Enable welcomes delegates from Karis in Canada

Enable, working with partners at Radical Visions and Citizen Network, welcomed delegates from Karis in Canada to learn and share best practice of deinstitionalisation, employability, and hear from Enable staff about our award-winning Personal Assistant (PA) Model. 

Founded in 1965, Karis Disability Services operates in Ontario and Saskatchewan provinces in Canada, serving over 70 communities. They serve a network of: 

• 3,000 people who use their services 

• 3,500 caring staff members 

• Hundreds of volunteers 

• Dozens of partner organisations 

Karis supports people with disabilities through shared and independent living services, accessible family camps, advocacy, training, respite, and other programmes. Ontario formally ended institutionalisation in 2009 and Karis is now exploring how to transition to self-directed support as a guiding principle. 

Outside of Canada, Karis partners with organisations in Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti, Kenya, Nicaragua, and Uganda, working with local leaders and organisations to provide accessible education and inclusive communities. Their global work is funded entirely through donations and grants.  

The visitors met with Enable representatives to learn about our Enable Cares, Enable Works and Enable Communities. They also took part in a workshops with John Dalrymple and Frances Brown of Radical Visions, and Simon Duffy of Citizen Network, to learn from their experience in developing self-directed support and personalised social care in Scotland. 

This gave an ideal chance to learn from the challenges and impact of their journey as Karis looks to evolve its service provision in the coming years. 

Delegates met with self-advocates in Glasgow and Edinburgh to hear from their experiences of self-directed support, including Cathy Asante of the Scottish Human Rights Commission to explore its recent work on the Tick Tock report into the continuation of institutionalisation for some people in Scotland.  

The delegation attended a parliamentary reception at the Scottish Parliament for Scottish Autism and visited the Surgeon’s Hall in Edinburgh to hear of lived experiences.