Two residents have launched a new business geared toward supporting adults with "developmental exceptionalities" through various social and curriculum-based activities.
Beyond Boundaries Sarnia-Lambton opened its space at 462 Exmouth St. (Unit 5) in February and has since held two open house events.
The local respite organization was co-founded by Melanie (Mel) Rogers-Cooper and Rie Saraiva.
Saraiva said the business was built around three different programs to offer respite to families and caregivers while teaching clients life and social skills in small group settings.
The organization works with a three-to-one client-to-worker ratio.
"We have our adventures. So what those are, are basically planned outings, and they do follow a specific lesson plan that we've created," said Saraiva.
All adventures are three hours long and involve different types of outings, such as going to the library, utilizing public transit, or going out to a restaurant or cafe.
Longer respite services are offered through their "academy," which is six hours long, as well as an evenings/weekends program.
"That one is a little bit different in that it is just a social and recreational place for our clients to come and spend some time doing whatever activities they would like to do," Saraiva. "They can play games, they can do crafts, they can watch a movie, hang out in our sensory room, really get to decide just what kind of recreational thing they'd like to do while they are there."
Saraiva said although they do have planned activities, they are open to receiving feedback and facilitating requests.
At this point, the organization hasn't started running programs and is in "recruiting mode" to sign on more clients.
Rogers-Cooper said to operate without a deficit, they need two clients per activity.
Clients would be eligible to receive reimbursement through the Passport program, which is funded by the Ontario Government for adults with developmental disabilities.
"We've taken great care to ensure that a monthly membership over the course of a year does not exceed the minimum annual allotment on Passport funding," said Rogers-Cooper.
Rogers-Cooper said she has worked as a one-on-one hired developmental service worker for years and dreamt of turning it into a full-time occupation to reach out to more developmentally and intellectually disabled adults.
"They're just a really fun and engaging group of people to work with and it gives a really positive feeling at the end of the day," Rogers-Copper said. "Unfortunately, with some physical issues for myself, doing frontline work is not so much of a possibility for me on a full-time basis, so the next best thing, in my mind, is to be able to launch a full-scale program."
Saraiva, who has also worked in private respite care, was eager to jump on board, citing a strong need for adult programming in the community.
"There are services available for these folks before they turn 18, but as soon as you turn 18, it really just ends. There's really not a lot out there for folks to continue on learning these life and social skills," Saraiva said. "The idea too, of having the small group aspect really gives them a chance to sort of socialize as well rather than just always having a one-on-one worker."
Community Living previously said over 52,000 people are waiting for support services in Ontario, and several hundred are in Sarnia-Lambton.
Saraiva said they have been in communication with other local agencies to build partnerships.
"We just wanted to be able to help with the need that's out there while adding to what services are already in existence," Saraiva said.
Saraiva said there are no restrictions, however, clients who are unable to recognize and go to the washroom on their own are asked to bring a one-on-one worker with them to the group activities.
Further details about Beyond Boundaries can be found on its website and social media pages.