SAIL – Unique Model under Threat

The following article was written by Louise Schutte and published in Resource Magazine, 2014.

It is published here with their permission.

SAIL – Unique Model under Threat

Overlooking Rowland Road and the scenic North Saskatchewan River,  Artspace Housing Cooperative is well situated near local supermarkets, schools, city transit buses,  and restaurants and is within 15 minutes walking/wheeling distance to the major shopping and business establishments downtown. 

Artspace is a high-rise housing cooperative consisting of 66 apartments and 22 townhouse units and is designed to meet the needs of singles, families, and persons who have disabilities in an accessible cooperative community.  Twenty-nine of units at Artspace are adapted, accessible units.

“When we developed buildings like Artspace, they were developed from the ground up with and by people with disabilities.  In other words, they had a role in designing the buildings and getting financing, etc.  The other thing that’s unique about the building is that these same individuals wanted to manage their own care.  And to do that, they formed a group called SAIL, which is a non-profit business, with the objective of getting money from the government, Alberta Health Services, to hire and manage their caregivers independently of bigger companies, and companies that really don’t have what they felt was the best interest of the individuals living in the building, at heart,” says Larry Pempeit,  Director Community Development at Canadian Paraplegic Association Alberta, and founder and president of Creekside Support Services.

SAIL (Supports for Artspace Independent Living Inc.) is a program for Artspace members who have disabilities and need personal care assistance.  “SAIL Inc. is a consumer driven, self-directed model of homecare,” explains Sheila Walker, a quadriplegic who uses a wheelchair. “It is managed by a volunteer Board of Directors directly responsible for hiring, training, evaluating, and firing staff.” This Board maintains a healthy relationship with Alberta Health Services (AHS) with whom they negotiate funding contracts based on client care needs.”

What makes the SAIL model of care unique is that user-members direct their own care. Two other user run homecare service providers exist in Edmonton: Abby Road Housing Co-operative and Creekside Support Services.

“Every client who lives in the Artspace Co-op and is a user-member of SAIL is responsible for directing the staff as to how best to meet their needs,” Walker continues.  It is the user-member who trains the staff as to how their personal care needs should be met. The user-member is responsible for making sure they get their medication. The user-member has a say as to when their care time is scheduled.  And the user-member lives in their own apartment, no matter what their level of care is.

“When I moved to Artspace, I was delighted to learn about SAIL. It is a small homecare service with staff on site 24/7 and it has been successfully running for about 24 years.  I was assessed and assigned approximately three hours a week for homemaking, laundry, and some personal care.  But the best part was learning about the On-call service.  Now if I had an emergency, or just needed help carrying groceries, all I had to do was pick up the phone and ask for help,” says Walker.

However, since May 7, 2014, SAIL staff has been on strike.  Many Artspace members now refer to their home as being under siege as strikers picket outside their building.

[Note: SAIL staff walked out on May 7, 2014 but have been Locked-out since May 19, 2014. The end result of picketing has not changed.]

 

Since the strike, “Sleep has become very difficult,” says Elizabeth Forman, who has Cerebral Palsy. Forman has lived at Artspace for 21 years. “I find I am waking up several times a night just thinking negatively about our situation.  Every morning I'm wondering "will I get up [out of bed] today" because the strikers hold everyone up. It is a constant worry.  My whole demeanor has changed for the worse, and that is not a good thing. I have fought my entire life to maintain my independence. There is NO WAY I'm going to give that up!

“My friends are far more affected by this strike because several individuals have PTSD and other mental health issues. I worry for them,” Forman states. “The picketers have turned our peaceful block into a very stressful situation.”

“Alberta Health Services (AHS) provides funding to SAIL based on the assessed care needs of the clients,” explains Walker, “and AHS provides monies based on those assessed hours.  In their contract with SAIL, AHS provides a certain amount of dollars, again based on the assessed care needs.  From that total, SAIL has to meet ALL of their financial obligations.  These include rent, overhead, supplies, etc., as well as wages.” SAIL affirms that there simply is not enough money in the budget to meet the demands of the striking workers.

It is vital that the independent model of care exhibited at Artspace continues to exist. “You have full control of who provides the care for you,” declares Pempeit.  “In the case of a larger [healthcare] company, that isn’t onsite or basically has other people that they’re accountable to – like the shareholders and owners – the needs of the individuals are somewhat secondary, I think.

“It’s not that they don’t provide good care, mind you.  But, when you are the person that’s getting the care you have a personal stake in it.  You have some influence when you get up, when you go to bed, when you get help. And the whole thing is about independence.”

“I don’t know what the solution is, but I am fearful of losing my independence.  You may remember that I stated at the beginning that my scheduled care is only in homemaking.  Unfortunately, the sad reality is my abilities are becoming less, and one day I just may need more care.” Walker concludes.

Please visit: artspaceundersiege.blogspot.ca