Organization:LiveWorkPlay
LiveWorkPlay / VivreTravaillerJouer (French) | |
 | |
| Founded | 1995 |
|---|---|
| Location | |
Chief Executive Officer | Julie Kingstone and Keenan Wellar, Co-Leaders |
Chair of the Board | Daniel Spagnolo |
| Website | liveworkplay |
LiveWorkPlay is a charity based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada . Founded in 1995, the organization supports community inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities or autism, including those with a dual diagnosis.[1] Francophones are served under the name VivreTravaillerJouer.
History
LiveWorkPlay was founded by Keenan Wellar and his wife Julie Kingstone, who are also the organization's co-leaders.[1][2]
Activities
LiveWorkPlay assists with employment for people with intellectual disabilities and has partnerships with both public and private employers.[3][4]
LiveWorkPlay also supports people with intellectual disabilities to live independently in the community, instead of in institutional settings, and supports full citizenship including voting rights.[5][6][7][8][9] Efforts in housing started in 2004 with demonstration projects at Carleton University, which were the subject of a documentary[10] by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Moving On program and a study by a University of Ottawa research team published in the Journal on Developmental Disabilities.[11] The organization received investments in 2016 from the Government of Ontario to launch partnerships with non-profit housing providers for the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities in new housing communities.[12][13][14][15]
After a 2015 Toronto Star exposé about the sheltered workshop system funded by the Province of Ontario, a promise was made to close them. In promoting authentic employment alternatives, Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services official Barbara Simmons described LiveWorkPlay as "one of Ontario's best: an agency that helps people reach their potential in the community by providing ongoing supports to families and employers."[16]
LiveWorkPlay relies on more than 150 volunteers,[17] of whom ten have been recognized with the Governor General of Canada Caring Canadian Award[18] and one has received the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers.[19]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Around Town: LiveWorkPlay celebrates 20 years of building an inclusive community" (in en-CA). https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/around-town-liveworkplay-celebrates-20-years-of-building-an-inclusive-community.
- ↑ "Walker: LiveWorkPlay — a community where everyone belongs" (in en-CA). https://ottawasun.com/news/local-news/walker-liveworkplay-a-community-where-everyone-belongs.
- ↑ "The Bright Side of Business: LiveWorkPlay partners with Ottawa mask manufacturer, creating inclusive work opportunities" (in en). https://www.obj.ca/article/local/bright-side-business-liveworkplay-partners-ottawa-mask-manufacturer-creating.
- ↑ "LiveWorkPlay connects employers to people with intellectual disabilities" (in en). https://www.obj.ca/article/liveworkplay-connects-employers-people-intellectual-disabilities.
- ↑ Dare, Patick. "Going it Alone". https://www.pressreader.com/canada/ottawa-citizen/20070128/281685430372177.
- ↑ "Developmentally disabled people shouldn't be living in hospitals, advocates say". https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/developmentally-disabled-people-shouldn-t-be-living-in-hospitals-advocates-say-1.3083920.
- ↑ "Second parent says their disabled adult child was victim of 'charity' scam outside Rideau Centre" (in en-CA). https://ottawasun.com/2017/04/20/second-parent-says-their-disabled-adult-child-was-victim-of-charity-scam-outside-rideau-centre.
- ↑ "Election gives Disables Valuable Lesson" (in en). November 9, 2003. https://www.newspapers.com/image/466903512/.
- ↑ https://liveworkplay.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sun__Nov_9__2003_-scaled.jpg
- ↑ Archived CBC TV Footage https://liveworkplay.ca/cbc-moving-on-doc-2/
- ↑ Journal on Developmental Disabilities https://oadd.org/journal/volume-14-number-3/
- ↑ https://mcss.gov.on.ca/documents/en/mcss/publications/spotlight/DS-Spotlight_issue53_en.pdf
- ↑ Ontario, Government of. "Housing Task Force | Ministry of Community and Social Services". https://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/developmental/htf/index.aspx.
- ↑ "LiveWorkPlay City of Ottawa". https://plantoronto.azurewebsites.net/HTF2/viewer/desktop/index.htm#page/30.
- ↑ Archived TV Ontario Footage https://liveworkplay.ca/jaczek-tvo/
- ↑ "Ontario's sheltered workshops to close forever". November 29, 2015. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/11/29/ontarios-sheltered-workshops-to-close-forever.html.
- ↑ "Meeting of the minds: How two strangers became friends". https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/meeting-of-the-minds.
- ↑ "Her Excellency to Present". 18 September 2014. https://www.gg.ca/en/media/news/2014/her-excellency-present-caring-canadian-award.
- ↑ General, Office of the Secretary to the Governor. "Mr. David Hernandez". https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/342-72986.
Further reading
- Wellar, Keenan (2015). The Courage to Fail, the Will to Succeed: Twenty Years of the LiveWorkPlay Experience (1995-2015). self-published by LiveWorkPlay. ISBN 978-1367810037.
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