The BC Home Share Review: When “Default” Housing Becomes a System Under Strain In November 2025, the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction in British Columbia released an external review of the Community Living BC (CLBC) Home Share program. Conducted by Tamar Consultancy with Professor Tim Stainton and colleagues, the review was triggered by the coroner’s inquest into the death of Florence Girard and asked a blunt question: are current safeguards and standards enough to keep people safe and support a good life in Home Share? A unique and overloaded model Home Share in BC is unusual by international standards. Institutions have been closed for some time, and Home Share has become the province’s largest community living option — a situation the review notes “doesn’t exist in any other jurisdiction.” About 4,300 people are funded to live in Home Share, with hundreds more on waitlists and more than 19,000 adults outside any funded residential support, signalling deep, ...

A new Cerebra report shows that for thousands of families with disabled children, the main source of trauma is not diagnoses or accidents, but the very support systems meant to help them. The organisation introduces the term **“systems generated trauma”** and describes how bureaucracy, hostile practices and the constant “fight for support” damage families’ health, relationships and finances more severely than many classic traumatic events. Based on testimony from more than 1,200 parents, the study documents chronic stress, burnout, suicidal thoughts and a complete loss of trust in services. The report calls for official recognition of this trauma, prioritising research, and deep reform of services — from healthcare to education and social care — so that instead of blame and “passing the buck”, systems are built on partnership, empathy and accountability. Source: https://cerebra.org.uk/latest-news/new-report-reveals-widespread-systems-generated-trauma/?fbclid=IwY2xjawOJuH9leHRuA2FlbQ...

Families across BC keep saying the same thing: the system that’s supposed to support people with disabilities is actually hurting them. A new international report on Systems-Generated Trauma (SGT) describes exactly what we see here every day — almost point for point. Here’s how the findings match what families and caregivers in BC experience: Source: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BiU6HUUNp/

The Newfoundland and Labrador Disability Benefit includes: Up to $400 per month to those who qualify ($4,800 annually), beginning in July 2025. The monthly amount is available for Persons with Disabilities between the ages of 18-64 who qualify for the Government of Canada’s Disability Tax Credit (DTC). Income thresholds for this monthly benefit are between $29,402 and $42,404 for individuals and couples where one person is in receipt of the DTC, and between $29,402 and $55,404 for couples where both are in receipt of the DTC. Individuals and couples with incomes within these thresholds will receive a partial benefit amount, while those with incomes below $29,402 will receive the full $400 benefit. A $1,200 annual contribution to the Person’s Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP). This will begin in 2025. Qualifying persons must have a DTC and RDSP in place before this contribution can be made. They must also be between the ages of 18-49. Individuals and couples where one person is...

In the Waterloo Region (DSPAC), there are about 1,500 people with developmental disabilities sitting on a waitlist. In Ontario, there are over 50,000 people with developmental disabilities on the waitlist for essential services. They say a lack of funding over the past 30 years has left more people without the programs they need. Source: https://kitchener.citynews.ca/2025/02/06/calls-to-the-province-for-help-as-1200-people-with-developmental-disabilities-sit-on-waitlist-for-local-programs/

August 18, 2025 Last week, the Alberta Government released the ADAP Discussion Guide, proposing that all current AISH recipients be moved to the new Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP) with a benefit that will be $200 per month lower. This cut will worsen an already desperate situation for Albertans on AISH, already below Canada’s poverty line. This follows two earlier blows: the clawback of the $200 Canada Disability Benefit and a $220 per month rent hike for AISH tenants in Community Housing. Source: https://inclusionalberta.org/connections/media-release-alberta-disability-assistance-program-adap-could-leave-thousands-with-disabilities-in-deeper-poverty/