74 O’Leary Avenue
P.O. Box 8414
St. John’s, NL
A1B 3N7
Tel: (709) 722-0790
Fax: (709) 722-1325
Email: nlacl@nlacl.ca
Website: http://www.nlacl.ca/
Mandate:
NLACL’s mandate is to work with and on behalf of individuals with an intellectual disability and their families as well as advocate for individuals to live as full participants in the community, based on the values of equality, inclusion and independence.
Target Population:
Persons with intellectual disabilities and their families
Highlights of programs / Services offered:
- Provincial Incentive Program: Due to government funding, this program will offer promotion of the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) throughout the province by providing those that qualify with an opportunity to participate in RDSP information sessions, as well as receive $150 as an incentive to start an account.
- Ready, Willing and Able: an initiative that is designed to build on, and increase employer capacity to hire people with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorder. By establishing the effective and responsive linkages between employers and employment agencies supporting people with intellectual disabilities and ASD, we will open new doors of opportunity for our fellow Canadians.
- SET Mentoring: an in-school opportunity that pairs students who face barriers, such as intellectual, social and emotional barriers, with committed, adult mentors. Through this program, mentors will help students explore future career options, community options as well as post -school options. It’s intended to help students transition into the community and/or work place after finishing high school.
- STEP Mentoring: a community-based opportunity to help students facing additional barriers to employment, such as an Intellectual Disability or Autism Spectrum Disorder, build the necessary skills to transition into the labour market, vocational training, and/or post-secondary institutions upon school leaving. Students will be paired with employer mentors and will explore future career goals and options, gain an employability skillset, and become contributing members of their community.
- Future Planning: help with planning for future goals and challenges such as applying for Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP), creating a will, setting and mapping out career goals and creating a trust.
- Supportive Living and Housing: Affordable, accessible and attainable housing as well as the appropriate supports to ensure that persons with intellectual disabilities are able to live in typical housing and therefore exercise their rights and responsibilities as Canadian citizens.
- Community Inclusion: various programs that focus on ensuring those that have intellectual disabilities, and their families, are included within society and exercise full participation and citizenship. These programs include Inclusive Education, Disability Supports and partnerships with community sectors to ensure appropriate inclusion is exercised by all.
- Adopt-a-MHA: a program put in place to raise awareness of the issues that persons with intellectual disabilities, and their families, face to the elected officials. It is a light, friendly meeting where each of the MHAs are invited to the home (or place of employment) of a family in their district and witness the daily life of those living with a family member with an intellectual disability. The purpose is to raise awareness and further implement inclusion within the community.
- Sibling Engagement Network: a connection of brother and sisters of individuals with intellectual disabilities to provide a means to obtain advice, relative stories, knowledge and idea base of how to further help their siblings as well as to address issues and utilize various other communicative supports.
- Changing Lives, Changing Communities Initiative: a semi-monthly meeting that involves learning lunches where people talk about some of the programs and goals that are being processed. Participants also share some of the deeply personal stories of individuals with an intellectual disability and their families.