Fonds 0393 - Grande Prairie & District Association for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (GPDAPDD) fonds

The Grande Prairie and District Association for Persons with Developmental Disabilities started as the Grande Prairie Association for Retarded Children (alternately called the Society of Parents of Exceptional Children and Association for Exceptional Children by newspaper articles of the day) founded by parents and other concerned individuals whose aim was to “form an organization for training of Retarded children in Grande Prairie and County.” The group’s first meeting of was held on January 20th,1955. Attendees included Dr. R. E. Rees, Dr. S. P. C. Casey, school superintendent Harold McNeil, MLA Ira McLaughlin, and about 14 parents. W. V. (Bill) Campbell was elected President, A. O. (Alex) Laurence, Vice-President, and Mrs. James (Sadie) Edgar, Secretary-Treasurer. In 1956 the organization was federally registered as a charity under the name “Grande Prairie and District Association for Retarded Children.” Since then the Association has had various names corresponding with changes in focus and perceptions about people with developmental disabilities. In 1976 the name was changed to “Grande Prairie and District Association for the Mentally Retarded.” The name was changed again in 1980 to “Grande Prairie and District Association for the Mentally Handicapped.” Around 2000 the services provided by the Association were renamed “Signature Support Services.” In the late 2000s the name of the Association itself was again altered to “Grande Prairie and District Association for Persons with Developmental Disabilities” with Signature Support Services operating under it. Over the years, the Association has been involved in providing many programs and services to persons with developmental disabilities and their families and has experienced a gradual shift from being essentially parent-run to professionally run.
The Grande Prairie Association for Retarded Children started the Grande Prairie School for Retarded Children, later called the Peace School of Hope, as a private regional school in 1955 with 9 students aged 6 to 16. The first teacher of the school was Mrs. Marjorie Roberts, aided by volunteers from the area. Classes were run out of the basement of the Masonic Hall from 1955 to 1959 when the Peace School of Hope moved to its own building north of 100 Avenue on 96 Street. By this time the school had 33 students enrolled. In 1967 the school was expanded to 8 classrooms including a shop and music room. In the 1970s the Peace School of Hope and the education of children with developmental disabilities were taken over by the public school system. One of the problems occasioned by this move was that many teachers at the Peace School of Hope were not certified teachers. Those teachers willing to upgrade to meet Provincial standards were issued temporary teaching certificates until their upgrading was complete. The process of integrating Peace School of Hope students into the public school system began in 1973 when the school was moved into the south wing of Montrose Junior High School. Although Peace School of Hope students occasionally joined the other children for some classes like physical education, the school was still segregated. In September 1975 the Peace School of Hope was amalgamated with the Grande Prairie Public School System, which finally resulted in the school being closed and the students being integrated into other schools. In 1984 Crystal Park School, which offers special classes, health care services and therapy, opened to facilitate the integration of more severely handicapped children.

As the children originally attending the Peace School of Hope grew up, new kinds of support were needed resulting in the establishment of a number of Association businesses. The first of these was Swan Industries, founded in 1973 as a vocational training program for adults. Swan Industries began as a small woodshop producing hobby products but later expanded to competitive bid contracts. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the vocational program shifted focus somewhat “from the sheltered workshop training program to more inclusive work situations and the development of practical work skills.”

In 1980, the Association purchased the local bottle depot license and opened a depot on 124 Street, which was run as a competitive business. In 1983 Swan Industries, the bottle depot, and the Association’s administration and programs moved to a new building at 8702-113 Street. Recycle Plus grew out of the bottle depot and began processing cardboard in 1993. The business later expanded to include other recyclables. The bottle depot and Recycle Plus moved again in 1995 to 10524-96 Avenue and in 2006 a second bottle depot, known as Recycle Plus II was opened on Resources Road. Recycle Plus now provides recycling services to Grande Prairie and the surrounding area of northwestern Alberta and part of northeastern British Columbia and has both container and fibre divisions. Recycle Plus won the provincial Emerald Award for environmental excellence in 2001.

The Association also started a second-hand store called New Generations in 1983 located at 11035-101 Street. From 1986 to 1998 the Daisy Fresh Diaper Service was also run out of the store. Another Association business was the Bee’s Knees beeswax candle business which operated for only a few months. A Purolator drop-centre was also run briefly out of Association’s main building in the early 2000s.

The Developmental Activity Program started in September 1985 with 4 clients. The DAP, which aimed at “increasing and improving the number and quality of social events and networks in someone’s life,” replaced the pre-vocational training previously provided by the Association. It was designed as a year-round day program for severely disabled adults to provide “an opportunity for individuals to enter the vocational continuum and participate regularly in a community based day program in order to develop their capabilities to the highest degree possible.” DAP participants engage in various activities including work experiences, various games, community awareness, flash cards, bowling, recycling, crafts, shredding, cleaning, reading, watching movies, and community outings.

In 1986 the Association became the first in northern Alberta to start “Personal Planning” with clients. The planning tool used was more widely applicable and in the 1990s the Association established “Janus Planning” as a company to market it.

In 1987 the Association started the Community Support Options program to support clients as employees of local businesses. The program encompasses a variety of employment types including competitive paid employment, work experience, and volunteer opportunities.

The Association is also involved in the provision of residential services. This dates back to the time when the Peace School of Hope was still in operation. Since the Peace School of Hope served children and families of the Grande Prairie District and students came from many communities, a residential program was necessary. In 1955 accommodation for out-of-town students was arranged by Mrs. Hazel Hoseck followed by other arrangements in the succeeding years. In 1962 the 20-bed Barrydale House dormitory, which was named for two of the first children, Dale McQuaig and Barry Ferguson, was built beside the Peace School of Hope. Originally a 20-bed facility, the dormitory was expanded in 1969 to accommodate 30 children. The dormitory was staffed by live-in house-parents and 2 residential workers and remained in operation until 1980 when it was decided that the dormitory was no longer necessary as the first residents had grown up and moved into family homes. The remaining young students moved to a rented duplex. The Association had begun providing other residential arrangements in 1972 with the establishment of the first group home at 109th Avenue. Various other group homes were added in the following years including those at 114th Avenue, 96A Street, 107th Avenue, 65th Avenue (no longer in operation), 83rd Avenue, and 101st Avenue. The 90th Avenue residence for seniors was purchased in 1994 and in 2001 a new children’s residence was built on 62nd Avenue. The early group homes were overnight staffed residences with live-in houseparents. Later the group homes moved to a shift-staffing model. By the early 2000s, the Association was providing several types of residential services including group homes, support homes, and individually funded programs, which are tailored to individual needs.
The Association is also involved in planning and running client events including Christmas parties and summer picnics, and, in the past, fair parades and monthly dances.