Aug 20, 2021
Brenda Agnew, your host, welcomes Pamela Libralesso to today’s episode of Butter Torts: A Truly Canadian Legal Podcast. Pamela has a son, Joey, who has an intellectual disability, isn’t verbal, and requires 24/7 care. Joey resides in a group home 2km away from their parent’s house and has always been visited and taken home on weekends until the pandemic hit. Pamela shares everything that she and her husband have gone through over the last year and a half in regards to the restrictions about visitation due to the COVID pandemic.
Key Takeaways:
[3:47] Pamela talks about the difficulty of explaining to her son what was going on with the pandemic, the only thing he knew was that he couldn’t see his parents.
[5:24] Pamela needed to find who the person was that was preventing her son from having access to her.
[7:45] August 30th was the day they were able to see their son again for the first time since March.
[8:40] PTSD is real, Pamela shares the flashback and anguish she still feels.
[12:30] Brenda talks about the feeling of helplessness as a caregiver when a child who can’t fully comprehend, is distanced from their parents
[14:30] Pamela shares how she and her husband had several breakdowns during their time away from their son.
[17:01] Pamela talks about all the risks that were not addressed while setting protocols and regulations for the pandemic.
[18:02] Pamela shares how Joey expressed his feelings while not being able to see his parents.
[19:30] The trust has been broken between MCCSS, its agencies, families, and residents.
[20:58] The lack of support was so prevalent during the pandemic.
[23:35] The pandemic caused a complete reversal of the rights that institutionalized people fought for decades.
[24:32] MCCSS, after 18 months of the pandemic, still doesn’t consider families as essential caregivers.
[25:14] Children should not be prevented from seeing their parents.
[28:34] The “options” offered to parents were not reasonable or sensitive to the children’s needs.
[32:00] Pamela talks about the awkward visitation conditions they were offered to be able to see their son.
[36:40] Pamela shares the current state of the matter for families struggling to see their children.
[41:40] Pamela asks herself what will happen when Joey is no longer under 18.
[45:23] Parents are essential caregivers, that is common sense.
[50:05] Pamela gives advice to parents in the same situation.
[56:30] Reach out to Family Alliance Ontario.
Mentioned in this episode:
To learn more about the work we do at Gluckstein Lawyers, please visit Gluckstein Lawyers.
Learn more about Pamela Libralesso’s fight to see her son.
Ontario Families at Group Home Residences
Ontario Human Rights Commission
Gluckstein Lawyers on Facebook