Remembering the Soul of Our Work. Stories by the Staff of Options in Community Living.

163 Pages·2012·4.16 MB·English

DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 352 746 EC 301 293
AUTHOR O'Brien, John, Ed.; O'Brien, Connie Lyle, Ed.
TITLE Remembering the Soul of Our Work. Stories by the
Staff of Options in Community Living.
INSTITUTION Minnesota Univ., Minneapolis. Inst. on Community
Integration.; Options in Community Living- Madison,
WI.; Responsive Systems Associates, Lithonia, GA.;
Syracuse Univ., NY. Center on Human Policy.
SPONS AGENCY National Inst. on Disability and Rehabilitation
Research (ED/OSERS), Washington, DC.
PUB DATE 92
CONTRACT H133B80048
NOTE 163p.
AVAILABLE FROM Options in Community Living, 22 North Second St.,
Madison, WI 53704.
PUB TYPE Collected Works General (020) Creative Works
(Literature,Drama,Fine Arts) (030)
EDRS PRICE MF01/PC07 Plus Postage.
DESCRIPTORS Attitudes; *Disabilities; *Independent Living;
*Mental Retardation; Normalization (Handicapped);
*Personal Narratives; *Quality of Life; Quality of
Working Life; Staff Development; Values
ABSTRACT
The personal stories in this collection are by the
staff of an agency which provides "supported living" services to
adults with mental retardation and other disabilities. The stories
were written to be read at monthly staff meetir-s when time is set
aside to clarify and renew the organization's values. Introductory
material offers suggestions for other agencies wishing to use this
approach, provides basic information on the Options in Community
Living organization, and describes three typical clients. The brief
narratives are grouped into the following categories: ordinary
moments, everyday triumphs, assistance, understanding, how people
change, dreams, family, friends, money matters, fighting the system,
clienthood, control, suffering and death, teachers, words of power,
"why I do this work," and writing stories at work. (DB)
***********************************************************************
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document.
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Cover art by Carter Todd
Cover design by Eric Johnson
Additional copies of this book :170 available from:
Options in Community Living
22 North Second St.
Madison, WI 53704
[phone]
01992 by Options in Community Living. All rights reserved.
The editing of this book was partially supported through a subcontract to Responsive Systems Associates from The Center on Human
Policy, Syracuse University for the Research & Training Center on Community Living. The Research & Training Center on Community
Living is supported through a cooperative agreement (Number H133880048) between the National Institute on Disability &
Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) and the University of Minnesota Institute on Community Integration. Members of the Center are
encouraged to express their opinions; these do not necessarily represent the official position of NIDRR.
This is a book of stories composed by staff members of Options in Community Living between 1987 and
1991. These people wrote and read their stories to one another during regularly scheduled staff meetings as
a contribution to personal and organizational renewal.
Ellen Backus Polly Molenaar
Peter Bazur-Leidy Janet Morgan
Timothy Boylan Gretchen Mullins
Theresa Fishier Sid Nichols
Missy Fizzell Julie Nichols-Younes
Kathy Hart Maureen Quinlan
Cindy Herschleb Sarah Satzwedel
Sharron Hubbard Gwen Schmidt
Gail Jacob Alice Sosinsky
Kathy Lemke Diane Steele
Carol Lofgren Kim Turner
Amy Lutzke Leslie Wilmot
Kathryn Mazack
As the number of stories grew, Options staff began to share some of them with others concerned about
building community with people with disabilities. They discovered that their stories effectively communicate
some of the qualities of thought and action that make their work distinctive and meaningful.
.)
Contents
Foreword
vii
Reading This Book
1
About Options in Community Living
3
Sticking With People: A Context for the Stories
4
Chris
4
Jean
6
Jim
8
Ordinary Moments
11
I guess we're equal now.
11
Shopping with David
12
Wanda's Lunch
13
I haven't played since one of your last visits
14
Gumption, Humor, Adversity,
Tenacity, Love, and Other
Assorted Ingredients 15
Crashing nean's Retirement Party
15
I hope everybody likes spaghetti
16
Off to the Races
17
Thanksgiving Eve
18
Christmas with Alice
19
Nice Holiday
19
On Being a Support
Worker in Time of War
20
Celebrating Martin Luther
King's Birth in Time of War
21
Everyday Triumphs
23
Class Ring
23
Red Duke's Dearest Fan Is on Cloud Nine
23
The Birthday Card
23
Housewarming
24
It Was Sue's Day
25
Don't Give Up the Ship
26
First Vacation
27
Assistance
29
Options
29
The Magic of Communication
Moving 29
30
New Apartment?
