COMMUNITY LIVING QUINTE WEST
1959 - 2010
 
 
The organization was originally founded in 1957 by a group of concerned parents who were seeking support for their children with special needs, and was originally part of the Quinte Association for Retarded Children in Belleville. In 1959 a group of parents from the Trenton and Brighton area decided to set up their own agency called the Trenton-Brighton and District Association for the Retarded Children. The group received their charter from the Ontario Association for Retarded Children (now known as Community Living Ontario) on November 14, 1959. The agency was incorporated on August 4, 1961.
 
The first program to be operated by the Association was the Stepping Stones Nursery School which was established in 1959. This program operated at the 52 Lafferty Road site until 1988 when it was closed and replaced with the new Stepping Stones Integrated Preschool Services at 25 Ontario Street in Trenton. In 1997 a decision was made to amalgamate the integrated nursery program with 4 other existing programs in the area to become a stand alone agency called Family Space. In 1988 the site of the Stepping Stones School became the site for the June Hodgson Resource Centre which provided life skills training to individuals with an intellectual disability.  In 2004 the agency’s head office, the Supported Independent Living Program and the Foundations Program moved to this location while the Resource Centre moved to our location at 11 Canal Street.
 
In 1968 the Association built the sheltered workshop, ARC Industries (Adult Rehabilitation Centre). Originally located on Guelph Street in Trenton this program moved to its current location at 11 Canal Street in 1975. In 2002 the building at 11 Canal Street was renamed the Joan Scott Developmental Centre to honour one of the Association’s most dedicated supporters. At this time the Joan Scott Developmental Centre was home to ARC Industries and the Day Options Drop in Centre, now known as the Compass Program. In 2004 due to economic decline the ARC Industries Workshop was closed and the agency concentrated on delivering education and skills training. The PawsActive Doggie Daycare was opened in 2008 at 11 Canal Street as a training program.
 
In 1977 the agency opened their first residential program on Marmora Street in Trenton. In 1991 a second group home was opened at 59 Bentinck Street. The building on Marmora Street was sold in 1997 when the Lafferty Road group home was opened. In 1998 the agency opened the Fraserglen home.
 
It was in the 1980’s that the agency opened the Supported Independent Living Program which assists individuals with an intellectual disability to live, work and play in their own apartments or homes within the community. Since 1995 an integral component of this program has been the apartments at 32 Flindall Street. Located in an apartment complex in Trenton, and through a head lease agreement with the local non-profit housing authorities, Community Living Quinte West provides support to 9 individuals in their own apartments on Flindall Street. This is an addition to another 7 individuals living in their own apartments throughout Trenton.
 
Over the years the Association has operated a number of programs for individuals with an intellectual disability in Trenton and the surrounding area. The agency as also had a number of name changes over the years that help to reduce the stigma associated with labeling people, and that better reflect the positive changes that have taken place in the developmental services sector. Today the agency is known as Community Living Quinte West, a name that is meant to stress our ties to the community and to reinforce our main objectives which celebrate inclusion rather than segregation.
 
Today Community Living Quinte West operates three residential programs, a Supported Independent Living Program, a Transitional Aged Youth Program, and the Compass Program. We provide supports and services to over 55 individuals and families, and are active members of the Hastings & Prince Edward Developmental Services Agencies FOCUS GROUP and the Pressures and Priorities Committee. The agency currently employs over 55 full and part- time staff.
 
Community Living Quinte West is a membership based organization that is governed by a dynamic volunteer Board of Directors. The agency is a registered charity and membership is open to anyone who supports our mission and goals. We receive our funding from the Ministry of Community and Social Services, through PawsActive Doggie Daycare, as well as from community fund raising endeavors and donations.