Visible daylnight on ‘your driveway. Installed for only “PENINSULA | - SPECIALIST . ¢ Commercial _ © Re- -Zoning ae Residential - x Subdivisions "| e Buying: or Selling» Take siahtice ae our ‘very y thorough Tune: “up. q and winterizing program. « A lawnmower that is not stored properly over the winter will - cost-you time and money in the spring and will definitely > shorten its life. Pick up & delivery available. . Peninsula News Review ee Ww Kevin Woodley. With new adult guardian-_ ship legislation set to come ‘in effect in February, repre- sentatives from a wide vari- ety of groups on the Saanich Peninsula got together last week to talk about imple- menting a response net- work to deal with cases of adult abuse and neglect... “The goal is a coordi- ‘nated community response to adult. abuse. and. ne- glect,”said Tam Lundy, a contract worker with the Public Trustee of B.C. “It’s an ongoing process of team “building.” - The updated provincial legislation, which received # proclamation June 29, pro- { vides clearer definitions of abuse. and neglect. It con- “tains four new laws that pro- “mote every adult's right to _ -_self-determination and pro- ; vide support and protection _. for those who are vulnera- _ ble to abuse or no longer « Ca aa pable. of making: ‘their: own ENA - decisions. ay The. four acts that com: Act; The. Health Care (Con- Guardian, Oe tunity for adults to plan for z _time when they may be in- capable of making decisions about health, personal care, financial and legal matters. — The acts combine to en- sure clear rules and guide- lines for people making ‘promise: - ‘the new. .adult guar’ dianship. act are The - = pea eae Representation’ ‘Agreement . Ty this respect, ‘the act Dros T ‘eent) and Care Facility. (Ad vides - new.. tools: to:.assist- mission) | Act; The. Adult : Guardianship Act; and The. ee “Public: Trustee Act. | : Together, these acts are. “designed to. perform a Vari- ety of finctions towards pro- _ viding the right. of self- de- termination. to adults, in- cluding the right to refuse * health care on moral, reli- gious. or other grounds. - They also provide an oppor- and health care decisions for others and recognize the importance of rights infor- mation and advocacy for all adults. They also reinforce the role of family and friends in providing adults with sup port and assistance and sub- stitute decision making. Those in attendance at the Peninsula meeting were concerned mostly with the legislation’s ability to now address issues surrounding the abuse, neglect and self- neglect of adults who can- not a help pieneel Lundy after the two-hour meeting wrapped up. “Since proclamation, it has worked faster.” Today, Lundy estimates there are more than 65 com- munities in B.C. working to become better prepared for the new legislation. “In addition to being pre- pared for the legislation, the goal is to have a coordinated community response,” stressed Lundy. Workers with the Seniors Hotline initiated involve- ment here on the Saanich Feninsult and rn orga: “The goal i 1S a coordinated adults who are mentally in- capable, at risk of harm and is refusing assistance through o "response networks made up: - of community and: ‘govern- : ~ ment representatives work- ee ing together. Lundy has been working. | in municipalities across the province for the past few years in an attempt to estab- lish coordinated community. response networks. - It's been along process to ~ get. communities. prepared “for the upcoming changes, ° specially before the | changes to legislation re- ceived proclamation. “Because the. legislation wasn't in yet, things would start up and die down,” said Featuring Dr. Martin n Collis, oe Ne Cee ee ee be eM ag Se nize Thursday’ Ss, Tnestiig _ with the help of Donna God- community response to adult abuse and neglect .. It's an ongoing pres of 2 team butane eee ee Tam Lundy : a Public Trustee of Bo contract worker o win from Peninsula: Com- munity Services. The meet- ing altracted more than 30. ‘participants : from® a wide range of community | groups, including representatives from: both the ° Central Saanich municipal police de-. partment. and. the © Sid- ney/North Saanich RCMP. ‘The meeting was broken. down into. smaller groups who worked towards find- ing answers to a variety of questions surrounding the development. of an orga-. nized: community response network; Among the topics as signed to the smaller groups were the benefits to adulls who are at risk of ex- > ‘process. impressed with the turnout ~at the recent Saanich Penin- ‘sula meeting and the atti-.. periencing abuse or neglect; benefits to agencies provid- ing the support; and the contribution a network could make to a coordinated response. By the end of the meet- ing, the groups had identi- fied several key areas that needed to be addressed be- - fore a successful response network could be estab- lished and agreed to meet again at the end of Novem- ber. Some suggested nar- rowing the numbers. in- volved in establishing the network.to help facilitate ef- fective meetings in the fu- ture, but Lundy said that ~ # wasn't.the best way to pro- ceed _ this. early in: the “Tf this will be a Commu- nity Response Networks | that really reflects this com- munity, who needs to be - here,” asked, Lundy. “We don’t want to setlim- its or exclude people. In-. stead, we should find cre- ative ways to expand i inclu- sion at meetings.” : ~ Lundy again pointed. to. experiences in other B. Cc. ~.- communities as an example of how to ‘proceed. BS " “Something similar exists. “in 65 other communities,” ~ she said. “Having too may : people i is never a problem.” ‘Lundy also said she was tudes she encountered. Every community is differ- ent, she said, adding that the Peninsula appears. to work hard together. ““T saw.a strong sense of. community and not every community is lucky enough to-have that as.a star ting - point,” she said. The next meeting has been set for 10:30. a.m. Wednesday, November 24 at the hall in St. Elizabeth Church, 10030 Third Strect in Sidney. Please join 1 Saanich Peninsula Hos spital Foundation for a cop riend Raising” Event Seating Limited . - ate cam abe nn amano PermeteM Sira best sa RcKNN RECN oe Ihr a dm emmmk ert Keren Arete Ph pn sit .