“ To provide the opportunity for people to live a happy, fulfilling life of their own choosing in their home and community, surrounded by an ongoing circle of support including family, friends, and needed professionals.“ Twenty years ago, He woke up at 4 AM to find that his right side was becoming paralyzed and he could not speak. At the hospital, it was discovered that he had a blood clot on the
surface of the brain. After an operation, he had almost no speech, and his physician said that he probably would never walk again. Thankfully, he recovered most of his speech and motor control during the next four years. During that time he learned how important it is to have a support network or ‘safety net.’ His parents motivated him and gave him courage.He had an incredible circle of friends who treated him with respect, not with pity or grief. They opened doors for him and encouraged him to walk through them. They had a gentle but persistent expectation of good, and he eventually started to respond. He received his Masters in Special Education six years later. His Support Coordination agency, Community Resource Coordinators, was based on the idea of a ‘safety net.’ This net looks different for each person because their needs, wishes, and dreams are different. Our staff has tried to make sure that each person & family builds a net of supports that is truly safe, and that all essential services are in place when needed. Hopefully, we try to pass on to our families the skills to be able to create and maintain their own safety net. Over the years, he learned that having a secure safety net is just the beginning. A person needs more than supports in order to make life worth living. All of us need to have some joy and a sense of fulfillment in our lives. He found that if CRC can help a person find situations where they feel more alive, they will naturally want to do more, learn more, and take on more responsibility for their lives. More importantly, everyone that we have helped has shown us that they are more than clients or consumers or individuals. They are people, who deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.
