicated to and very strong advocates for those they support.” 

Changing Needs

Today, parents are still asking the same question – who will look after my children? – as they seek temporary care or a permanent living arrangement for their child. The need for care is still there, the challenge of finding the right match between families and caregivers is the same, and the resilience shown by parents is still remarkable. What has changed is the level of need and the inability of systems to keep up with that need.

Natasha St. Pierre coordinates both children and adult respite services in Abbotsford today. Since the pandemic, Natasha has seen a drastic shift in the needs of families. As parents try to cope with rising costs for basic necessities, their resources are sometimes stretched beyond their limits. Parents seeking help are put on wait lists that are far too long.

“When you’re struggling to pay the rent or buy groceries, the idea of respite seems like a luxury,” Natasha explains.

But just like her predecessors, when these same parents experience respite for the first time and realize that their children are being safely cared for, it is “the best feeling ever.”

Kathy and Shelley also note changes in Home Share, most notably the complexities of care in new referrals as well as changes that come as people age.

“When the people we serve start to experience age-related challenges, it is no different than with any other family,” Kathy says. “When a Home Share provider is unable to provide the needed supports and the resources are few, it is very difficult for everyone.” 

Shelley agrees. “The challenges of aging are very real and the resources are not keeping up with the demand.”

Sharing Hope

Natasha, Shelley, Kathy, Edith, Tamara, Elinor, and Loretta all credit the people who accept the call to be care providers for giving parents the hope they need to keep going. As they look to the future and reflect on what their dreams might be for the families they serve, they express a similar dream: that families would no longer have to struggle, that they would find the rest and relief they need, and that more care providers would come forward and make that dream a reality.

Kathy says her dream is to see wrap-around services that allow people to age in place.

“I would love to see an environment where people can age with dignity and families can see their loved one living out their life peacefully, in an appropriate place,” Kathy says.

Shelley agrees and dreams of a society where everyone is safe and accepted for who they are.

“My dream for the people I serve is that they would have the possibility to realize their own dreams,” Shelley says. “They need to be loved and accepted and given the chance to try new things, just like anyone else.”