103: Living the Way We Want Distance Learning HOUSING

DETS Course 103: Living the Way WE Want Distance Learning HOUSING ACCESS engages participants to talk and learn about housing options —where people are living, who people are living with, how people are  getting support, or not, to live in the place they want.

As in every DETS course, the twelve one-hour sessions in Course 104 HOUSING ACCESS is to engage participants in:

–building personal power

–learning about the rights movement for disability equality and how it applies to them

–acting together to contribute to the community

 

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Session 0

Participant Orientation

 

Description: An engaging and fun orientation session to precede the coming 14 sessions. Also a chance to set up technology and communication protocols.

 

Objectives

— Review the material in the Participant Kits.

— Build anticipation and enthusiasm for the coming 14 sessions.

— Get everyone’s commitment to attend and participate in each session.

— Learn how the group works together and make adjustments so that everyone is comfortable with the distance learning format.

 

 

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Session 1

Session Openers and Values Collage

 

Description: Each participant makes a collage, using a variety of art supplies and their own photo, to show their values.

 

Objectives

— Thinking about our values

 

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Session 2

Decision-Making and Three Ways to Live

 

Description: Participants practice noticing decisions they are making, considering whether they are big decisions or small ones, and how to approach each. They also are introduced to three independent-living housing arrangements, as background info for conversations yet to come in this course.

 

Objectives

— Participants can recognize difference between big and small decisions.

— Participants experience a process for making a big decision, what goes into it.

 

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Session 3

Don’t Fence Me In and My Housing Goal

 

Description: All sing a song and talk about our desire to be free, and what gets in the way. Then they use a worksheet to name one goal in their life around housing, what factors help them reach it, and what stands in the way.

 

Objective

— Develop an awareness of barriers that are getting in the way of living the way we want.

— Participants start to build the ability to assess their goals, and how to work toward the housing they want.

 

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Session 4

What’s Working?

 

Description: Participants work in teams to fill in a worksheet, and use their answers to talk about things that are working well, and things that are not working so well.

 

Objectives

— To identify what things are currently working well in your life.

— To identify what things are not working well in your life.

— Brainstorm things that should stay the same and things that should change.

 

 

 

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Session 5

History of Power and Optional Quiz

 

Description: Participant teams each study a small slice of  history, and present that information to each other, noticing the shift over time toward the right to Live the Way We Want. Review group quiz to solidify new learning about the movements in history, and now to notice them all around us even today.

 

Objectives

— Participants notice the historical shift from experts having all the power over lives of people with disabilities to people having power over their own lives.

— Participants begin to notice who has the power in their lives, and understand that a shift to having more control over their own lives is possible.

— Participants will test their understanding of how history has shaped their current lives.

 

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Session 6

Old-Versus-New Way of Planning and Independent Living, Old or New

 

Description: Breakouts study a series of realistic statements to decide if what’s happening is “Living the Way WE Want” or if it is not, then share thoughts with the large group. Participants revisit the three ways to live independently (Session 2b) and consider if the features of each are grounded in the new way (we decide) or the old way (others decide for us).

 

Objective

— Participants practice noticing when experts take power over people with disabilities, and when they actually help people get what they want.

 

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Session 7

What’s Integration? A Right! and My Integrated Life

 

Description: Participants use colors to create a segregated pattern on a coloring sheet, then use an identical sheet a second time to show what integration looks like. Practice noticing integration in our lives by looking at examples and identifying integration in our own lives.

 

Objective

— Become familiar with the concepts of segregation and integration.

— Notice the right of integration in your life

— Notice segregation in your life.

— See common experiences you have with others.

 

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Session 8

Tour of Independent Housing, Part 1 (Field Trip)

 

Description: A virtual tour with four stops: four independent housing arrangements. We’ll look at two today, and two more a few sessions later.

 

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Session 9

Living the Way We Want and That’s Me

 

Description: Participants put some of their hopes and dreams onto worksheets that parallel the five of Living the Way We Want Posters from Session 1a. Facilitator read a series of statements. After each, participants decide if it’s true for them personally, then show and compare responses.

 

Objectives

— Low risk method to get folks talking.

— Non-verbal activity maximizes full inclusion of all abilities.

— Give folks practice and reinforcement for saying who they are.

— Participants get some low-risk practice in talking about their deep hopes and dreams.

 

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Session 10

Tour of Independent Housing, Part 2 (Field Trip)

Description: Follow the directions for Session 8, page ___, and lead participants in a virtual tour of the two other housing styles, as you have prearranged.

 

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Session 11

Assertiveness Training

 

Description: Volunteers take turns role-playing simple situations three times: once passively, once aggressively, and once assertively.

 

Objectives

— Understand the difference between communicating passively, aggressively, and assertively.

— Experience which communication method is most effective.

 

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Session 12

Power Lines

 

Description: Participants practice saying sentences about what they want, sentences that could prod people in their life to help them begin moving toward their housing goal.

 

Objective

— Start to think about some things we want around housing, how we live, where we live.

 

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Session 13

Becoming the Leaders We Want to Be

 

Description: Participants reflect on all the new learnings of this course, the leadership skills they’ve built, and consider ideas for how they want to use this knowledge going forward in their lives.

 

Objective

— Participants gain a stronger sense of their own leadership skills.

 

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Session 14

Review and Celebrate Our Achievement

 

Description: Recognition and celebration of participants’ successful completion of all 14 sessions.

 

Objective

— Elevate the status of the accomplishment by recognizing this experience as well worth the commitment made by participants.