Thinking about community connecting

1. Thinking about community connecting Learning to see differently

2. Building skills within existing services Supporting Dreams Connecting - Circles Relationships Communication chart Matching staff and those using services Collecting/reinforcing learning with the 4 questions Using what is working/not working Important to/Important for and the balance between them Clearly defining staff responsibilities

3. What you see depends on what you are looking for • People who use services are seen as taking rather than giving • People’s gifts and potential contributions are overlooked • Services are scarce and few while community resources are rich and varied • A culture of scarcity causes opportunities to be overlooked and potential connections missed

4. We have an un-natural view of natural supports • We see developing natural supports as if it were a recipe • Go to the same grocery store at the same time for 6 months, stir and get 2 natural supports • We don’t allow for the trial and error learning that we do when beginning the process that leads to friends • Leaving the work to 1 community connector per agency or area will leave most people lonely

5. Broad success in Community connecting requires - • First and foremost a different way of thinking about people and their communities • A set of skills that can be taught • Having the thinking and the skills spread across as many people associated with each person as is possible • Expectations of everyone to try – carefully and respectfully – and that success only happens where it is OK to “fail”

6. Connecting skills fall into 3 areas • How we look at each person • How we look at the communities in which they live and spend time • Putting the 2 together and then – • Knowing when and how to build on what gets started • Knowing when and how to sustain connections

7. Looking at each person • Knowing what is “important to”, “important for” and the balance between them • Recognizing gifts – • What is the person good at • How are they smart • What do others see in them • How are they already contributing to the lives of others • Understanding these are complex and interactive

8. Looking at communities • Having ways to see the varied possibilities in the communities – • Formal and informal associations • Places where people “hang-out” • How people pursue their varied interests • Where are the opportunities to contribute

9. Connecting as process – an example • Look for places where the person would be welcomed • Find someone who enjoys spending time with the person (with staff present) • Someone who enjoys spending time with the person without staff being present • That person invites the person who uses services to do something somewhere else without staff

10. The power of contributions • Connecting through volunteer work • Looking for the opportunities – • Setting up for the spaghetti supper • Helping during the flood

11. Remember • Friends come from acquaintances – people move from the outside in • Some of our activity “buddies” stay as that • Most of us try 5 things to find 1 that works