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CDS recently hosted a very sucessful workshop with the founders of LOV-Dane, visiting from America. The details of the workshop and the presenters are below.
What is LOV-Dane? Watch this video on YouTube
Date held: Tuesday 20th April 2010
Presenters
Amanda Bell
Amanda’s interest in creating more inclusive communities stems from the gift of a sibling with Down syndrome and a family committed to his becoming a valued, contributing citizen. Currently, she is a Community Organizer for Living Our Visions in Madison, WI. LOV is a grassroots organization of individuals with disabilities, families and community members building fulfilling, community centered lives for all citizens. Prior to her work with LOV, Amanda was a special education teacher at the middle school and high school level for ten years. She has a master’s degree in Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education from University of Wisconsin- Madison and training in Asset Based Community development through a mentorship with Mike Green. Amanda regularly consults on both inclusive education and community organizing.
Stefanie Primm
Stefanie Primm is the younger sister of a computer genius with Asperger’s and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. She grew up seeing the world not only through her own eyes, but learned to see the world as her brother did. This knowledge propelled her to seek degrees in both Human Development and Social Work. As she earned her Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree, Stefanie worked individually providing support to children and young adults with disabilities which broadened her knowledge about the lives of families of people with disabilities.
Living Our Visions
How can we find the “good life” for our loved ones with disabilities? Everyone wants to be valued members of a community with employment, recreation and meaningful relationships. As family members, we have been isolated in pursuit of this vision- so began LOV- Dane. Two years ago a group of families from across Dane County began meeting to share our common issues and think about what we could do collectively. Mike Green, an expert in Asset Based Community Development, has supported us to develop a strong sense of community through focused relationship building. Now, with a strong family network in place, LOV is acting together to solve our common problems.
It sounds so simple, building relationships—yet learning to intentionally have conversations that share deeper meaning has opened new doors for us. Deliberate relationship building has been a powerful tool to determine what we want, are motivated to work on and willing to share with others.
LOV- Dane is committed to supporting adults with disabilities to have fulfilling, community-based lives full of family, friends and choices. To reach our goal, we are developing a county-wide family network as well as a network of community partners to work on common priorities to reach our goals.
LOV-Dane gathers monthly to share fellowship, hope, and wisdom. A smaller group, LOV- Oregon, also meets to address needs of local members. In addition, smaller action teams form with specific goals such as developing long term supports, transportation in rural areas or to host a learning event. Finally, our leadership team is the guardian of LOV’s values and the ABCD principles. We all encourage relationship building, determine priorities for action and increase LOV’s capacity by supporting members to engage actively in the work of LOV. |
