History of the Society :

The Dawson Creek Society for Community Living (DCSCL) is a well established provider of programs for people with multiple disabilities. In recent years this mandate expanded to include assisted living for seniors.

DCSCL was established in 1958 under the original name Dawson Creek Society for the Mentally Handicapped. The society's first venture was the Open Door School, a small segregated school that served the children of the founding parents. The Open Door School operated until 1982 when students were integrated into the public school system.

The history of community living is closely linked to the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s. Prior to the deinstitutionalization movement people with developmental disabilities received services in large public institutions or were cared for by their families with very little financial and social support from the government. In the 1960s increasing political activism and scrutiny of the living conditions in institutions precipitated the formation of the community living movement. This movement was led by care providers and parents and was based on the principle of "normalization" promoted by sociologist Wolf Wolfensberger. Wolfensberger believed people with developmental disabilities should live in the most "normal" settings possible if they were expected to behave normally.

As deinstitutionalization progressed in the 1980s DCSCL evolved from a small parent driven organization into a large multi-service society. Up until then the society focused on the Open Door School and "sheltered work." A number of ventures were undertaken: a wood working business operated from 1970 to 1989; the Ribbon Room, a flower and flag making business began in 1974.

The closure of the Tranquille Institution in Kamloops led to an expansion of community services across BC. In Dawson Creek two group homes were opened; the 106th Avenue Residence in 1980 and Canalta Residence in 1985. This program is now called Self Help Skills. It offers support and life skills training to adults with developmental disabilities living independently in their own homes. The Place (later called the Opportunity Centre) on 17th expanded in 1985 to offer the community another service - The Bottle Depot which operated until February 1991. In 1987 the Day Program was established. This program was pre-vocational in nature and was for multiply handicapped adults. The Day Program closed August 1993.

The Society’s vocational service expanded its focus beyond the sheltered workshop when it established the Access Program in February 1988. This program's aim is to train and find jobs for our people and support them at community job sites.

In May 1991 the 115 Avenue Residence was established as home for three young people who had lived in the Pouce Coupe Extended Care facility. The 115th Residence was built specifically for the three residents. This circumstance continued until a fourth client was added in May of 2000.

In January 1991 the society name was modernized to the Dawson Creek Society for Community Living. In February of the same year Semi-Independent Living program was established. This program supports individuals who live in their own home. Some of these individuals are quite independent and receive minimal support in activities of daily living. Others are in "staff supported" apartments and receive more intensive assistance with activities of daily living.

Also, in February 1991, 106 Avenue Residence became empty when three residents moved into homes and one person moved into Canalta Residence. The group home was subsequently sold.

The Opportunity Centre was established in 1994 to provide services to meet the needs of individuals receiving service by the closure of the Ribbon Room. The Opportunity Centre provides educational, pre-vocational, and leisure/recreation/social/physical programs.

Realizing the importance of housing to our people, DCSCL began investigating housing options and to our delight we opened Aurora Housing in 2001 in association with BC Housing. Aurora consists of two sets of townhouses totaling 16 units, and an apartment building with 18 units. One third of the tenants are our folks, on third are seniors and the balance are families. Aurora was a huge achievement and it led to the acquisition of Southview Housing Project, a 31 unit seniors apartment complex which opened in 2003. Southview was given to DCSCL by the previous Health Authority part way through the construction phase.

The Assisted Living program at Southview was established in July 2003. This program provides 24 hour care to the residents as required. This program provides three basic services - hospitality, personal care, and accommodation.

The Opportunity Centre on 17th Street was forced to close in 2004 because of structural problems and liability issues. The Ops Centre programs were crowded into the main office building as a stopgap measure. During 2006 major fund raising efforts were undertaken with many staff contributing time or cash to the project. As of November 2006, the new building is completed and programs are operational.

A major achievement occurred in November 2004 when DCSCL received Three Year Accreditation from the Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission (CARF). As a consequence, all 12 DCSCL programs are internationally accredited.

We are governed by a volunteer board of ten directors including two self advocates elected from the community. We have experienced workforce composed of approximately 85 full and part time unionized employees (BCGSEU) under the directions of an experienced management team. Staff have a wide range of backgrounds. The management team emphasizes professionalism and team work throughout the DCSCL workforce. Staff members are screened with criminal record and health checks and must possess first aid and WHMIS certificates. All staff and volunteers sign a statement of values and ethical principles.