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Mentoring a Spirit of Gentleness for Individuals with Disabilities |
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· Quality of Life · Links |
Building Companionship and CommunityCommunity refers to those around us where we live and carry out our daily lives. Community, however, is much more than the physical act of people living together or being together. It is the collection of caregivers and the Individuals they serve sharing a mutual feeling of companionship, feeling safe among one another, and showing value toward each other. As we teach companionship, we are constructing the foundation for community. Our goal here is to create a sense of responsibility for community life and to teach those we serve how to access community resources. We must also teach how to contribute to one's community through service and work. Building companionship within community reflects our understanding that it is good to do for others, be with others, and receive assistance from others. We can enhance quality of life by incorporating community and companionship in our caregiving. See the form entitled Building Companionship and Formulating a Sense of Community Assessment. This document is used to assess a person’s sense of community. It asks Individuals what community is to them and what they would like their community to provide. It also helps assess what we as caregivers can do to help the people we serve to build the community of their choice. See the document entitled The Handbook to Building Companionship and Formulating a Sense of Community. This handbook is used to develop a plan to build companionship and community for the person receiving services. |