Eden Care opens three new homes for Valley View residents

One of the major questions to come out of the Valley View Centre closure announcement in 2012 was just where exactly the 200-plus residents of the 24-hour personal care facility were going to go?

That question was partially answered on Oct. 4, as a grand opening was held for three new group homes being run by Eden Care Communities of Regina.

The three houses will be home to 14 people with intellectual disabilities, all from Valley View Centre, and will offer “person-directed care, to help the residents live their lives and give their lives purpose,” according to Eden Care CEO Alan Stephen. “If you go through what we did years ago in health and social services, back in those days having that sort of institution, that larger environment care was deemed to be the way to the day,” Stephen said. “We now know through evidence and communication that the smaller homes are better.

“This is their home and we’re working in their home. It’s smaller and more intimate, they get to know each other and the community get to know them and I think that’s really important.” Eden Care Moose Jaw general manager Jordan Varey has been involved in the Valley View transition since the beginning with various organizations and is especially impressed with what he’s seen when it comes to the smaller group home model.

“There’s a difference being in a small home setting, where you can all hop into a van and go out for supper and it doesn’t have to be a planned event, you just go out and do it, just like a regular house,” he said. “That’s the big difference, it gives you that flexibility and normality of life while giving them the support they need.” Wakamow Valley MLA Greg Lawrence was among the dignitaries who spoke at the grand opening and mentioned running into a group of residents from a local assisted-living home during a recent bowling excursion. That kind of activity is exactly what Eden Care aims to promote and achieve.

“It’s just one of those simple pleasures of life and a chance to be a part of the community,” Varey said.

One of the most impressive parts of the transition in Varey’s eyes is how adaptable the former Valley View residents have been – after living in an institutional setting for so long, the concern was how some of the longer-term residents would react to such a major change in their living situation.

“The people we support have impressed me at every turn with how adaptable they are and how they’ve just embraced some new freedoms and we’ve seen them do things people thought they’d never do... the home environment is really key, I think,” Varey said.

The government of Saskatchewan is providing $1.5 million to support the three homes, which will provide group home support and day programming for 14 people as well as enhanced supports for three people.

A total of 48 people currently reside at Valley View Centre, which is slated to close in December 2019.