Community valued roles and Social Role Valorisation (SRV)

Social Role Valorisation (SRV)
Deinstitutionalisation
Disability services
Disability and community

How does the community care?
The role of Social Role Valorisation in the community
Community care Vs Institutional (social) care
The institutionalisation of community care
Disability services role models
A local community group (LCG)
Personal Fulfillment, Values and The Role of Supportive Communities
Social roles Vs Community roles Vs Identity
Explanation of terms




The goal of the human services is to make a positive difference in a person's life. There are things we can change (values, attitudes, behaviours, cultures etc.) and things we can't change (available resources etc.). By enabling people to fulfill their needs, develop community networks, participate in activities and share experiences within their community, they have the opportunity to become valued members of their community. Conversely, by enabling each community to fulfill the needs of its members, to foster and develop personal networks within that community, to facilitate strategies, solutions and activities so that all members have the opportunity to participate in those activities, and connect with other members through shared experiences and valued relationships, the community has the opportunity to become valued by its members as well as other communities that it is a part of.




Community valued roles and Social Role Valorisation (SRV)



Each community has a particular role that fulfils a particular need.
Valued community roles provide a common cause or focus for the community, as well as other communities that are a part of it.
Valued communities provide valued roles for their members.
Social role valorisation provides valued roles for ALL members of the community.

Communities that have valued roles in society …
The values of community start in the home where children have valued roles in supporting others at school, sport or any other community that they participate in.

Communities that have de-valued roles in society …

Community valued roles and Social Role Valorisation (SRV) complement each other in providing valued roles for each community in supporting people with high support needs as well as providing valued relationships within each community.


The good life

Today disabled people generally have more opportunities to access social activities (shopping, movies, functions etc) that most of us take fore granted. Various government policies are designed to allow entrance to buildings, parks and other venues so that disabled people could participate in and share the same experiences as others in society.

"The good life" means different things to different people. Only by developing the necessary skills, networks and valued relationships within his/her community (living, recreation, education or employment) can a person participate in, and become a valued part of their community. The needs of the person also needs to be balanced with the needs of the community in providing the most appropriate outcome for the person (people with high support needs will need a more structured setting than people with low support needs).

"The good life" could be described as: having the opportunity to participate in activities and share experiences etc (whatever the setting, structured or unstructured), in a positive way, where all the participants have valued roles. Although the settings are more structured and therefore more restrictive, it is possible for people with high support needs to have as good a life as possible that is most appropriate to their needs. (See also Disability services role models).


The role of the family in the community

The values of community start in the home where children have valued roles in supporting others at school, sport or any other community that they participate in.

Communities (recreation, employment etc.) are not the same as there were 20 or 30 years ago. The telephone, radio, TV, motorcar, and now the Internet has changed our world forever. Advances in medicine, technology, health and knowledge in various conditions has meant that people with high support needs are living longer and healthier today. This group is becoming larger each year. Of course these groups should have the same opportunities and rights as anyone else in the community. I am not advocating that we should lock them up or anything like that, however, we should provide the most appropriate care for the person as well as each community that the person is a part of, where the community has the knowledge, skills and resources to look after their needs. Whether a person is a part of the community of a service, or a number of communities, the person should have the same opportunities as others within society.


We talk about the new generation and what they may do with their inherence.
Families have lost their knowledge, skills and resources in providing for the elderly. The socially accepted thing these days is to place them in a nursing home while we carry on with more important things. Other communities also have lost the knowledge, skills and resources to look after the needs of disadvantaged people and rely on organisations instead. Today we see a rising population, which is getting older, resources are being stretched, pressure in existing services is increasing etc. etc. I would not be surprised to see these current service organisations (ACTIV, TCCP etc.) become the institutions that Wolfensberger and others wrote about in the past (full circle). In fact I really think that it is already happening today and it's to late.

Maybe it's the society that we live in, that we need to deinstitutionalise, rather that the disadvantaged people that we are trying to deinstitutionalise. We need to provide valued roles to families and communities in looking after the elderly, people with disability and other disadvantaged (poor and destitute, and other medical conditions) so they have a future.

Families are groups of people that have strong bonds with each other.
They are connected with each other through bloodlines (brothers, sisters, nephews, cousins etc.) or some rite of passage or ritual that recognises the person as a part of the family (marriage, adoption, initiation into a family etc.). A group of people with criminal activities is also refered to as a family.

