Connecting vulnerable people to their communities: Easy to say and hard to do?

Abstract

One of Valuing People's central principles is that people with learning disabilities will be included in society. But how do service providers do that? This article suggests that instead of services' attention being directed towards needs and deficits, it is more important to concentrate on people's strengths and capacities. From the engagement in the mutual exchange of community involvement comes a sense of belonging, of safety, of importance and entitlement. A method is described that starts with an inventory of someone's capacity, then a corresponding list of the assets and resources of the community and finally building mutually beneficial partnerships between local disabled individuals and other individuals, organisations and associations.

Citation

Poll, C. (2003), "Connecting vulnerable people to their communities: Easy to say and hard to do?", Housing, Care and Support, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 26-31. https://doi.org/10.1108/14608790200300019