Jan 25, 2010 - 04:30 AM

By Parvaneh Pessian

WHITBY -- It was a silver streak in a clouded history for Dolores Jones's son when he entered the Challenging Directions Enterprises program at the Whitby Mental Health Centre in November 2008.

The 40-year-old, who prefers not to be named, had been referred to the Gordon Street facility -- now known as Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences -- by provincial court after getting into trouble with the law.

"If you knew my son prior to him going there, he's done a complete 360-turn," said Ms. Jones, of Ajax, adding that her son suffers from Tourette syndrome and has difficulty focusing on more than one task at a time.

C.D.E. is a voluntary work program for mentally challenged patients that allows them to perform various types of remedial duties while under the supervision and support of staff. Some of the tasks they engage in include operating slow assembly lines, sorting and packaging hardware parts and learning basic computer skills.

"It's so motivating for these people, their self esteem has improved and it gives them a feeling of self-worth because they're doing something and not just vegetating," said Ms. Jones.

This is why she and several other caregivers involved in the program are reeling from news that Ontario Shores' board of directors has decided to restructure the program.

As of Feb. 1, C.D.E. will make a shift to a "supported employment program" where, rather than working together in one location, clients will be spread out at various different businesses across the community while still receiving support from staff.

The new model strives to meet current mental health treatment standards by offering clients more challenging environments to develop their skills, said Ontario Shores' vice-president of clinical services, Sheila Neuburger.

"They'll be providing a labour-intensive job coaching model in the community, which fits more with our direction of a recovery-based organization, fits more with reintegration into the community and sort of moves away from what really is a bit of an older practice," she said, adding that extensive research was conducted to determine the leading practices of rehabilitation.

"The part that we're leaving is not considered leading practice so, like in any other area of rehabilitation, we don't want to be relying on models that are obsolete."

The Whitby facility is one of the last mental health organizations in the province to undergo this transformation.

But Ms. Jones is concerned about the impact the change will have on her son, who she says has fallen through the cracks of the education and mental health system all his life.

"A lot of the patients are very mentally challenged, and if you take them out of their own element, then they're going to just be lost," she said. "I know there's going to be staff support and all that but you tell me where the jobs are today."

Ontario Shores staff maintains that, despite changes to the program, every attempt will be made to find suitable work opportunities for every client, despite the unstable economy.

"We're working very hard to ensure that every client has a program at the end of this, whether it be supported employment or one of the other newer day programs we're looking at setting up with other organizations," Ms. Neuburger said. â?¨ "We don't want anyone to wind up at home with nothing to do as a result of the transformation and that's been a very important goal."

The C.D.E. program has existed for about 15 years and is also mentioned on the Ontario Shores foundation website with a personal account from one patient.

"Ontario Shores' (C.D.E. program) has been very helpful to me," a patient named Andrew is quoted as saying.

"There are a lot of options for me and great programs to participate in, I am happy with the way things are going and I look forward to the future."