The Centre For Dreams is a Markham organization that provides services for adults living with developmental disabilities across York Region.
The organization provides three, four, and five-day options for those interested in attending their day program. They are open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
They are committed to offering a curriculum made especially for adults with developmental disabilities.
The Centre For Dreams works to empower its participants to pursue their ambitions and dreams and make the decisions that are best for them. They provide educational and social skill programs to boost the self-assurance and independence of their members in a diversified and engaging learning environment.
“Anyone that has special needs have the same rights, and therefore should be given the opportunities to exercise those rights,” says Centre for Dreams president Michelle Del Carmen.
About 15 years ago, The Centre For Dreams created the Beyond the Label Movement (BTL).
To create a more inclusive community, the BTL awareness campaign seeks to redefine and displace the labels that are applied to us. Labels are debilitating because social limitations rather than physical or cognitive limitations determine what it means to be disabled. Regardless of the societal labels that we have been assigned based on our race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, or religion, they have all had a negative impact on us as a society.
The Centre For Dreams team has gone to schools and businesses to educate those on developmental disabilities. They have found that these presentations lessen people’s anxiety when it comes to communicating and interacting with those who have disabilities.
Their amazing team needed a way to get people to relate to their cause, as many people can relate if they have someone living with a developmental disability.
“We were trying to find a way that we can connect with people to connect with us,” Del Carmen says. “Don’t look at the label. Look at the person, and recognize that it’s okay to be me.”
Centre for Dreams is located on Highway 7 and McCowan Rd. Visit centrefordreams.ca for more details.
Story submitted by Eva Laforteza-Recto.
