Dufferin County Community Support Services celebrates 30th Anniversary

September 23, 2015 · 0 Comments

In January of 1985 Dufferin County Community Support Services (DCCSS) opened its doors with just one Home Support Coordinator. Funding for this position was provided by Dufferin County and the Ministry of Community and Social Services. The first office was located in the administrative department of the original Dufferin Oaks.
A coordinator was hired to plan and coordinate home support programs that would assist seniors and adults with disabilities to live independently in the community. The first programs offered friendly visiting, home help and transportation and relied upon volunteers to deliver them.
As services expanded, in 1987, along with Dufferin Oaks, they were renamed The Community Support Service Centre for Seniors. Then in late 1988 the Adult Day Program was added to the list of programs offered.
Over the next 27 years the department continued to grow. Dufferin Oaks was redeveloped in 2002 and in 2005 DCCSS moved to its current location in The Mel Lloyd Centre. Today they offer 15 different programs to more than 800 clients, have a staff compliment of 17 and over 70 volunteers contributing to the over 15,000 hours to programs and Dufferin County residents.
Programs offered today include ADP, Transportation, MOW, Friendly Visiting, Congregate, Dining, HH, HM & Respite, Assisted Living, Bathing, PSW Transportation Escort and Bridging You Home. As well as overseeing twenty-two apartments located at McKelvie Burnside Village in Orangeville.
Patti Tardif, DCCSS Manager said “we would not be able to provide our programs and services to the community without funding from Dufferin County and the Central West LHIN, our valued volunteers, and our dedicated staff who go above and beyond to make sure everything runs smoothly.”
Tardif also stated that “all of our programs and services are provided to assist seniors and adults with disabilities to live independently and safely in the community. We will continue to work with the community to identify services which address the increasing needs of the aging population in Dufferin County”.
For more information on these programs you can go to their website www.dufferincounty.ca/residents/seniors-programs-and-services

By Michelle Austen