| 1958 - The Kinsmen New Dawn School
1966 - The HL McQuarrie Memorial School for Retarded Children
1969 – “Sheltered Workshop” moved to 108 Sydney Street - (Later become known as the Kinsmen Training Centre)
This was the early start to services for people before the existence of K-W Habilitation Services. The philosophy at the time was “to control, administer, and operate the services and facilities that have been provided and will be provided for the mentally retarded in Kitchener Waterloo.”
How it started
Like other local community services, programs for individuals with developmental challenges started with a group of concerned parents within the Kitchener-Waterloo area. These dedicated and hard working parents came together with concerns about their children’s needs and the fact that there were little or no community supports available to them in meeting those needs. They formed an association and this grew and pioneered the development of programs and started the long process of educating the public and getting their support in meeting their children’s needs.
Through the financial assistance and support of the Kinsmen and a great deal of fund-raising, the Kinsmen New Dawn School was built in 1958. A second school, the HL McQuarrie Memorial School was opened in 1966. These two schools were established to provide day programs for children with special needs that were not accommodated in the regular school system at that time. Both schools officially became part of the Waterloo County Board of Education in 1971.
To meet the needs of individuals with disabilities who were too old to attend school, a “sheltered workshop” was opened above “Orr’s Automotive” in downtown Kitchener. The workshop moved to a building on Betzner and Charles Street in 1964 and then to the building at 108 Sydney Street – which has been its location since 1969. The motto at the time was that the “mentally challenged should have a place to stand, a place to live, and a place to grow.”
July 1971 - Incorporation of KW Habilitation Services.
K-W Habilitation Services was incorporated in July 1971, with members being equally elected from the K-W Kinsmen and the K-W and District Association for the Mentally Retarded.
In 1971, three programs were developed:
- Developmental Centre for children
- Kinsmen Training Centre for Adults, and
- The David Fisher Residence for adults to live in, a large core residence of 25 people
These initial projects taught the agency that while community integration can sometimes pose many challenges, the increase quality of life of the individuals made it all worthwhile and plans were made to develop more community homes.
Today - KWHS has over 500 employees and we provide service to approximately 400 individuals and their families. |
