The Arc of Washington County
Influencer Analysis
Identity/Title
Persons with mental retardation and developmental disabilities served by The Arc of Washington County.
Description
Approximately 500 children and adults with mental retardation and/or developmental disabilities served by this organization, live predominately in Greene, Washington and Sullivan Counties. Infants and toddlers receive supports at home or at an activity center operated by The Arc of Washington County. Adults receive predominately day activity center services and home based supervision or assisted living supports provided by provider organizations. The organizations providing the majority of supports to persons we serve are ComCare, Greene County Skills, Home Health, Dawn of Hope, and Washington County Residential Services.
Issues/Goals
People with mental retardation want to live, play, work, contribute, and associate with family, friends, and others in their chosen community. They want the love, companionship, value, and respect that comes with being a family member, friend, worker, consumer, neighbor, tourist, voter, member of clubs and organizations, and many of the other roles generally played by their fellow citizens. They want to share their gifts with others and receive the gifts others normally share in ordinary relationships found in community life. They want ordinary and intimate relationships that sustain and validate their unique worthy place as brothers and sisters in a place called home. They want to be able to trust others, have faith in themselves and in others, and experience relationships that welcome, initiate, and guide them as fellow members of the human family. They want to experience the thrill of victory and agony of defeat as they make decisions both small and large affecting their lives. They want feedback and encouragement as they try new wings and plant new roots in the soil and soul of community life. They want to be accepted for who they are: people.
Potential Impact on our Organization
The lives of the persons we serve are a reflection of the health and strength of our community, state, and nation. If we are successful in helping people build nurturing relationships and communities, our organization will become a key to a brighter, more loving, and respecting future for all citizens. As we look at people with mental retardation we are gazing upon a reflection of those self-evident truths that comprise the foundation of our democracy: all people are endowed with certain unalienable rights….life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Best Communication Channels
The best communication channel is the person, followed by their family members, relatives, friends, and others who the person feels has interest in their hopes, dreams, visions, and welfare.
What Type of Information Do They Need/Want?
They want to be asked what is important in their lives. They want someone to ask and listen to their dreams. They want someone to encourage them in their pursuit of a valued life. They want assistance in making choices and experiencing the consequences of those choices. They want to know what resources are within their grasp to make their dreams come true. They want help strategizing how to get resources that are not immediately within their vision or grasp. They want to know where their rights begin and where the rights of others end. They want to know what choices are available to them and what choices violate the rights of others. They want to know whom they can depend upon when they need help. And
since we are all on a journey, they want to know that someone will be there for them throughout the adventure called life. They want to know what their rights are as a citizen of their community, state, and nation. They want to know what abuse, neglect, and exploitation is and who to contact if they need help in stopping these behaviors by others. They want to know more about themselves and the world in which they live. They want to know that we appreciate, understand, and remain actively available for them as they search for ways to be an insider in community life.
What Outcomes do we expect from this Influencer?
We want their trust and their patience with us as we strive to understand their dreams, visions, and goals. We would like for them to keep trying as we struggle with our understanding and ability to learn what is important to them. We want them to have courage and persistence in their efforts to find and experience worthy identity, experience loving affiliations with others, and fulfill social roles that permit them to share their gifts with others. Someone once said, "A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for." We want the people we serve to sail out of the harbor of secluded lives and into the open sea of their dreams.
Release date: 12/11/98
