Summary
This project will complete the exploration phase of friendship network facilitation for a group of senior families who have an adult son or daughter who has a developmental disability. It involves the matching of the family members to a facilitator who is trained and guided by The Road Ahead Society (RAS). The facilitation process follows the pattern of affiliates of Planned Lifetime Advocacy Networks (PLAN, BC) as described on their website www.plan.ca. In addition, the project is assisting senior parents with archiving family memories and developing documents which will lend direction and give input to their son or daughter's facilitated friendship network.
Relationship to seniors
RAS has formed steering group for this project of our members and others. 80% of these are parents over age 65. Many of their sons and daughters with disabilities are soon to be seniors themselves and their need to connect with strong friendship and offset their experience of isolation is urgent. Concern for their adult child's future robs senior parents of their peace of mind.
Beneficiaries
Seniors, persons with disabilities, families and the whole community
Partners
• PLAN (BC) has provided much of the methodology.
• The Developmental Disabilities Resource Centre of Calgary is helping to identify senior families and will help assess ongoing feedback with participants so that we can learn from the project.
Dates
March 2005 - March 2006
Objectives
• Harnesses the skills, experience and wisdom of seniors to help themselves and their community in learning and implementing planned lifetime advocacy networks for their adult children who have disabilities.
• Reduces isolation of seniors themselves, as well as their sons or daughters who have disabilities. This includes offsetting the effects (in areas such as transportation) of issues related to the aging of the seniors own social networks, such as decreased ability to be mobile in their community.
• Assists seniors who are parents of adults who have developmental disabilities to begin to answer the questions:
– Who will be there when I am gone?
– Who will be at their side in times of change of trouble?
– Who will they really be able to count on?
Activities
• Meet with senior parents individually and as a group to explore their unique needs for network facilitation focused on their family member with the disability.
• Identify senior parent families who wish to proceed as a steering group for the project.
• Arrange transportation support for the seniors to access meetings and resources necessary to the project and taking strategies for facilitation and archiving to the seniors in their homes.
• Involve and support the parents to create their chosen method of recording key information about their son's and daughter's lives.
• Coordinate the facilitator hiring and matching process for each family.
• Collect the independent feedback regarding the facilitation and archiving process.
• Utilize methods, such as car pooling and meeting hosts, to promote senior families mentoring.
Expected results
• Increased social participation, empowerment and inclusion of seniors as demonstrated by their attendance at meetings and celebrations about their son's or daughter's friendship network.
• Reduced isolation of vulnerable seniors and their vulnerable son or daughter who has a disability as well. This will be evident in the reporting of increased numbers of friends in the family members network.
• Parents will report an increase in their sense of "peace of mind" about the future plans they have in place for their son or daughter when the parent is no longer able to be as involved.
• Stronger networks and associations between community members will occur with the reciprocal relating of people on the son or daughter's network and this feeds into the necessary feedback and input opportunities for involved community organizations and governments.
• Strong circles of friends around those vulnerable persons with disabilities lends guidance to all initiatives we put in place to protect and care about those in society who are vulnerable.
• The community capacity to deal effectively with ensuring everyone contributes is built one family and friendship network at a time.
Funding
This project is funded by a grant from Human Resources and Skill Development Canada (HRSDC).
For Further Information Contact the RAS office, details at left.
