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What Are Person-Directed Services?
Ontario is on a journey toward belonging and inclusion. You might have heard of "Journey to Belonging: Choice and Inclusion," the Ontario government’s plan for developmental services reform.
The vision of this plan is for people with developmental disabilities to be more included in their communities and have the lives they want and choose. This means services should be person-directed. Person-directed means you have a say in the services you get and how you will get them, including what services you receive with available funding.
Grant and his girlfriend, Kristine, attend orientation in Hamilton, ON.
In Hamilton, Ontario, Karis Disability Services is starting to introduce person-directed services, giving people more control over where they live, what they do during the day, and how their money gets spent. We are excited to learn more about how we can support people as they make more choices about their lives.
The first step toward person-directed services is to help people who use our services understand why having more choice and control is so important. “Everyday Citizenship: Seven keys to a life well lived” is a book written by Wendy Perez and Simon Duffy. Both from the UK, Wendy is a person with a learning disability who advocates for people with disabilities, and Simon is a philosopher and the founder of the Citizen Network.
During our Person-Directed Services orientation, everybody got a copy of “Everyday Citizenship: Seven keys to a life well lived,” and together, we talked about what the seven keys are and what we need to live life to the fullest. When we say “citizen,” we don’t mean it legally, like becoming a citizen of a country. We mean “citizen” as somebody who has the rights, duties, and freedoms to have the life they choose in the communities where they belong.
This type of Person-Directed Services is new for Karis Disability Services in Ontario. There is a lot of work to do and so much to learn. We hope you will follow us during this journey as we work together to create a world where everybody belongs.