Family and Friends has a goal: to provide opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.
And the organization is always looking for new people who want to be involved.
Roberta DeRosier said Family and Friends’ mandate is to support people with intellectual disabilities. Family and Friends will advocate for them, and educate the public about those who are disabled.
It also wants to create opportunities that people with intellectual disabilities normally wouldn’t have.
“There are a lot of things that you and I take for granted that we can do,” DeRosier said in an interview with Lifestyles. “Something as simple as having a barbecue or going to a dance or something like that, which they (people with intellectual disabilities) usually don’t have the resources for, whether it’s financial resources or other resources.”
Family and Friends has offered all kinds of activities, including taking people to out-of-town events like Saskatchewan Roughrider games or Telemiracle, and taking them somewhere local, such as supper at the TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club.
“If we want to have a supper there, we would,” said DeRosier. “They don’t have the transportation. They don’t have the means to organize it.”
The biggest event is an annual dance in which people with intellectual disabilities are invited from other communities, such as Weyburn, Kipling and Redvers.
“They get to meet other people, and they look forward to it every year,” said DeRosier. “We get a DJ, we have it in a hall, and they absolutely love it.”
The activities are very well attended, she said. The annual dance will attract around 200 people. A local event, such as a barbecue, will typically bring 50 to 60 people.
The next event will be a hay ride and barbecue at Rotary Park on Saturday, and DeRosier predicted it would also attract a large crowd.
One year Family and Friends even rented the former Metochos Ministries Lutheran Bible Camp for an overnight camp, which proved to be a great night.
Family members will occasionally accompany someone for activities, particularly if extra supports are needed.
DeRosier said they don’t have an exact figure for the number of people who are part of Family and Friends, since it’s open to people in Estevan and the surrounding area. But she would like to see the program expanded.
“It’s only in the last four or five years have we had some younger ones coming out, which is awesome,” said DeRosier. “Providing these opportunities, they get to meet other people with disabilities, too.”
Family and Friends has been around for about 10 years, and the organization has often provided the same activities. Not only would she like to see new members, she wants to see new ideas for activities.
“For example, somebody came to a meeting the other night, it was her first meeting, and right away after the meeting, she came up with some new ideas that we haven’t thought of before,” said DeRosier.
Education assistants and others who have a background working with people with disabilities would be ideal people to help out, she said.
DeRosier noted that Family and Friends provides services for many of the same people as Estevan Diversified Services (EDS), but there are differences between the two.
EDS has residential services, so they provide staff and supports in homes, and vocational supports through its day program.
Family and Friends helps fill a gap by providing the social element that helps with someone’s mental wellbeing.
DeRosier also noted that Family and Friends is a United Way member agency, and almost all of its funding comes from the United Way. The organization does receive some other donations, such as a $1,000 contribution from RBC earlier this year.
“We could not do what we do without the United Way,” said DeRosier.
Therefore, she believes it’s important for people to support the upcoming United Way Estevan Telethon on October 27 and 28.
Anyone looking for information on Family and Friends is asked to contact DeRosier at 306-421-2183
