Community Living Ontario

Engagement results in memorable experiences
Friday September 10, 2010 -- Lisa Bailey

Community Living North Grenville’s Debra Tryon knows that developing a shared vision with families for their loved one is critical to realizing potential and fulfillment.

She’s seen it happen as manager of residential services with the association for 25 years.

Her most memorable experiences always involve families who have been reluctant to reach out to organizations, generally out of fear that they will have no say in their loved ones’ future.

But lives have been transformed when they realize that they are engaged in planning processes as a key stakeholder with an invaluable perspective.

“They know the person so much better. They’ve nurtured that person, they know what works, they know what doesn’t work,” Tryon says.

She recalls working with the families of four men who had lived most of their lives in a large facility in the area. The families had protested the facility’s closure and there was much animosity as they knew very little about Community Living North Grenville.

That all changed when they were welcomed and encouraged to contribute to the planning of new shared housing. They were “involved in every step of the process” as a new home was built from the ground up, Tryon says. Their participation even included shopping for furniture and selecting the occupants.

“They wanted their sons to have housemates that were compatible and they helped with that, and then (the families) got to know each other,” Tryon says.

What was the end result of this collaboration?

“A beautiful new home, and four men, whose families probably thought would spend their lives in a big facility, have done extremely well in the community,” Tryon says.

Their existing relationships have been supported, even to the point of re-engaging family members who didn’t routinely visit the facility.

Tryon notes that keeping people connected is key to engaging families because it dispels the “us-or-them feeling” notion they may hold about an association.

“One of the first questions I ask (families) is, ‘How do we support existing relationships?’, or help people to stay connected to people important to them, because the worst thing we can do is just take over.”

Community Living North Grenville facilitates family engagement in many ways. Families are encouraged to become involved on the association’s board of directors, for example, and all families are invited to participate in next month’s strategic planning process.

Tryon, whose favourite work is assisting with self-directed support planning, says families have written as much as she has in some plans.

“I believe it gives people more choice and control, and it’s an ongoing process that begins with listening, not talking,” she says.

“Planning decisions should always be built on what somebody dreams, and what their strengths and capacity are.”

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