A New Democrat MPP is confident there will be across-the-board support for her private member's bill designed to help adults with disabilities.
Windsor West MPP Lisa Gretzky recently introduced a bill at Queen's Park that would eliminate wait lists for people with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and other developmental and intellectual disabilities to receive funding when their youth support ends on their 18th birthdays. The bill, known as Noah and Gregory's Law, would drop a waiting period that Gretzky said only adds to the hardship and stress that comes with caring for someone with a developmental disability.
The bill is named after 18-year-old Gregory Rocheleau and 21-year-old Noah Helou, who attended a news conference Friday with their mothers at Gretzky's Windsor constituency office. Both of them have severe autism and require constant care, and both had their provincial support funding cut off when they turned 18. Noah's mother Michelle said that day, usually one celebrated as a rite of passage, was a nightmare for her, Noah, and their family.
"There was no celebration," said Helou, choking back tears. "It was completely saddening. There was no birthday cake, because as of midnight that diagnosis does not go away. It magnifies their behaviours, their needs. I'm getting older, and he's getting older."
Gretzky said there are over 14,000 adults in Ontario on a wait list for a program called Passport, offered through the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. This allows adults with developmental disabilities to receive money and support to allow them to develop life skills, attend programs, give their caregivers temporary respite, and other benefits. Gretzky says despite the program being already in place, the bureaucratic limbo that often develops is disheartening.
"Even though many families apply for adult supports well in advance, and those supports are expected to begin as the applicants turn 18, many individuals fall into a gap, where they are cut off from their youth support and are forced to wait for years," said Gretzky.
Greztky introduced Noah and Gregory's Law before the legislature broke for the winter holidays. She expects it to come up for debate when MPPs return to the legislature in February.
Gregory's mother, Mary Beth Rocheleau, has begun a letter-writing campaign to encourage people to contact their respective MPPs and ask then to support Noah and Gregory's Law. The letter is available via a Facebook link.
Mary Beth Rocheleau, centre, discusses the care for her 18-year-old son Gregory, left, as Windsor West MPP Lisa Gretzky listens, December 7, 2018. Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News.