4 Simple Ideas To Ensure Real Community Connections
Last week I attended a conference and had the opportunity to listen to Cara Milne of M-Powered Planning Ltd —A business that promotes positive and valuable roles for people with disabilities.
At WJS, we work with many individuals with disabilities, and it is always important for us as a staff to be thinking about how we can best serve our clients, and the community. We are always trying to learn and grow as a company, and ensure that we are serving our clients to the very best of our abilities. Cara very succinctly gave some tangible and easy tips for how our staff can shift their focus from their personal relationships with clients, to focusing on fostering broader relationships within the community.
Her tips for building community and dignity:
- Don’t get in the way — When staff is ‘velcro’ed’ to their clients, how can other community members interact with the individual? After all, isn’t the point to be assisting clients in building a larger and more meaningful role within the community?
- Don’t pass the crayon — Don’t always be there to control and handle everything. Let everyone take ownership of their own role. Look for who else may be available to pitch in, including other clients. Again, this is an opportunity to make it about what the client is doing, and not about the staff.
- Don’t take over — Think about something that you do for the individual client that they could learn to do for themselves. Teach those skills, step by step.
- DO facilitate opportunities for giving — Always think about how each client can contribute to their environment and to their community. It may be anything from brining a smile to strangers to planting flowers. This about how to give your clients more purpose and dignity.
— Sally Walker, Chief Operating Officer, WJS Canada