Member Spotlight: Lynn Breedlove
How are you involved with self-determination? Why did you join the SD Network?
Lynn has been involved in the disability field since the late 70s. He became aware early on that government, provider agencies, and (sometimes) families were exerting too much control over people with disabilities. He could see that this was making it hard (or sometimes impossible) for people to grow, learn, become real citizens, and pursue a life of their own choosing. “As an advocate, I knew I had to push back against that hyper-control of people. Back then, we didn’t call it self-determination, but later when the self-determination movement began to take shape in North America and other parts of the world, I got excited about that and wanted to be part of it,” he explains. Joining the SD Network was an obvious choice for him--it was a way for me to connect with other self-determination believers in Wisconsin.
Tell us some good news - what's the most exciting thing happening for you (or in Wisconsin) in terms self-determination?
Lynn is excited about IRIS starting up in Dane County. He says that it looks like it might be the first county in the state where more than half of the adults with developmental disabilities choose self-direction, either in IRIS or in Family Care. “Since Dane County is the place in Wisconsin where self-determination first took hold in a sizable way in our state, there are many people and organizations here who have innovative ideas about how to support people to self-direct their services and their lives,” he explains. He believes that innovative spirit can energize the IRIS program in ways that we haven’t seen yet. In particular, he thinks it will be interesting to see how IRIS participants self-direct their supported employment and supported living services in Dane County.
What tip or resource would you like to share with people who want to be more self-determined?
Lynn would like to see IRIS plans include a combination of independent workers and service provider agencies working together. He explains that a lot of people in IRIS have chosen to hire their own workers, which is great; however, there are some progressive provider agencies in the state who have respect for people’s right to make decisions about how their services will be provided. He thinks there is potential for more people to develop IRIS plans which include a combination of direct hiring of independent workers and contracting for services with provider agencies that believe in self-direction.
What message would you like to share with the members of the SD Network?
Lynn wants to encourage people to keep exploring self-direction. Even though the IRIS program and the self-direction option within Family Care have been around for several years, he still feels like we’re in the early stages of understanding how to apply self-direction principles to the long-term care system. “I hope that people will keep trying out new ideas and pushing the envelope on this. I think we are just barely beginning to discover the full potential of what self-determination ideas could mean for our long-term care system,” he says.
What are some of your hobbies?
Lynn and his wife love to travel to new places and discover vistas, food, people, and culture that is different from their own. They are both semi-retired now, so they have been able to have some great adventures in recent years. One that stands out to him was backpacking the Camino de Santiago, the 600 mile 1000 year old pilgrimage in northern Spain, that was once hiked by Charlemagne. “It was an amazing experience on many levels,” he says.
***We love hearing the views and opinions of Network members. We need to mention that the views and opinions expressed on this site are those of the person who is sharing them. They do not necessarily reflect InControl Wisconsin or any of our supporters and funders.
