About the Host Agency

In 1968, RYGIEL Supports for Community Living opened in West Hamilton by Drs. Wanda and Witold Rygiel. They privately operated a home for children who had multiple disabilities. The original institutional, medical model has evolved into an individualized, community centered support system that continues to be defined by the current and future desires and needs of those we serve or who are in need of service.

Today, RYGIEL Supports for Community Living is a non-profit organization governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. Our mandate directs us to support individuals in our community who have a developmental disability as well as having other disabilities. The manner in which we serve is based on a set of beliefs held by the agency.

These beliefs are that every person

• has inherent worth and deserves to be respected and treated with dignity.
• deserves to live in peace in a safe, secure and nurturing environment.
• is enhanced by relationships with family and with both formal and informal personal networks.
• is entitled to have committed allies who will advocate for and sometimes act on the individual’s behalf.
• can contribute in meaningful ways to the life of their community and deserves to be supported by that community.
• has the right to make decisions and these decisions should be respected. The person deserves to be assisted and supported in exercising this right.
• deserves individualized service, which responds to their changing needs over time.

In fulfilling our Mission, we are

• committed to a process of ongoing critical evaluation, which includes self-reflection and external review and implies a commitment to change as the need arises.
• committed to doing what we can and as quickly as we can to help to enhance the lives of the people we serve, particularly in reaction to the consequences of society’s often negative attitudes towards people who have disabilities.
• committed to providing the best service possible with the available resources and to use the resources as wisely and efficiently as possible.

For more information about RYGIEL Supports for Community Living visit rygiel.ca