‘I’m still here because every day, it still feels new’
Summer Street executive director shares about what drew him to Pictou County
Thirty years ago Bob Bennett took a chance on Pictou County. Looking back, he marvels at how he and his job have changed.
“I grew up in Annapolis Valley and was working in Halifax, helping people with intellectual disabilities find employment, when I heard about an interesting job in Pictou County,” he recalled.
The Kinsmen Opportunity Centre, which a group of parents founded under the name Parkdale Activity Centre, was 20 years old and looking for an executive director.
Bennett saw it as the kind of challenge he wanted.
“The name has changed a number of times since then, the mission has broadened, the approaches have changed dramatically and I’m still here because every day, it still feels new,” he said.
“The one thing that has never changed is the tremendous support in the community.”
As executive director of what is now called simply Summer Street, Bennett recalls his schooling which included the teaching of concepts such as behaviour modification and compliance.
“That was back in the days when we thought we had the answers and knew what was best for people with intellectual disabilities. Over time, it became very clear our clients knew what was good for them and our focus shifted to what they wanted and needed from us.”
When it was founded in 1968, Parkdale Activity Centre had nine young adults and a single staff person. Today Summer Street – so named because it suggests hope, optimism and a place in the community, according to its 50th anniversary newsletter – has 200 clients, more than 30 staff and 2,000 donors as well as an extensive network of community partners.
Being a client is only one form of association with Summer Street.
“You can be a client in the morning when you are involved in a work skills development program but a participant when you are at a Zumba class in the afternoon and then be employed for a catering function in the evening.”
Bennett still finds new ways to measure the role of Summer Street in the broader community.
“It just hit me recently that our people with disabilities, who are being paid at least the minimum wage, are generating $700,000 worth of income in our community.”
Social enterprises such as catering, space rentals and the New Beginnings store generate 30 per cent of Summer Street’s revenue while other services include packaging, shredding, inserting and mailing. The Summer Street Works program, which includes work in distribution, landscaping, janitorial, inventory stocking and food services, involves 60 employers.
Summer Street itself employs 41 people with disabilities.
“With 41 such employees and 30 staff, the fact is, more than half of the people who work here have intellectual disabilities.”
Bennett credits Summer Street’s programs director Dorothy Doyle with bringing about one of the most dramatic changes in how Summer Street clients see themselves.
“Dorothy has been here longer than I have so she has seen change, but she has also brought about a lot of change. About 10 to 12 years ago she started working with clients on establishing a bill of rights for them. Every group like ours across Nova Scotia has since come up with something similar.”
Summer Street also has a client council which has considerable say in programs and even in staff hiring.
“When someone applies to work at Summer Street, our HR person Kim MacKinnon will do the first interview to establish qualifications. The next interview involves meeting with management and the representatives of the client council and everyone has a say.”
Once a year, the client council presents a report to the board of directors.
“Management, staff and clients are talking all the time, whether in a meeting or in the hallway or the kitchen but the council also has a direct link with the board and the opportunity to bring forward anything they want. I have no idea what will be in their report.”
One of the best examples of how clients have influenced programming came years ago with the closure of the wood shop.
“Our wood shop had a great reputation and our work came with a guarantee, but we got to a point where woodworking was not what our clients wanted to do. At the time they wanted to learn how to use computers so that was a direction we had to shift toward.”
Some of Summer Street’s oldest clients are now moving toward retirement.
“It is quite like in the rest of the workforce because some want to be done, some want to continue and some want part-time or something different. Over the past couple of years, we’ve been working on a retirement program with various options.”
Bennett has also witnessed changes in the interests of younger clients over the years.
“They’re growing up with all the new technology and many of them are quite good with it. Some certainly know more than I do, and they want to be able to use what they know.”
Through the years Summer Street has maintained a policy of having no waiting list.
“When people need our services, they need them right away. We may not be able to meet all their needs at once but we’ll meet some of them. Dorothy is a magician at utilizing our resources so she will find some help and we’ll build from there.”
Bennett points out the annual Summer Street Scramble, which raised more than $255,000 in 2018, is one of the most successful charity golf tournaments in the country.
“It is vital to us in terms of funding, but it also demonstrates a wonderful degree of support for Summer Street in the community. In spite of some economic struggles, the people of Pictou County have continued to generously support Summer Street.”
The spirit of giving is also alive and well within Summer Street with clients volunteering more than 14,000 hours for various causes, including the Salvation Army’s Christmas kettle campaign.
Rosalie MacEachern is a Stellarton resident and freelance writer. She seeks out people who work behind the scenes on hobbies or jobs that they love the most. If you know someone you think she should profile in an upcoming article, she can be reached at r.maceachern@ns.sympatico.ca.