MEDIA RELEASE: North Muskoka ‘shines a light’ on Community Living Huntsville in May

Image shows a smiling, joyful woman looking off into the distance while holding one blue and one green lightbulb. Both lightbulbs are unlit.

Jennifer Jerrett, community engagement specialist for Community Living Huntsville, readies for downtown businesses to ‘Shine a Light on Community Living’ on May 6 with blue and green lightbulbs donated by Rolston Home Building Centre. (Community Living Huntsville photo)

April 30, 2021

NORTH MUSKOKA ­– It’s time to Shine a Light on Community Living Huntsville.

May is Community Living Month, an annual awareness campaign that recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of the community living movement in supporting and advocating for people with a developmental disability to live the lives they choose in their community. This year’s theme is “Still in This Together”, in honour of the perseverance and resilience shown by those in our movement, as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The COVID-19 crisis has been very difficult for our entire community. But what people often fail to realize is that many of the community members we support felt isolated far before the pandemic even happened,” said Suzanne Willett, executive director for Community Living Huntsville. “Community Living Month is an opportunity for everyone to focus on growing a community where every person can live with dignity, share in every element of living, and have equal opportunity to participate.”

Over the next month, community members can join the conversation on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter social media pages with a new theme each week. Follow @clhuntsville to participate.

Upcoming Events:

  • May 1 ­– Virtual Flag Raising: The Town of Huntsville honours Community Living Month by posting a virtual flag on its website at huntsville.ca.
  • May 6 ­– Community Living Blue and Green Day: Wear Community Living’s colours to show your support for an inclusive community, and then snap a photo and tag #bluegreenCLH when you share it on social media.
  • May 6 – Shine a Light on Community Living: Downtown Huntsville is lit in blue and green to honour Community Living Month. Special thanks to our partner Rolston Home Building Centre for supplying the lightbulbs!
  • May 10 – Artists for Inclusion: Visit online auction site Gala Bid for a sneak peek at our upcoming online art auction to raise funds for Community Living Huntsville. The pieces, donated by renowned artists, will be on public display during the Huntsville Art Crawl in June, as COVID-19 public health restrictions allow.

And Community Living Ontario’s annual Policy Forum, an opportunity to engage with the provincial government’s ongoing work on reform of the developmental services sector and acknowledge how far we have come, takes place over four weeks through Community Living Month:

  • May 11 at 4 p.m. ­Session 1 ­– Preparing for Reform
  • May 18 at 1 p.m. Session 2 – Real Housing for People
  • May 25 at 1 p.m. Session 3 – Amplifying Voice and Choice, and
  • June 1 at 1 p.m. Session 4 – Building Qualified Support Teams

Learn more about each policy forum session and register through Community Living Ontario.

We look forward to celebrating #CLMonth alongside you! Visit our website at clhuntsville.ca for more information.

Community Living Huntsville is a not-for-profit, registered charity that supports and advocates for people with a developmental disability to live, work and play in unique and purposeful ways in North Muskoka.