2019 Sycamore House Presentation

$1,000,000 Donation expands residential services to persons with an intellectual disability in the York Region.

The Honourable Caroline Mulroney, Ontario’s Attorney General and Minister of Francophone Affairs, joined Mayor Margaret Quirk in congratulating New Leaf on the opening of their 13th home. This newest residential program, located in the Town of Georgina, was made possible through the generous donation of $1,000,000 from the Churchstation Foundation.

On hand from Churchstation was Larry Smith who joined New Leaf’s president Dr. Charles Dyer, The Honourable Caroline Mulroney and Mayor Margaret Quirk in the formal ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday May 25th.

In his thank you to Churchstation, Ron McCauley, Executive Director for New Leaf, informed the gathered crowd of the of the extensive need for supportive housing in Ontario.

Currently there are over 3,800 individuals with intellectual disabilities in Toronto alone who are on the wait list for residential supports. Across the Central East Region there are another 11,000 people waiting for residential supports.

These numbers are alarming and dramatically underscore the housing crisis in Ontario for persons with intellectual disabilities.

Against this backdrop the significant contribution by the Churchstation Foundation stands out as an example of caring people stepping up to meet the needs of Ontario’s most vulnerable individuals.

Mr. McCauley also thanked the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services for providing $173,000 in funding to install sprinklers and fire safety panels in the home.

New Leaf has been providing residential and day programming support to individuals with developmental disabilities since 1983. New Leaf serves close to 100 individuals and employs over 215 full and part time staff in the Region of York.