Have a defined set of roles, values, cultures, behaviours, expectations etc.

The traditional idea of a family unit, where the members spend time together, where the elderly are respected and looked after as a part of the family, where a person with high support needs would be looked after by the family, where the members are dependent on there own (or friends) resources are almost gone. When a family could not cope, they could ask for help from their friends or a local community group such as a church, school or community service group (Rotary, YMCA, Lions, Salvos etc.) or the local hospital. The community managed to support itself. There were no government agencies as we know them today around then.

Marginalised groups (aged, people with disability, poor and destitute, ethnic groups etc.) were devalued and still are today, and will probably always be. However while some practices were seen as cruel, these families and communities did the best they could with the knowledge, skills and resources that were available at the time. The aboriginal culture for example was also regarded as primitive, barbaric and uncivilised, but we are just beginning to appreciate their way of life. If you have an honest look at our own society today and what we do to each other, the aboriginal culture may seem tame in comparison.


The role of the living community

The right to accommodation that most suits the persons needs, and access to community activities and facilities.

Just because the person with high support needs is living in a single dwelling, a group home, an enclave or an estate etc that is managed by a local community group (LCG), does not mean that that the person does not have the opportunity to develop valued relationships and shared experiences within the facility and the wider community. The person also has the opportunity to meet with others in the community (neighbours, at the shops etc).

By the inclusion of representatives of other community groups in the LCG (LAC - Local Area Co-ordinator -, local club, local school, church etc), strategies and solutions can be found where people with high support needs are valued and have valued roles within that community.

Through the development of community links and networks, solutions can be found to issues such as:
within the community.

The person still has the opportunity to access an organisation or service (LAC and other Gov. dept's, TCCP, Activ, Swan taxies, IDEntity, HACC etc) that specialise in a particular area of care for the person, within the facility that is co-ordinated by the LCG.

The living community gains the skills, knowledge and resources to provide for the needs of its members.



The role of the recreation community

The right to participate in those activities that are most appropriate for the person towards developing valued relationships and shared experiences within that community and the wider community.

The club, group or organisation's role is to provide activities designed to fulfil the needs of its members.
With the help of the LCG solutions can be found where people with high support needs are a part of that community.

Depending on the persons needs, the recreation can be within a community facility, the wider community or a mixture.
People with high support needs still have the opportunity to develop valued relationships and shared experiences in a non-participatory sense:

Each recreation community that the person is involved with gains the skills, knowledge and resources to provide valued relationships and shared experiences.



The role of the education community

The right to the development of skills and knowledge towards a more active and productive engagement with others within the wider community (valued roles).

The role of education is to provide of skills and knowledge to it's members.
In a classroom, for example, (1): the type of activity is structured towards learning and the gaining of skills and knowledge in applying the learning, (2): the setting is separated (restricted to members that fulfil a set of criteria etc) and (3): the roles of the members are Teacher (imparts the knowledge)- Students (learn the knowledge). Introducing other roles into this community (social system) may create some problems.

This does not mean that people with high support needs are disadvantaged. On the contrary these people will be advantaged in that (1): the education is designed to suit their needs and, (2): may encourage the development of valued roles within the community if done properly.

Through the co-ordination of the LCG, solutions can be found to issues such as:
within education community

Just because the person is in another class, does not mean that the person does not gave the opportunity to develop valued relationships and shared experiences within the facility.



The role of the employment community

The right to a more meaningful and productive life.
Gainful employment means: being able to fulfil our needs, provides us with a sense of value and worth in others, and an achievement, as well as ourselves and satisfaction in what we do.

By being a part of a LCG representatives of the employment community can be more actively involved in developing strategies that support people with high needs. Through the co-ordination of the LCG, solutions can be found to issues such as:
within the employment community

Local community services are a start to people becoming a valued resource in the community.
Bob's gardening
Paul's painting

The employment community would have the support of the LCG in providing the skills and knowledge in providing for people with high support needs.
The facility may be a home, work place, office or factory. The setting may be separated, partially integrated or fully integrated. The most important thing is that the person has the opportunity to participate in a gainful activity, and be valued as a part of that community.




When providing the most appropriate care for people with high support needs ...


01/10/2010
Peter Anderson
http://www.psawa.com