31
Weekends with Bev
32
Recruitment Pursuit
33
Waiting Around
34
A Day at the Brewers 34
Understanding 37
Getting Out 37
The Places 37
The Best Dressed Dishwasher 39
I Finally Got Around to Meeting Jean 39
Oxymoron 40
Babies 40
My Name Is Dan 42
How People Change 45
From Badger Camp to Milwaukee to (?) 45
Alex Changed His Shirt 46
This Year, Nancy Was Glowing 46
Speak Up, Man .47
k Think I Finally Made It 48
The Art of Freedom 49
Giving People the Space To Be Who They Are 50
I Wonder ff She Wonders 51
Dreams 53
The Best Strawberry I Ever Ate 53
August,1993 53
Dreams 54
A Story in Two Parts 55
Roberta 56
Some Unanswered Questions 57
Pat's Goal 57
The Beaches of Waikiki 58
Family 61
One of the Best Visits 61
Other People 62
Family 62
Blue, White and Awful Pretty 64
Home for Christmas 64
A New Beginning 66
Jim's Christmas 67
Twists of Fate 68
Friends 71
Time and Love and Work 71
Wind, Bees and Flying Potato Salad 72
II 7
Jim Is Learning To Talk Better 72
Susan's Community 73
Dear Marie, 74
Happy Birthday 75
Joe's People 75
Thoughts on Community Building 78
Romeo's Here 79
I Want... 80
Julie's and Wayne's Dream 80
Money Matters 83
Poverty 83
Disposable Income 84
Don't Use the Candle 85
Fighting the System 87
The ABC's of Clienthood 87
Take a Ride on the Wild Side 88
Neat Little Boxes 88
I Mark the Line 90
On Our System and ANGER 90
A Better Survey 91
No Room at the Inn 92
Mr. Fragile-X 92
Dear Gary, 93
Art & Its Use in Creating a Warm, Home Like Atmosphere 94
Clienthood 95
Pushmi-Pultyu 95
I. Support, II. Privacy 96
Hoops, Hoops, and More Hoops 96
Keith's Privacy 97
Bowling with Eileen
98
He Calls Me His Accountant 99
I'll ask my friend
100
Making Fun
101
Control
103
Contents Glass: Handle with Care
103
In Our Image
104
New Boots
105
Risk
106
James' Wisdom
107
3
Ill
Us and Them 108
Alice Takes the Needle 109
Making Things Perfect 110
California Dreamin' or I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road... 111
Armistice 112
Doing the Right Thing 113
Out of Control 113
Suffering & Death 115
Hell on Earth 115
Just Say No 115
Visiting Wanda's Mother's Grave 117
Coming at This Through the Back Door 118
Memorial Letter to Eileen 119
Looking at Life Through the Eyes of Death 120
Memories of Alice 122
I Will Miss... 123
I've Never Heard So Many Nice Things Said About Alice 124
Teachers 127
The Bottom Line 127
liuttle, Tuttle, Fresh and Fruitie 127
A Lady with Guts and Sensitivity 128
With Intense Eyes 129
The Power of One 130
Learning Experiences at Options 131
On Words of Power 133
Liberation 133
Reality 134
Open 134
Surround 135
kon - itrib - yut 136
Revolution 137
Choice 138
Faded Photographs 139
On Why I Do This Work 141
Aren't You Ever In Danger 141
More Than Words 142
Growing Up at Options 143
The People Here Fill Me Up 144
IV !/
Options Treats Its Employees the Same Way as the People It Serves
144
Tedious, Messy, & Mundane Things That Really Make a Difference
145
The Most Fast-Paced, Deadline Oriented Job
146
I Know, Because I Have Been There
146
People's Lives Are Chaotic & Mysterious
147
On Writing Stories at Work
149
Writing Stories
149
Memories Fade...
149
A Little Bit of Myseif
150
What Writing Stories Does for Me
150
SWS
151
Writer's Block
152
What Happens When You Don't Write Stories
152
Reflections on Story Writing at Options
153
Stories Build Community
154
Stories from Beyond
154
No Room for Imperfection
155
Index
157
V
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