|
New Leaf is a home in the country for those of us who, because of an intellectual or physical disability, cannot cope with the demands, anonymity and intense sensory stimuli of urban life.
New Leaf was founded by Stan Smith, a Social Worker, who was very involved with the developmentally disabled in Toronto.
The original goal was to provide an alternative (rural) living style for 10 developmentally challenged young people who were not thriving in the demanding and complex urban environment of Toronto.
Over the years New Leaf has grown in response to ever increasing needs and today (2006) we have 12 residences.
Our main programme and the original New Leaf home is sited on 115 acres. “Our Farm”.
We have a large Day Activity Programme which is also sited on the farm property. The Day Programme is designed and organized in such a way so as to address and fit the various needs of all our “residents” on an individual basis.
Over the past 23 years New Leaf has, in response to the ongoing need for placements, built 12 homes. These homes are not all on the farm property but are in the surrounding local community: all are within a fifteen minute drive from the farm and the Day Programme.
Our Mission is to...
cease the endless pursuit of “rehabilitation” in an urban environment for multi-problem, hard to service, developmentally handicapped clients. We will provide a rural setting where the emphasis is on cooperative, family-type relationships of unlimited duration.
Our approach will be to emphasize decision-making skills rather than simply obeying rules and regulations. The staff will act as advisors and facilitators rather than therapeutic workers. The difference will be somewhere between the unavoidable regimented atmosphere of a group home and the comfortable ambiance of a home in the country.
In pursuit of this mission we will endeavour to guarantee and protect the human rights of all those who will look to New Leaf for services without regard to ethno-racial characteristics, social background or other discriminatory practices, prejudices or bias.
Top