By Sheldon Spackman

Left Without Funding Or Staff

Camp for developmentally disabled faces uncertain future after losing provincial funding

Nov 9, 2020 | 12:44 PM

The future remains uncertain for a central Alberta camp tailored to meet the needs of adults with developmental disabilities.

On Friday, officials with Camp L.G. Barnes near Bentley expressed their dismay over the provincial government’s announcement that it will no longer provide staff or funding for the facility.

Deb Simmons, President of the Society of Parents and Friends of Michener Centre which owns and operates the camp, says they knew their funding would be changing, but admits they weren’t expecting a complete pull-out by the province.

“This is a partnership that has been around since the mid-70s. Our society has been incorporated since the late 50s and we’ve been partners with Michener Services since then. We knew they wanted us to wean ourselves off of Michener’s reliance, but we thought as a change from leaning on Michener, to leaning on Community and Social Services just like every other service provider in the province.”

Simmons says Camp L.G. Barnes, located along the southwest shore of Gull Lake, provides fully accessible, year-round facilities at affordable prices for developmentally disabled adults.

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“We have a houseboat, we have a Wally Wagon with tractor, we have nine summer staff that come on from May until the end of August and they provide huge activities through that summer period,” says Simmons. “We have opportunities for people to come stay overnight, whether it’s in the main lodge or our other two cabins, and we also have opportunities for people to come for special functions. We do women’s retreat, men’s retreat, Christmas parties, ice fishing, snowmobiling, or just come and sit by the campfire.”

Christmas party set up at Camp L.G. Barnes. (Supplied)

Camp L.G. Barnes was closed on Mar. 17 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has been unable to reopen since then. Simmons says they had five staff at that time, with nine more expected for the summer.

“We are not going to sell the camp,” adds Jan Grant, Executive Board Director. “It will be open as soon as the government gives us the go-ahead to open it – as long as we have at least one staff who can be there during the day time. We will no longer have overnight camps because we don’t have the staff to stay overnight.”

Simmons further points out that a lack of funding opportunities will make it difficult to hire needed-staff moving forward.

“A good portion of our money comes from casino dollars and casinos have been closed, so our casino money will probably be delayed for another six to nine months,” suggests Simons. “You couldn’t have picked a worse time to take even that one staff to help us get through the winter and until our next casino dollars come in.”

Simmons feels the government has a lack of insight and respect for what actually takes place at Camp L.G. Barnes.

“It makes perfect sense to scale down services while we’re not open but we have things going on,” she exclaims. “We have a building that needs to get through the winter, we have animals out there, and we have campers and visitors that need to be out at camp. They need to be back out again and it’s safe for them. It’s a very safe place for them to be.”

Simmons says the Society of Parents and Friends of Michener Centre will be meeting with provincial officials this week.

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