Our Goal:

That people with an intellectual disability have every opportunity to participate fully in our community with dignity and independence.

Get To Know Us:

Our name, “Community Living,” has a special meaning.

It’s different, we admit. But considering what we do, we think you’ll agree that our name tells exactly what we’re about. And we hope you’ll agree that not only our name, but also the work that we do and the goals that we have, make perfect sense.

Community Living is a way of life, not a goal. Ordinary people live in communities. Children go to neighborhood schools. Adults work at jobs, get paid for their work, and contribute to the community as productive citizens.

When we began in 1953, for many people who had intellectual (or developmental) disabilities, community living was a dream. It was an objective yet to be realized. Until they finally closed in 2009, some still lived apart in Ontario government institutions. Others were physically in, but had little connection to the community around them — as children, they were in segregated classrooms or in schools far away from the neighborhood children who were their peers; as adults, they were often excluded from opportunities to join the workforce. At all ages, many faced physical and social barriers that kept them from participating in the social and economic world around them.

For more than sixty years, Community Living Kingston and District has worked to bring people and their communities together:

- We support individuals as they develop their capacity to live, learn, work and participate in all aspects of living in the community; and

- We engage the community to develop its capacity to welcome and support people to participate in community life in meaningful, productive ways.

The direct service and support we provide is essential for many individuals and their families. Some require physical attention 24 hours per day. Others may only need social or attitudinal barriers dismantled to free them to make their way in the community. In both direct and indirect ways, supporting people to contribute and participate makes good economic sense and produces communities that are vibrant and strong. It’s just the right thing to do.

By now, our name, “Community Living,” will make sense. Rather than call ourselves by the labels that are used to categorize and therefore “separate” people from their aspirations, we take a different approach —declaring in our very name our commitment to strengthening communities so that everyone can belong and participate.