Our
Community: Disability, Community and Disability Services
The current paradigm of supporting disadvantaged people in society
is built around the person and the social settings that the person
wishes to participate in.
There are two broad models of support...
1, The Medical Model: The way a person interacts with Society
2, The Social Model: The way Society interacts with a person
Both these models have problems when supporting a person in a community setting.
The Disability Services
sector
in Western Australia is grounded in the theory of Social
Role
Valorisation (SRV) (that people with
disability are disadvantaged and our goal is to provide them, as much
as possible, a better way of life).
Social
Role
Valorisation (SRV) has
been sucessful to some extent in providing a better life for
disadvantaged people, however, I feel that it does not address the
needs of the community in providing any support. This support is still
provided by organisations that are regulated by Government policy. It's a "One Size fits All" approach to service delivery in providing, as much
as possible, a better way of life for disadvantaged people in society.
A needs based model of support
A needs based model of support provides a more realistic approach to
finding the best solution to providing the most appropriate support for
a person.
Any dialogue in the discourse of people with high support needs and the
community, needs to be positioned in the context of the person and the
community. What are the needs of the person ? What are the needs of the
community ? How can the needs of the person be balanced with the needs
of the community?
By looking at disability as needs
based, rather than located in the person or society, we can find
strategies to fulfill those needs within each community that the person
participates in.
These pages show that ...
- The
more severe the disability, the more dependent the person is on
support mechanisms to fulfill the persons needs.
- Organisations that
support people
with disability often take an active
role in intervention (in looking after people with high support needs),
while the community takes on a more supportive role.
- By understanding the
roles of the
Government, the community,
institutions,
organisations and service providers, the buildings and finally Social
Role Valorisation (SRV), strategies and solutions can be
found so the
person has the opportunity to participate in activities and share
experiences, develop permanent connections and relationships, and have
valued relationships within each community that he/she participates in.
When providing
the most
appropriate
care for people with high support
needs ...
1) The
community is not where the
person is living, but where the
person participates, shares experiences and has valued relationships
with others.
2) People with high support needs (severe disability, aged etc.)
will always need support structures as a part of their lives.
3) The amount of participation in a community (living, education,
employment or recreation) is directly related to the skills and
resources of the person, and, the skills and resources of the
community that the person wishes to participate in.
4) Institutions are going to be around in one form or another
whether we like it or not, It is the way that they are used that is the
problem.
5) The institutions of a society towards a particular group
determine the way the group participates in society.
6) The institutions of a particular government department,
organisation,
profession or service define the way the person is supported within
that society.
7) Facilities that support people with high support needs do not
need to be the nursing homes or prisons in the
sense
that they are today, but can become warm inviting community places that
offer a range of services to the community, as well as be a part of the
wider community within that society.
8) People with high support needs are a minority group in our
society, and will have the same problems as other minority groups in
being a part of society.
