Our CSL Journey


 
  1. Opportunity Inc. Experiences Challenges for Community Supportive Living Members

    Since starting Community Supportive Living, Opportunity Inc. has realized some challenges the members face. One of the most common things we see is either the potential for members to be lonely or that they have expressed that they are lonely. Because of this, we have adapted a portion of our assessment to include questions that facilitate a dialogue about members interests, activities, natural supports, friendships and family relationships. Having this information helps staff better be able to support members in building their support systems to prevent loneliness.

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  2. Opportunity Inc. creates the “Learning Community”

    Opportunity Inc. has identified training staff as a challenge for a quality, effective Community Supportive Living program. Opportunity Inc. has worked with LinkEd to do some organizational training for all leadership in understanding the Community Supportive Living model and how it differs from the traditional service based model. In addition to one time trainings, LinkEd worked with Opportunity Inc. to create a sustainable Learning Community as a support to the front line staff working in CSL. The Learning Community has served as a tool to facilitate communication among the front line staff. Since the staff work throughout the community, 7 days per week, nearly 24 hours per day, they do not often have time to collaborate with each other. Through the Learning Community, staff are able to talk with each other in an easy and effective way. In addition, the Learning Community provides an avenue for communication to go to the Manager of the program in an efficient manner. The Learning Community streamlines communication to the Manager, allowing her to prioritize the communication. One of the most exciting pieces of the Learning Community is the training development. Opportunity Inc. is in the process of evaluating and creating effective training for the staff who work in the CSL program. We have been able to utilize the Learning Community as a platform for CSL training, which is beginning to show better results than the traditional classroom training. Opportunity Inc. is still in the initial phases of developing the training through the Learning Community and we’re very excited to see and update on how this progresses.

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