February 20th, 2014
Making Connections
Making Connections: Direct Support Staff as Bridge Builders
By: Peter Leidy
Community.
Now there’s a word we hear often. It’s interesting how much the service system
uses the word. Community Integration Program, Community Options Program,
Adult Community Services, Community Based Residential Facility…you get the
idea.
I think the system should use the word community, and of course go beyond
words, so that community is actually reflected in the system’s response to people
with disabilities. I wonder, for a word so often spoken in our work, how much do
we really think about what it means?
I would like to think with you about what community might mean in the lives of
people with disabilities you support. My hope is that this paper will be a
conversation starter: I have some ideas and some questions about what might
lead to community membership—or at least produce a spark to start a
relationship—and I’m curious what you think.
Click to read more: Making Connections Direct Support Staff as Bridge Builders- Peter Leidy