Surrey Place staff strike pauses therapy services for dozens of families with children and adults with disabilities

Therapy and developmental services have been paused for six weeks at Surrey Place, a non-profit organization supporting individuals with developmental, auditory and visual disabilities, leaving dozens of families scrambling to find alternative care.

Parent Alex Karayannides says his two-year-old daughter Riley, diagnosed with profound hearing loss at nine months, had been excelling through therapy at Surrey Place. The sudden interruption has been devastating for his family and others.

"Every parent will say you just want everything for your kids, you want them to be happy and healthy, so to know that there's a resource who can support in that journey that's unavailable right now is devastating," he said.

OPSEU, which represents the workers, says staff are striking for better long-term funding and fair pay adjustments after years of capped wages under the province's Bill 124, which was found unconstitutional in 2024. The Surrey Place employees are among nearly 4,000 public sector workers currently on strike.

Karayannides has been forced to find and pay for private treatment programs. "We are fortunate enough to be able to find some private help, but that isn't necessarily the case for a lot of families, and you grow bonds with these people; they're helping your kid have mainstream communication and grow up and overcome these challenges, so you grow very attached to them."

A provincial spokesperson with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services said that Ontario has made significant financial investments in the development services sector over recent years, but expects "every service provider to have strong contingency plans to protect residents and ensure their care is not disrupted."

Surrey Place confirmed that "most families they support have experienced significant changes to their services."