Union dismayed over group home closure in Preeceville

A group home in Preeceville that provides a supportive environment for people living with disabilities is set to close.

Angie Pawliw, president of CUPE 3364, said the home is critical to the Preeceville community and the surrounding area, and has been ever since it opened in 2001.

“Where are these special needs people going to go?” Pawliw asked.

At one time, Pawliw shared, the union was informed that the waiting list to get into the group home was about seven years long.

The union head said CUPE 3364 was informed of the closure at a mandatory meeting on Jan. 20. The group home is expected to close on March 31.

According to Pawliw, the reason for the closure given by the owners, nonprofit Mackenzie Society Ventures Inc., was the fact the home has been operating without a supervisor for the past two years.

Pawliw said the position was temporarily filled at one point during that period, but the supervisor was tasked with running two group homes, which was too much for just one person. Pawliw said she isn’t sure why the decision to close was made now, when the home has already operated for so long without a permanent supervisor.

The union head said she’s heard about people applying for the supervisor position but not being interviewed. Traditionally, she said, it hasn’t been an impossible task to find employees to work at the home. Eight people are currently employed at the Preeceville group home to care for three residents, she added.

Pawliw said she has been informed the people currently living in the home will be moved when it closes, but she hasn’t been told where they will go or been offered any further details.

“Nobody’s telling us anything,” Pawliw said.

The home’s staff assist residents with outings to the grocery store and attending a daily work program, Pawliw said, as well as helping them with their daily lives.

“I know they’re all looked after,” Pawliw said. “We need the group home.”

The union head said two other group homes — a second in Preeceville and one in Canora — are also operating without supervisors at the moment. Pawliw said the coming closure makes her concerned the other two homes might face the same fate, as they are run by the same organization.

Pawliw said the residents living in the group home are an important part of the community.

“We’ve just got to keep fighting for the clients and the staff and the community,” Pawliw said.

In a statement to 650 CKOM, the Government of Saskatchewan said it is working with community groups to make sure the needs of the people living at the home will continue to be met.

“The Ministry of Social Services has a contract in place with Mackenzie Society Ventures Inc. to provide group home and day program services to individuals with intellectual disabilities and support their inclusion in their community,” the ministry said.

“We are working with the community-based organization to ensure the needs of the individuals with intellectual disabilities who reside in the group home, and who receive programming through their organization, will continue to be met. As the organization is autonomous, they are responsible for making decisions around their own operations.”

Preeceville is located just over three hours east of Saskatoon and just over three hours northeast of Regina.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to include the statement from the Ministry of Social Services.