New rules after Mitchell inquest

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The province has unveiled new requirements today to protect vulnerable adults, after an Ancaster man drowned three years ago at the home where he was being cared for. As Brittany Gogo reports, those homes will have to meet new ministry standards.

38 year old Guy Mitchell functioned like a 5 year old. In 2012 he drowned in a water tank on the Ancaster property where he lived. Police found he had been living in terrible conditions. The house had no running water, no heat, and no food. The bathtubs and toilets were filled with human waste. Mitchell was living with what is called a host family.

3 years later the province has announced new rules to protect people like Guy Mitchell.

“Changes should have been immediate following Guy Mitchells death.” Martha Fox from the Dundas Living Centre says she can’t believe it has taken this long. ” Three years. What has happened to individuals in that three year period?”

Her 34-year-old son Matt lives with her in their Dundas home and requires 24-hour care. She worries about who will look after him when she no longer can.

The new requirements include unscheduled home inspections, better screening of home providers, and mandatory training and monitoring. They’ll also be capped at having no more than two people with developmental delays living there. Martha Fox says more needs to be done. Instead of funding for housing going to agencies, as it does now, she wants to see it go directly to families who can then decide what housing option would be best. “Its critical that families who want to come together have the option to support their sons and daughter in their home communities.”

She’s been fighting for years to open up an 18-bed community home in an empty space at the sisters of St. Joseph of Hamilton Convent. These new rules were announced by the province today in a paper release. We asked for an interview with the Minister of Community and Social Services but she was not available.

The new rules will take effect next April, but they are being released now so agencies have a chance to plan for them and give feedback.