Opal Family Services

Opal Family Services

This letter is in support of the Personal Support Network Program:
My daughter and I have, just within the last year, become aware of this program. I had previously expected to have my daughter live with me until the time came when I would no longer be able to care for her. At that time I could only hope that my oldest daughter would take over the responsibility of seeing that she was "in a good place". My oldest daughter assured me that she would do her best. I didn’t want to leave the responsibility to anyone else and felt I really had no right to ask anyone else to be burdened with the responsibility of caring for a disabled adult, even though she was a sibling. It has always been a worry as to what would happen to my daughter in the future.

One year ago last March my husband passed away and I became a single parent which really impressed upon me the fact that now if anything happened to me, life for my daughter would be totally disrupted. Not only would she lose her mother, she would lose her home, her pets and all that has become familiar to her. A truly scary thing to happen to anyone and much more for someone with a mental disability.
Up until the death of my husband I had not had much contact with NBACL or Opal Family Services, and had not heard of the personal support network program. This was like having a whole new way of looking at the future opened up for us. The very idea of my daughter being able to live and be supported outside of the family home has given us a goal to work towards.

My daughter, aged 33, is naturally cautious about leaving home, but at the same time is anxious to try to learn new skills that will help her to be more self sufficient. She now has a debit card that she is learning to use and has her own cell phone. She can go on the computer and pay her phone bill with her debit card. It makes her feel very much more in control. She is taking an interest in learning to cook for herself and I can see the change in her even now.

Not only has the personal support network shown me that there can be a real future to look forward to, it has also shown her that there is so much more that she is capable of doing and she is beginning to plan for a time when she will live independently from her mother as most adults are expected to do. We look forward to our second network meeting which is coming up soon. It is all very new to us but I can see that it certainly is do-able if we all work together as a team. We all want to see this amazing girl have a chance to experience life in a way that most everyone else takes for granted.

Thank you, a senior mother from rural New Brunswick

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I am writing to express my heartfelt support and appreciation for the services offered by Opal Family Services. For more than 20 years my daughter and I have been helped in one way or another by Opal, for example being told about Camp Rotary when we first moved here and making Respite Care a possibility for us. The staff have always been eager to help and knowledgeable about informing families of other useful service agencies.

The Personal Support Network program is of huge importance and impact to me.  For the 26 years since my husband’s death I have tried to figure out a realistic, safe plan for my disabled daughter's future when I can no longer care for her. It seems I have spun my wheels forever and time is running out for me but a solution is essential. Jennifer McCumber has created a Network for my daughter, organizes the meetings, keeps superb minutes and goes out of her way to help me through any and all problems. Because of this person and program I no longer feel I am alone in the overwhelming problem of protecting my daughter's future. The multiple talents of the Network bring broad based insights to group discussions and allow for more realistic plans than my singular thinking allows.

Having no extended family, it gives me comfort to know the caring network will be there to monitor my daughters' future comfort and safety. There are so many other seniors like me needing this service I sincerely hope the Personal Support Network will receive the appropriate financial assistance to continue and expand its invaluable work.