The Government of Manitoba provided funds to Abilities Manitoba to support innovation and transformation that enriches services and support for adults with an intellectual disability.
We are happy to announce the 9 winning projects!
All funds available for dispersal were allocated to the following nine projects:
enVision Community Living is pleased to make use of Abilities Manitoba’s Innovation and Transformation fund in order to develop an accessible housing strategy for rural Manitoban organizations. enVision hired a Special Projects Coordinator who, over the course of the coming year, will develop a plan for enVision and other rural organizations to increase accessible housing capacity. As part of this plan, the Special Projects Coordinator will partner with developers to design three concepts for accessible housing (a four-person home, a three-person home, and a ten-person co-op housing project). The resulting housing will be both accessible and adaptive, making use of innovative technologies to increase independence for people with a variety of support needs – all while reducing strain on an industry currently experiencing a staffing shortage. The housing will also follow an ecologically responsible, cooperative housing model, setting the stage to bring like-minded people together of various socio-economic backgrounds and the ability to build a community of care within the housing complex. (Awarded - $50,000)
Epic Opportunities, which is celebrating fifty years of supporting people with disabilities and building inclusive communities, is thrilled to partner with Abilities Manitoba and the Department of Families in their Quality Framework and Innovation and Transformation projects. With funds provided through this initiative, Epic Opportunities is further enabled to implement the Personal Outcome Measures® quality assurance system by pursuing accreditation through its creators, the Council on Quality and Leadership. Thanks to the Innovation and Transformation fund, they have been able to create a specialist position dedicated to strengthening outcome-focused resources, policies, and processes, collaborating with other agencies on best practices and empowering the people we serve by helping them better understand and exercise their rights. (Awarded - $50,000)
Inclusion Selkirk was very happy to receive funding through the Innovation and Transformation fund. Our project is to develop a Community of Practice Table in the Interlake Region. Working in smaller and rural communities can be quite isolating and having a Community of Practice table provides a place to build relationships, share knowledge, resources and provide support to each other as service providers working in the CLdS sector. Inclusion Selkirk has seen the benefits of working collaboratively with others and felt that this opportunity to develop a more formal place for collaboration was one that couldn’t be missed. (Awarded $48,300)
Manitoba Possible will make substantial improvements to our online platform for self-managed care, Care Possible (previously Envoyy). These improvements will include a complete overhaul of the platform, adding enhanced functionalities to make self-managed services including respite easier to access, manage, and pay for, as well as an analytics dashboard which will provide aggregate data on user demographics, wages, demand for services, and access related barriers. The generation of this data, which has never been captured previously in Manitoba, has the potential to guide significant improvements in the availability and delivery of services to CLdS participants. (Awarded - $29,400)
Options for Services (OFS), a program of Innovative LIFE Options Inc. supports individuals and families who manage their own services. The work of OFS empowers people to design successful individualized and person-centered supports, hire and oversee employees, as well as to run payroll. Our aim is to make self-management a viable option through capacity development. With this grant, OFS will be working on an outreach project to increase awareness and capacity with a focus on the Northern Region. We will develop mixed-media resources to assist individuals and families determine what best supports look like, explore possibilities based on dreams, goals, and gifts, as well as understand administrative and financial responsibilities related to self-management. (Awarded - $15,000)
People First of Canada is producing a documentary to uncover the truths of institutionalization in Manitoba through the courageous storytelling of survivors of the Manitoba Developmental Centre and other key advocates who have tirelessly fought for people’s right to live in the community. (Awarded - $49,951)
People First of Manitoba is launching a Digital Transformation and Training Project. As self-advocates, our lived experience is our most valuable tool for inspiring change. In our training series, we will explore the impact of services on our lives through new visual story-telling resources, including a 5 video series, as well as incorporating past ( ex: The Freedom Tour, The Language Project), current (upcoming Rights Workshop and Workbook) and future resources with a new digital platform that makes our content user-friendly and accessible to all. The new series will focus on issues that are most important to us like: rights and restrictions; labels and language; the responsibilities, power and influence of Direct Support Professionals and Service Providers; the importance and value of a self-directed life. The new web design will enable us to build our website’s capabilities to be able to support online training content. (Awarded - $50, 000)
SCE Lifeworks will develop an online resource hub for high school students with intellectual disabilities, their families, support team members and teachers to provide a central place to find information that can help inform a smoother transition, including:
- Adult system information with a highlight on employment paths and service options
- Information about the provincial transition protocol
- Information and tips with regard to preparation for adult life, particularly for the world of work
- Information about Employment and Income Assistance (EIA) including myth-busting about how it can be perceived as a deterrent to employment. (Awarded - $44,153)
Visions of Independence (VOI) plans to create a smart home that can support people to live their life as independently as they choose. People who live in the identified VOI home will work with VOI staff directly, and others who know them best, to create a home that meets their specific needs. A person-centred approach allows this to look different for each person. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed the world and by using items such as smart home alarm systems, smart thermostats, lights and sensors, VOI would like to provide people with many technological advantages to enhance their lives in their homes. Additionally, items like smart walkers, remote control lifts, medication dispensers and smartwatches that promote independent living will be incorporated on a person-by-person basis. Lessons learned from this grant will support VOI to establish a model that can be readily replicated in the sector. (Awarded - $43,196)
More information on The Innovation & Transformation Fund can be found here.