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Why we tell stories
The best way to describe what supported living is all about is to share individual stories that describe someone’s life journey. This is something that CHOICESS learned when it decided to begin supporting individuals with disabilities to reach for their dreams of living in the community in 1988. We must acknowledge our beginnings of this work and thank a wonderful agency in Madison, Wisconsin called Options in Community Living. It is there that work begun in the early 80’s that demonstrated that all people regardless of their disabilities can become contributing members of their communities. They helped us understand that “stories describe a collection of the human side of supporting people in the community: the joys and the frustrations, the victories and the dilemmas. Too often human services work is equated with program slots, units of service, and compliance with impersonal rules and policies.” Stories assist staff “to take the time to stand back from the day-to-day grind to reflect on the meaning of their work for both themselves and the people they serve.”
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