Glen McClughan is retiring from his position as executive director at the Sunshine Coast Association for Community Living (SCACL) after spending more than two decades at the helm.
“I feel like I got blessed – I was given a vocation, it’s never felt like a job,” McClughan told Coast Reporter of his experience at SCACL, the Sunshine Coast’s main service provider for people with disabilities.
“I always approached my work and my life as a mixture of Jean Vanier and Gerry Garcia – have as much fun as you can – and I think that’s a little bit of why the agency has had the success it’s had.”
McClughan’s last day is June 30. Clarence Li, former rector at St. Hilda’s Anglican Church in Sechelt, will replace him.
Similar to Li, McClughan volunteered at L’Arche communities, and considers founder Jean Vanier a mentor. “Vanier used to say, community starts around a coffee table, it’s all about equality and fun and eating together and working together – simple,” McClughan said.
His focus on simple also emerged from time spent in underprivileged communities in India prior to assuming the role of program manager at SCACL in 1994, the same year the organization began offering a day program, meant to reduce isolation by offering social activities, and a supported work program, which provides work opportunities.
In 2000, McClughan assumed the role of executive director, and over the two decades expanded the organization’s revenue from $400,000 to $5 million, purchased several properties used for home care, and established a five per cent share in Persephone Brewing Company. The organization now serves about 100 children and adults and has 70 employees.
“When I first started working in the area, it was around the time of de-institutionalization,” said McClughan, explaining the organization’s growth. That led to the purchase of properties as smaller community living arrangements replaced institutions as residences of choice for those with disabilities. But shortly after, government began cutting back on funding. “That’s something I’m proud of, that we were able to grow during periods of funding restraint,” something he said happened in part because of the relationships he made while working and living in Vancouver and always saying yes to requests for service.
The organization is also preparing for a new generation of people transitioning into adulthood, which means aging out of services provided through the Ministry of Childhood and Family Development and into services provided through Community Living B.C. “It’s a real challenge for a person and their family,” he said. “There’s a lot of families that just assume their children are going to be well served automatically, which is not necessarily the case at all.”
The organization has recently opened up two additional houses – one in Roberts Creek and the other in West Sechelt, aimed for youth.
Affordable living remains a passion for McClughan, who said he will continue working on that goal, particularly workforce housing, after retirement. In the meantime, he will be consulting with Li as he adjusts to the role of executive director.
