Human Rights Complaint May Lead to a New Direction

The Winnipeg Free Press covered the news on New Directions which already filed a human rights complaint against the Rural Municipality of Springfield for preventing two intellectually disabled men from living in the community.

It was a month ago when I discussed this issue as my 'PR in the News' presentation in class and before I started my presentation, I gave a scenario to my classmates that should they have a new neighbour living next to them who's intellectually and/or physically challenged (and a male at that), would they ever allow it?... The answer was a strong 'yes.'

The presentation and discussion lasted for almost an hour and I wouldn't be surprised if there was great sympathy towards the two intellectually challenged males and their families who are being 'rejected' by the area residents of the RM of Springfield.

There was certainly a level of ignorance by those who rejected the application filed by New Directions to  rezone its property from residential to institutional so it can be allowed to operate its group home in that community. Ignorance in respect to the real conditions being experienced by these two developmentally challenged individuals; that they are not criminals nor sexual predators but two intellectually and physically challenged individuals who have genuine needs and who require 24-hour assistance from their caregivers.  The issue also lies on the ignorance of some (or probably most) people on the operations of New Directions and its extensive range of services to children, youth, adults, and families of Winnipeg; providing counselling, assessment, education and training, and providing residential and support programs. The organization's services may be too extensive but it's definitely an organization that is meant to help and support people, as well as an agency that makes a difference in the lives of many Winnipeggers.

Given the benefit of the doubt, there could be some or many area residents who are aware of the operations of New Directions but have simply shunned themselves from the idea of allowing the organization to house two intellectually challenged men. The area residents do have legitimate concerns and I am not disregarding this. They have chosen to live and buy properties in the RM of Springfield because of its country-like settig - peaceful, quiet, and away from the hustle and bustle of city-life including the fact that the area doesn't have the presence of industrial businesses. But somehow what we're talking about here is allowing two intelletually and developmentally challenged individuals who would benefit from the quiet and country-like environment, that will be helpful in their overall health and ongoing treatment.

In our class discussion, it's possible that people may have a negative perception on the term 'group home' that it is always associated with troubled teens who may be uncontrollable and who may have been involved in drugs and several crimes. The community may be worried because of this and it simply wants to leave things as it is and is just concerned to keep their community quiet and safe especially in the years to come.

Based on my research from the news and information that I've gathered in preparation for my presentation, New Directions gave out information about its intention to put up a group home in that neighbourhood and its applicationn to rezone the property, but as to how the information was disseminated or shared (whether the organization printed flyers or letters) is still a mystery to me. I was also thinking at that time on how the organization wrote its message and whether it's just intended for the local officials to read or for its area residents to know. Somehow it's clear that even before the issue became big or even before the local public hearings took place in the area's community centre, no town hall meetings took place that would give area residents the opportunity to voice their concerns or questions, and for New Directions to answer every concern directly. This could have given New Directions the opportunity as well to present its plan or proposal to the community residents, and educating them on how the organization operates, who their clients are, and how its proposed group home will affect the entire community. The town hall meeting should have taken place at the time when the organization was just planning the group home; even before the time when an application for rezoning was required. The supposed feedback from area residents could have helped New Directions strategize its plan. The feedback could also be very valuable in addressing major concerns from area residents at the same time. The two-way communication would certainly bring a lot of things to the surface and would have given New Directions a better platform to introduce itself to the community. This could have also saved New Directions some great deal of time and pain (especially for its clients and their families).

At this time, it comes to no surprise that New Directions had filed a human rights complaint against the RM of Springfield- it does have a valid ground. I anticipate that the legal battle would be a challenging one but no matter what, I think that the community in Springfield needs to relearn that the people they are rejecting are the vulnerable ones. These people could have been their relative, brother, or child.

I just hope that other communities won't copycat what the the RM of Springfield did to New Directions. In a situation like this it's important to ask ourselves this question: "If we won't open our community to people with intellectual, physical, and developmental challenges, who will?"