Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Society Of on, Ottawa

Our organization consists of a small staff, located throughout the province, and an army of dedicated volunteers. Our goal is to have a presence in every community in Ontario where there is currently (or could be) a person living with ALS and support him or her as well as the caregiver and family of the person living with ALS. This presence is achieved through our community groups and, for areas where no group exists, through our provincial office. To enhance the current support network and to help us with the goal of reaching all the communities, we have regionalized our operations throughout Ontario. Our first regional office was opened in Ottawa-Carleton, covering the Champlain area, in January 2001. Our northern Ontario regional office opened in Sudbury in March 2003. In 2004, the ALS Society of Toronto (a separately incorporated charitable organization) merged with the ALS Society of Ontario to create the Toronto regional office. Our newest regional offices in Simcoe-York and Durham opened in 2009, with the support of grants from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also called Lou Gehrig's disease in North America and motor neuron disease in the UK. It is a rapidly progressive and fatal neuromuscular disease that is characterized by degeneration of a select group of nerve cells and pathways (motor neurons) in the brain and spinal cord. This loss of motor neurons leads to progressive paralysis of the voluntary muscles. The heart is not a voluntary muscle, and therefore remains unaffected by the disease. However, since breathing is controlled voluntarily by the chest muscles, death usually occurs when the chest muscles are no longer able to help the lungs adequately expel carbon dioxide.