When Heather McCann started Abode Respite Services, the only model she had was her own experience. Years earlier, her sister, Hannah, had been born with cerebral palsy, and suffered severe physical and developmental disabilities. Hannah never lived to adulthood, but big sister Heather always knew what the little girl would have needed to be happy in this world and was determined to offer it to others.
McCann studied at St. Clair College’s developmental service workers program and in 2017 opened her own unique group respite service out of her home. Today, Abode has expanded to adjacent houses in the Essex town centre, where it provides an alternative for 35 to 40 adults who want to learn and experience life, while surrounded by friends.
In fact, McCann and those she cares for compare their environment to the old Friends television program: a place where “I’ll be there for you.”
Services for those with developmental disabilities have progressed light-years from the days when people were relegated to mass institutions that labelled them “feeble-minded” and “mentally retarded.” Today, Community Living services and group homes provide care that relegates stories of mistreatment to the pages of history.
But when McCann looked at existing disability services, she said, “something wasn’t sitting right for me. I decided I would not have sent my sister to such a place. I wouldn’t want to go myself. I guess it was the behind-closed-doors aspect, keeping them separate from the community, and away from friends.”
Abode is McCann’s vision. It redefines the traditional respite services model by taking it outside the home and into a community setting. Participants, called members, sign up for daytime or evening time slots, Monday to Friday, and work is underway to prepare three bedrooms for overnight stays.
The idea was so different from anything offered that when McCann searched for an insurance package, they needed to create a new category. Abode is an alternative to community living and group homes, a place where young adults can get a break – a respite – from home while learning life skills alongside people they know.
McCann was five when little sister Hannah was born and says while Hannah was never able to share in many of life’s expected experiences, “she taught me everything I know about love.” McCann learned that the ability to communicate had little to do with the capacity to love.
“People with disabilities are an oppressed group,” she says. Having a disabled sibling “made me realize that disability is simply part of human diversity.”
“Our vision is to give them a chance to be autonomous, to develop away from their parents,” McCann adds. Some have part-time jobs in the community.
Members learn life skills such as caring for a home, cooking, shopping and doing laundry. They help to clean up the yard and cut the grass, and then when they’re done, they can relax on a lawn chair or go for a dip in the pool. They take part in community activities such as shopping or serving coffee at the food bank. Sometimes they attend a sports event but whatever they do, they do it as a group of friends.
Abode is funded by members’ families. It is a registered non-profit agency rather than a charity, which means McCann cannot issue tax receipts. Charitable status is a dream for the future, she says, explaining “it’s very expensive to become a charity.” In the meantime, donations are welcomed.
Abode’s current members range in age from 20 to 35. Eventually, McCann wants to see Abode expanded to offer a full range of activities, 24/7. But that will mean more money, perhaps from some friendly community partner prepared to help foot the bill.
One of the hallmarks of success for any agency is the attitudes of those it exists to help. How do the members feel? One of them, Paige Walpole, wrote down her thoughts about what Abode means to her: “A community of people that’s inclusive. Friendship. Involvement in the local community. Lots of social events. Support for our needs. Happiness. Sense of belonging.”
Recently another member, Nic Mundle, turned 30 and showed up at his Abode party with $5,100 in donations from family and friends. Mundle was proud to hand over the cash that will go toward building the overnight-stay program. He’s been a member from Abode’s beginnings and his mother, Andrea Mundle, says from the moment she learned of Abode, “I knew this was something unique and special.”
Mundle pauses, then adds: “After seven years, I know he’s living his best life there.”
