Life & Living Skills Development

COMACT – Community Activation Program – Fee for Service

Individualized Support

Individualized support is customized to fit your individual interests and address your specific support requirements. This program is best suited for people who require more intensive support to fully participate in their community and other learning opportunities, or those who have a specific skill that they would like to develop such as transit training support or employment support (job seeking & coaching).

Program Availability
Date: Monday–Friday typically however, we are willing to accommodate individual requests.

Time: 9: 00am-4:00pm
Cost: available based on individual plan for support.

Intake: On going based on availability

Programs currently available include:

• Exploring and accessing Durham Region and all it offers while learning to navigate the community using public transit. We visit places such as Libraries, Fitness and Art Centres.

Also included are opportunities to gain experience in:

• Self – Advocacy – Mission Possible (our agency Self Advocate Group)
• Overcoming/Breaking down Barriers
• Personal Rights/Responsibilities

Our Direct Support Professionals will support each participant to develop a personalized daily schedule. These supports will focus on each person’s self-identified goals, these goals will be reviewed regularly to recognize/celebrate achievements, and to re-evaluate/redevelop the goal(s) as required.

The Participation House is committed to providing a variety of skill enhancement programs, within our community. Once a person has achieved their goals, we work alongside the participant to access new opportunities for personal experience, growth, and development. This is achieved by the person sharing their newfound knowledge with their peers by coaching and mentoring. This progressive approach facilitates the development of increased self-confidence, self-determination, and self-sufficiency, preparing the person for their future endeavors.

*Families interested in pursuing this program will meet with a management representative to discuss/assess the level of support required for full participation. The cost per person (fee for service) will be based on the identified level of support required for the person to fully participate in the program successfully.

For more information contact Andrea Andrus, Manager-Community Services and Partnerships at feeforserviceinfo@nullphdurham.com

Vocational – (Volunteering) Giving Back to my Community

Volunteering – Volunteers are an integral part of every community. This experience aids in the enhancement of one’s employment readiness or community involvement skills, while creating new social connections and potential employment opportunities. PH strives to provide participants’ access to a fully inclusive community, where the focus is building on the person’s strengths, interests, and passions. We have partnered with local not-for-profit organizations to provide program participants with the opportunity to experience the value associated with giving back to their community, while developing self-confidence, discovering their interests, and enhancing their professional portfolio.

This model of support can also aid in the development of pre-employment skills. Participants will experience having a regular commitment with work-related responsibilities, this will help the person to identify whether/not they want to pursue competitive employment as a long-term goal or just simply continue serving their community as a volunteer.

The support provided for this program is typically one PH staff to five program participants. 
Date: TBD as per program calendar*contact us directly for dates
Time: 9:00 am–4:00 pm/can be adjusted to accommodate individual requests.
Cost: for information on the cost of the program contact us directly.

Intake: Ongoing based on availability
Items required for participation: Personal bus pass

For more information contact Andrea Andrus, Manager-Community Services and Partnerships at feeforserviceinfo@nullphdurham.com.

Life-Skills Development (My Life, My Learning, My Future)

Life Skills– An interactive program, providing opportunities for participants to strengthen their skills within a small group. Together they will work together to identify the areas that they would like to increase their skills in (i.e., cooking, planning, personal appearance, personal/community safety, and budgeting). This will be achieved by creating a menu, planning, and purchasing the necessary products based on a decided upon budget. Participants will have the opportunity to shop for the required items and learn about brand consideration and cost-effectiveness, all essential skills to develop when working within a fixed budget.

This program is provided based on one PH staff supporting five participants.

Date: Monday-Friday/can be flexible based on level of interest/availability.

Time: 9:00 am–4:00 pm/subject to change based on interest
Cost: Please reach out for further information on cost.

Intake: Ongoing based on availability.

Description:

We will explore personal wellness and all it entails. The importance of being healthy, active, and having a clean appearance to ensure that people are respected and valued while participating within the community. Community/personal safety is an integral part of independence and recognizing situations that may put participants in vulnerable situations. Our partnership with Durham Regional Police facilitates learning opportunities to discuss and learn about safety both in the community and at home.

This program will include supported learning opportunities that will reinforce the transitional skills required for increasing independence and promoting the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

Support will be based on one PH staff to four program participants. Participants will work on developing grocery lists, creating a meal plan based on a fixed budget, focusing on practical and healthy choices. The group will be involved in the entire process from meal planning to enjoying the final product! This will also include the purchasing of fresh food at a local grocery store, to practice shopping and “brand recognition” while acquiring the products required for the day’s menu.

Participants will be encouraged to participate in facilitated group discussions/activities and gain practical experience that will increase their knowledge and skills in the areas of budgeting, grocery shopping, food preparation, kitchen safety, safe food handling, and clean-up, with the focus being on what we eat leads to living a healthy lifestyle.

For more information contact Andrea Andrus, Manager-Community Services and Partnerships at feeforserviceinfo@nullphdurham.com.

Community Access and Participation –Recreation

Community Recreation (including group Transit Training): Is an interactive program designed to promote independence to access the community. PH’s Direct Support staff will support a small group of participants to access different areas of interest within the community. As a result, participants will gain the skills for themselves to navigate public transit as a means of getting to their desired destination. 

Date: Weekly (pending availability)
Time: Typically, 9:00am-4:00pm
Cost: Please reach out for further information on the cost of the program.

Intake: Ongoing based on availability
Items required for participation: Personal bus pass

Direct Support staff will assist participants in identifying the areas within their community they would benefit from learning to access. These places may include but are not limited to; local coffee shops, libraries, locations that offer classes in a variety of topics of interest, Community Centers, the movies, local community events, swimming etc. A major focus of this program will be transit training.

Participants work together to create the program schedule for each session offered. Direct Support staff will engage people in the planning process. The primary focus of this program is community involvement to support the person’s ability to achieve their goals, while discovering and pursuing all available learning opportunities. 

*Individualized support for people accessing this program is available on an hourly basis than registering for a full day program.

Please contact us for further information about cost based on either small group or individualized support.

For more information contact Andrea Andrus, Manager-Community Services and Partnerships at feeforserviceinfo@nullphdurham.com.