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LiveWorkPlay
For People With Intellectual Disabilities
Making A Buzz In The Ottawa Area Since 1995
"SUCCESS THROUGH COMMUNITY"
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The LiveWorkPlay Community
LiveWorkPlay (LWP) is a grassroots charitable organization working in partnership with care providers and the community at large, empowering people with intellectual disabilities to live as included and contributing members of Canadian society. The organization has a unique history and continues to develop in response to the changing needs of its program participants and their family members.
LWP is headquartered at 153 Chapel Street in the Heartwood House community building. In addition to delivering high quality core programs and services, LiveWorkPlay hosts a number of exciting events throughout the year.
The organization is supported by a combination of government funding, private and public sector project grants and donations, fundraising events and activities, membership and registrations fees, and other sources of revenue that may vary from year to year. LiveWorkPlay does not conduct telemarketing or direct mail funding campaigns.
LiveWorkPlay is governed by an elected board of directors that is accountable to a membership comprised mainly of adult participants and their family members, as well as family members of school-aged participants, and program volunteers. The board works is accountable to the membres who work in partnership with the executive staff team in guiding the strategic development of the organization. At the operational level the staff team work closely on program delivery. Each staff member has their own areas of lead responsibility and also shares many joint responsibilities with the rest of the team.
LWP serves approximately 50 individuals per year through its programs and services, and reaches out to the community through public awareness campaigns, a quarterly print newsletter, an email list, and this website, which is updated frequently.
LiveWorkPlay: Building Community
The LiveWorkPlay environment is all about building community. Our role in supporting people to live as included and contributing members of society begins with the development of several key foundations, such as self-esteem, personal responsibility, healthy peer relationships, an appreciation for the benefits and demands of cooperative effort, and competence in the authentic application of skills. It's all about "SUCCESS THROUGH COMMUNITY".
Although LiveWorkPlay offers what could be described as "programs" they actually function as smaller commmunities within the greater LiveWorkPlay community. On both an individual and collective basis, program participants are responsible for taking an active role in decision-making. This is perhaps the most critical factor in understanding why LiveWorkPlay is experiencing unique success in supporting people with intellectual disabilities.
There has been a movement for many years now supporting the concept of "community living" for people with intellectual disabilities. The challenge in furthering this approach has not been so much with the philosophy, but rather with implementation.
Simply locating an individual in the physical community does not make them included citizens. Establishing a sense of community typically begins with family, extends to neighbourhood, and continues to expand via peer networks through work, recreation, volunteerism, and other community activities throughout a lifetime. Making connections with peers and community institutions is essential to developing a true sense of community. Since those opportunities are not always readily available to people with intellectual disabilities, it is part of the LWP mission to offer access to those experiences.
The LWP methodology for community-building involves concentric circles of support. At the core of the circle, the LWP environment offers a safe but challenging community with self-directed opportunities, a peer-supported network, and motivated and skilled facilitators to promote both individual and group development. Through involvement with LWP, all participants are enabled to build their sense of self, while at the same time develop an understanding of community as a series of interdependent relationships with others.
Next in the configuration is the Heartwood House community. LiveWorkPlay shares the Heartwood House building with twelve partner organizations who work together by sharing ideas, resources, and social and professional interaction. The greater Heartwood House environment is therefore an extension of the LiveWorkPlay community, offering a broader exposure to peers and activities, and bringing participants one step closer to the outer ring.
Finally, there is the outside ring, the community at large. The world of government institutions, shopping malls, community centres, workplaces, public transportation, and all that life in Canadian society has to offer. Drawing on the foundations of community that have been built through LiveWorkPlay, Heartwood House, and other life experiences, LWP participants are enjoying successful community involvement as volunteers, employees, consumers, and citizens.
Successful interaction in one sector of the community at large is not a signal that the work of LiveWorkPlay is done. For example, obtaining paid work is not in itself an indicator that the individual is a fully included member of their community.
If the individual is unable to develop peer networks and extend their community interactions beyond their work environment, then through the resulting isolation, their quality of life may in fact worsen instead of improve. The result could be the loss of the job and lowered self-esteem, and thus what was believed to be a positive step forward has ended up as two steps back.
It is therefore important to view each life component - be it work, social, or home life - as part of the whole, not as isolated factors that operate independent of each other. LiveWorkPlay helps each individual to understand that their own development as a human being is tied to the pursuit of goals in all areas of life, and supports them to follow their own path to improvement in each.
The LiveWorkPlay environment can therefore be understood as a foundation to support people with intellectual disabilities to enjoy ever-increasing connectivity with the greater community, and to view self-improvement as a holistic process that continues throughout a lifetime.
Want to be a LiveWorkPlay expert? Take the LWP quiz!
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153 Chapel Street, Suite 300 | Ottawa, Ontario | K1N 1H5 | 613-235-9550
info@liveworkplay.ca | www.liveworkplay.ca
Charitable Registration 89622 2775 RR 0001
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