Nucleus Independent Living

n 1981, the Canadian Paraplegic Association investigated this issue by contacting some patients at Lyndhurst Rehabilitation Hospital to try and help them determine their needs. The patients had recently sustained spinal cord injuries and would be requiring wheelchair accessible housing with attendant services. It was very evident that there was a shortage of appropriate accommodations. Existing support service projects had extensive waiting lists with a possible vacancy of 1 - 2 per years. Many people were having to face the grim possibility of chronic care institutions, or having to move home to inaccessible environments and put the onus on family members for assistance; hence the birth of Nucleus. That group of patients were the founding consumers of Nucleus. We first requested a meeting with Jackie Rodgers who was with the Accommodation and Support Service Committee of the Ontario Advisory Council for Physically Disabled. Following this informative meeting, we realized that we would require a well-developed strategy if we were to achieve our goal to live independently in the community and that we were responsible to do it on our own