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Reflections on Disability Pride Month
Why Disability Pride Month Matters Disability Pride Month celebrates the diversity of the disability community. It reminds us that every person deserves to be seen, heard, and valued for who they are. It celebrates resilience, creativity, and individuality. That is by giving individuals with disabilities a space to express pride in who they are, without […]
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Rethinking Support: How Technology Can Help
For people with disabilities and their caregivers, daily life often involves a lot of planning and support. Whether it helps with daily tasks, staying safe at home, or staying connected with others, support is essential. But what if some of that support could be built right into everyday life – quietly working in the background, […]
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Celebrating 20 Years of Values into Action: A Personal Reflection
I started working at Values into Action while I was still in college, so I was in my early twenties. I had a fresh perspective, but it was also a skewed perspective in a way. I was attending college classes that didn’t use person centered language and seemed to have a focus on “fixing” people. […]
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Charting the LifeCourse Showcase 2024: Continuing the Journey!
April 23-25, 2024 Kansas City, Missouri Last year, