The Weyburn Group Homes Society celebrated their 30th anniversary with an event held on Nov. 25 in McKenna Hall.

The society was marking its anniversary of helping participants live as independently as possible in the community.

The agency was incorporated in March of 1975 as the Society of the Independence of Handicapped Persons. The directors were community-minded volunteers who believed in the mission "To encourage employment, obtain quality housing and promote the integration and acceptance of handicapped persons in their community."

When the agency began, the volunteers ran the programs themselves. In 1982 the agency changed its name to Weyburn Group Homes Society Inc., and the program continued to expand to include programs for persons with mental illness, intellectual disabilities and an adolescent home for troubled teenagers.

This agency also started the Early Childhood Intervention Program (ECIP) and supported employment; both agencies have moved on to their own incorporation, and the adolescent group home was closed due to lack of funding for adequate qualified staff.

Today, the Group Homes Society supports 62 individuals who have intellectual disabilities, mental illness or acquired brain injury. There are four group homes with a combined capacity of 22 spaces, and the other individuals live in their own apartment in the community, with the society providing supports according to their needs or acceptance of support.

The Weyburn Group Homes Society are a non-profit charity organization which accepts donations of furniture, household goods, food and clothing, depending on the storage room available. Bequeaths are also appreciated.

The society does not belong to the Weyburn and District United Way, as there other agencies associated with the program who do receive funding from the United way, but the society does receive any benefits from those agencies.

A single individual living independently in the community who is on income security (formerly welfare) receives $275 a month for food, clothing, personal items, recreation, transportation to outings ($20). With the constant rise of the cost of living, it continues to be very difficult to survive on these funds.

Those who can work are encouraged to do so, and the society assists them by obtaining and maintaining employment. Some individuals in the program are employed at the Weyburn Wor-Kin Shop, Community Resource Centre, Comp School or a day program at Mental Health Services. The Group Homes Society receives barebones funding from government departments, in the amount of $5 per person per day to provide a healthy meal for those living in the group homes.

Last year, Group Homes workers received a zero increase in non-salary codes and a one-per-cent increase in wages. The government has announced they have committed $30 million over the next three years to improve wages.

The society owes much of its success over the last 30 years to their dedicated staff, as well as the board members who have volunteered countless hours to ensure the program they deliver is appropriate and respectful for the participants they support.