Richard Little, executive director of South Okanagan Association for Integrated Community Living, gave a talk on the history for developmentally challenged residents in the South Okanagan-Similkameen area at the Women’s Institute meeting held May 7 at Heather’s Threadz.

A group of parents and interested people formed a society to get help for these children, so they built Fairview School and children were going to school like their siblings.

Later the building was sold for a dollar to the school district and eventually sold back to them, where they have two classrooms and two teachers.

By age 18 they are taken by bus three times a week to Penticton to participate in a course on activities of daily living.

By the 1960s there were eight institutions for older developmentally-challenged in British Columbia and Oliver’s was called Creekside that had 18 shared rooms for 36 people situated on 10 acres of land several miles north of town. They had an orchard, carpentry shop where they learned skills for living and operated by the provincial government. They asked if this group would be willing to take over the mortgage and run it.

Residents were asked to name the facility and chose “Beaver Lodge” as beavers were working on the property. Finally, there were 18 residents left and they each had their own room.

It was decided in the late 1980s that they should separate the mentally ill, and the province shut down these institutions and residents were sent back to their own communities.

The credit union helped Oliver to finance building a four-bedroom house opposite Eastside Grocery and utilize the Fritz home at the south end of town which had a rental suite in the basement.

Gradually accommodation was found for the younger generation when it was better for them to live in our community and be part of it. They housed several in a church building downtown formerly owned by the Pentecostal congregation and renovated the upstairs for activities.

Some were in need of group homes with private caregivers. Finally, they were able to buy some land at St. Martin’s Estates near the high school. They built six units for those who looked after themselves with little supervision and some part-time work.

In 2013 they had plans to build 12 units that cost $60,000 and had it appraised for $9,000, but it was turned down because another building had been appraised too high for its real value.

They were going to build 12 units, four would be sold at market value, four would allow an affordable mortgage for partnership, but it would have to go back to the society, and four would be housed under supervision.

We are pleased to see them living in town and being part of our community. Some work part-time and get a basic wage.

They are welcomed to Saturday dances at the seniors centre. They support the Kiwanis Acktion Club. They run a bike shop for sales, repairs and rentals. Once a week a bus takes them to Penticton for an evening of shopping or a show.

Parents are pleased that this community is so supportive and can have activities that they cannot give them.

In other WI news:

Five WI members attended the South Okanagan-Similkameen district annual meeting held at the Okanagan Falls United Church. We were shown a new kind of embroidery by Sol Klein, using wool pieces.

A BC WI life membership certificate and pin were presented to Helen Overnes for her 50 years of volunteer work.

Next meeting is June 4 at 1:30 pm at Heather’s Threadz. Maria Duarte will talk about herbs and their use as well as how they can be used in healing.

·      Yours for Home and Country – Helen Overnes