Forum Activity for @deb-wisniewski

Coffee Break Discussion: Timebanks

Coffee Breaks

What a great discussion about Timebanks on the Coffee Break this morning! Our Special Guest, Kat Savyannah, the hOur TimeBank, shared this description of what timebanks are:Its like bartering, but not limited to two people. Its different than volunteering because you get something in return. Its a community of people with all kinds of skills and talents to trade and share with each other.

So what do you want to know about Timebanks? Are you a member of a Timebank? What is that like? OR maybe you have a question about how to start one in your area.

Share your questions, as well as your resources, information, experiences, and ideas about timebanks in this discussion.

updated by @deb-wisniewski: 02/23/16 03:06:02AM

Food for Thought: Are person-centered planning & "personalisation" failing people within our long-term care systems?

Open Discussion

Hi Meg -

You might want to double-check about whether IRIS would work for your son. My understanding is that eligibility for IRIS is NOT based on the level of support you need. Rather, IRIS is based on the idea that a person who uses IRIS wants to self-direct all their supports and cares (the person can have the help of family members, guardians, etc to do this - they don't need to do it on their own).

What this means is that he (with help) would be making the decisions about what supports he gets, who helps him, where he gets his services, etc. There are still approvals required for his plan but I think you have a lot of more control and say over what you get...

Hang in there!

Food for Thought: Are person-centered planning & "personalisation" failing people within our long-term care systems?

Open Discussion

Thanks Wanda for your response to this... I think your perspective is very valuable for all of us to consider when we have a role in running any of the systems that affect people's lives. What are we doing that really comes from a person-centered perspective and what are we doing because we're part of the "system"? And when do have a choice about this and when do we not?

I don't think there are easy answers to any of this. I think it's good to keep asking the questions - of ourselves and of the systems - even if there isn't an answer right away.

Food for Thought: Are person-centered planning & "personalisation" failing people within our long-term care systems?

Open Discussion

As you know Carrie, I look at this kind of thing from both an asset perspective and a community development perspective. And through that lens, I know that systems tend to have a heavy "magnetic pull".... In other words, it's so easy to take good, real life ideas and "systemize" them so much that they lose their magic.

And I don't blame anyone for that. It's almost like it's the nature of the beast... I mean the nature of systems to try to do that. One of the jobs of a system is to focus on quality and that's interpreted as being something you can count on to be the same every time - same product, same process, same outcomes. So it's a catch 22 to try to make anything person-centered the same every time.

So I think you're right, Carrie. I think that we need to continually be mindful of what we're doing in the person-centered and personalization. Are we keeping it real?

Food for Thought: Are person-centered planning & "personalisation" failing people within our long-term care systems?

Open Discussion

There have been a couple of things I've read lately that talk about the issues that develop when we try to take great concepts like person-centered planning and "personalisation" and try to make them work within our long-term care systems.

The first is an article, Personalisation was supposed to empower vulnerable citizens. It failed., written by Simon Duffy, who founded In Control United Kingdom. Simon talks about "personalization", (which he describes this way: "At its simplest this means moving away from standardised services, towards a flexible system where people have more control and play a bigger part in their community.") This a great concept, yet Simon says that it has failed.

A second article, The Trouble with Person-Centred Planning, was recently written by John O'Brien, one of the people who first helped developed the concept of Person-Centered Planning. In this article, John writes about the problems that happen when we take great concepts and systematize them. Thankfully it seems that John believes "... we have the capacity to host occasions to become present to each other in ways that generate power by parting the veils of indifference that separate us."

So what do you think? Are these innovative ideas failing people within the long-term care systems?

updated by @deb-wisniewski: 02/23/16 03:06:02AM

Are you using IRIS or Family Care (or neither) for SDS? Why?

Questions about Self-Directed Supports or Self-Determination

Thanks Dean for posting a bit of your SDS story. I'm interested in what goals are most important for you as you use SDS. What do you want your life to look like?

Are you using IRIS or Family Care (or neither) for SDS? Why?

Questions about Self-Directed Supports or Self-Determination

If you use Self-Directed Supports, do you use IRIS or Family Care? Maybe you're in a county program (Legacy Waiver) and use SDS that way. If you don't use SDS at all (even though you receive supports through a long-term care program), can you tell me why?

I want to know what program you're involved with and why you chose it...(Just call me nosy)

Thanks!

updated by @deb-wisniewski: 02/23/16 10:58:40AM

What do you think: This Is My Sister

Just for fun

This Is My Sister is a new movie that will be shown on Wisconsin Public Television on Friday, May 25th. I'd love to hear from those of you who watch it. What did you think of it? Can you relate to any of the people in the movie? What did you like? What didn't you like? What would you suggest to the characters in the movie to help promote self-determination? Share your thoughts here...

updated by @deb-wisniewski: 02/23/16 03:06:01AM

Connecting with People and Places in Your community

Open Discussion

Is this the Thresheree that you talked about? (I'm not sure I'm spelling that correctly!) It sounds so coll... I should try to get to that some summer.

Connecting with People and Places in Your community

Open Discussion

Hi Marie - This was so interesting to read... I know you personally, but I didn't know all these things about you. What's the Northeast WI Antique Power Association? It sounds interesting.... What does this club do?