A Story
Sara and Kate share a home. They have known each other for a
long time.
Sara describes herself a homebody. She loves being at home
cooking, knitting and watching movies. She has a few close friends and family
with whom she goes out to a few favorite or new restaurants or to plays at the local
theatre. Sara also invites people to her home and goes to the homes of her
family and friends for small parties and holiday gatherings. Sara says she is
happy with her connections to her community.
Kate describes herself as outgoing. She loves having people
over to her and Sara’s home for small parties and gatherings, but she also
enjoys going out. She is a stage hand for the local theatre group, she plays on
a recreational softball and soccer team, and she is a regular at a local bar in
her neighborhood and goes there often to dance. She loves being with people and
is rarely at home. Kate says she is happy with her connections to her community
but is always looking for more.
What is Community Connection?
Community is about relationships. Some relationships begin
with chatting with a neighbor or joining a team. Supporting people to develop
relationships begins with participating in the community. As discussed in the Personal Outcome Measures®, “Participation in the community
results in meaningful interaction with other people leading to enhanced
personal relationships, expanded social roles, and deeper involvement in
community activities. These opportunities broaden the person’s social capital
network. Through family members, friends, and co-workers - connections to even
more people within the community becomes possible.”
Organizations have an important role in supporting
people. For example, they
- Facilitate contacts with others in the community
- Increase people’s understanding and use of
social capital networks
- Build opportunities around people’s interests
and preference
- Ensure services do not limit opportunities for
connections
A Few Resources
CQL’s
Personal Outcome Measures® and
Community Life® are two important parts of the Quality Measures 2005 which help
to discover people’s interests, preferences and supports to build community and
social capital. www.c-q-l.org
Quality
Mall is a place where you can find lots of free information about
person-centered supports for people with intellectual/developmental
disabilities. Each of the Mall
stores has departments you can look through to learn about
positive practices that help people with intellectual/developmental
disabilities live, work and participate in our communities and improve the
quality of their supports. http://www.qualitymall.org/main/