Page 6 - CLH Foundation - Connected - Summer 2025

CLH DSS N E WS

Meet Colleen Kelly-Berrichi

In January 2025 the Board and staff of CLH DSS welcomed Colleen Kelly-
Berrichi as Executive Director. Colleen had been at Community Living South
Muskoka (CLSM), most recently as Chief Operating Officer, since 2018. Before
taking the role at CLSM, Colleen had been a staff member and manager at
CLH for 29 years. We are delighted to be welcoming Colleen back ‘home’.

You have always pursued advanced education in developmental services while
also working full-time. What drives your commitment to education?
Continuing education has always been in the forefront of my personal
development and planning. Once I moved into a supervisor position, I realized
In conversation with Colleen, it that to keep growing at CLH I would need to improve my education. I was
quickly becomes clear that she held accepted into the Disability Studies Program at Ryerson University, but it
many roles in her previous time at was not quite right for me. I transferred my credits to Laurentian University
CLH, with invaluable insights into towards a Psychology Degree, which was exactly what I was looking for. For
what those involve. Here’s a quick
overview: the next few years I took one or two classes a semester, attending one day
per week in person using vacation days, until I graduated in 2009. Eventually I
AGE 19: pursued a Master of Adult Education Graduate Degree with a concentration in
Part-time weekend staff at Jeanne St. organizational development and adult education and training, graduating in
2020.
COLLEGE YEARS:
Initially enrolled in nursing but What did you value most about your time at Community Living South Muskoka
switched to DSW (Developmental and what are you bringing back with you from that experience?
Services Worker): continued working
weekends, evening and overnight CLSM is an amazing organization. The CEO, management team and staff were
shifts at William St. extremely welcoming, and it’s a very positive work environment. Working in an
entirely different region allowed me the opportunity to learn new systems and
AFTER GRADUATION: build different and larger networks. I also had a greater level of oversight and
• Fulltime at Borden Cres, Ottawa responsibility, which better prepared me for my new role at CLH. I hope to bring
Lower a fresh perspective and a spirit of cooperation and respect.
• Weekend On-Call Supervisor
What are some of the challenges facing the developmental sector – and the
• Fulltime On-Call supervisor agency?
• Supported Living Home Supervisor No question that the greatest challenges are stability of funding and
• Property and Supported Living addressing the growing waitlist. In the past three decades, developmental
Home supervisor (covering a service organizations have received cumulative base funding increases of less
Maternity leave) than 7% (including approximately 3% in the 2024 provincial budget), though
• Master Scheduler the cost of living has increased by almost 70%. The system requires sustainable
annual base funding increases to stem the tide of staff attrition, service cuts,
• Clinical Manager with oversight of and program closures that are contributing to growing waitlists and negative
Pineview and other homes, until health outcomes among people with developmental disabilities and their
that role transitioned into the Senior families.
Manager position

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