The location of Harbourside Lodge in Yarmouth. Image c/o Google Maps.
The province has announced that residents of Harbourside Lodge in Yarmouth will be transitioning to community-based living.
In a news release, the government says it’s part of a commitment to discontinue the use of large institutional settings for Disability Support Program participants.
The 27 residents will be moved over a period of 12 to 18 months.
Harbourside is the first institution in the province to do so, with seven more slated for the same changes.
Minister of Community Services Kelly Regan says the change isn’t being made without significant input from those involved.
“We worked with every single resident and their families or in some cases it may be a friend who was involved in their care,” she explained. “But we work with them to honour their individual wishes and their strengths, and their needs, and their capacities. There’s no one size fits all plan.”
The Minister notes that the province anticipates having to build five to seven new small-option homes in order to accommodate some of the residents.
She notes that there were infrastructure needs at the facility and it would have needed significant repairs in order to keep it open.
