Statement from Diverse Family Roots in Support of Down Syndrome BC’s Call for Board Leadership Change

Florence Girard, living in a home overseen by Astrid Dahl, managed by Kinsight Community Society, which was overseen by the Crown corporation Community Living British Columbia (CLBC), itself overseen by The Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, died of starvation and alone weighing just 50 pounds. Her home share provider, Dahl, was convicted in 2022 of failing to provide the necessities of life.

Down Syndrome BC, led by Tamara Taggart, calls on Premier David Eby to remove the board of CLBC, the Crown corporation responsible for managing funding and services for adults with developmental challenges. The recent Coroner’s Inquest into Girard’s tragic death exposed severe systemic failures—including inadequate oversight, chronic underfunding, and ineffective management—at every level of CLBC’s structure.

Diverse Family Roots (DFR) fully supports Down Syndrome BC’s call for an immediate change of the board of CLBC. DFR is a not-for-profit society that promotes peer-to-peer mentoring, and family support to connect to resources and advocacy, with a province-wide reach and active engagement with a growing community of more than 200 families at this time.

The families who are part of DFR and whom we represent have witnessed firsthand how the current system fails the very individuals it was created to serve. Families struggle with excessive wait times—sometimes years—for essential services like community programs, housing, and respite care. This often pushes families toward reliance on agencies, even when direct support might be preferable. Meanwhile, a shocking lack of oversight of these CLBC-funded agencies puts the safety and well-being of vulnerable adults at risk.

This status quo is unacceptable. Parents are forced to sacrifice their well-being and livelihoods, while their adult children are left without the support they need for a meaningful quality of life. Instead of fostering independence, inclusion, and dignity, the current CLBC model merely sustains vulnerable adults at a basic level, preventing them from truly thriving.

DFR urges the provincial government to take decisive action. Removing the CLBC board is a critical first step toward restoring accountability, improving oversight, and ensuring that funding truly serves those who need it most. The individuals supported by CLBC deserve better—families deserve better. The time for change is now!

We truly are – Better Together.

Respectfully,
Ben Postmus- Executive Director.

Diverse Family Roots Society

Create a world where everyone is connected to support, families, resources, and to the community in which they live. Providing information sharing, mentoring, opportunities for connection and sharing, promoting awareness and inclusion.

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The Board and Members of the Diverse Family Roots Society is grateful to work, play, and raise our families in the territories of the Sinixt, Syilx, Ktunaxa, and Secwépemc peoples. We acknowledge and value the contributions of all Indigenous, Metis, and Inuit who call this place home, and who have stewarded it since time immemorial.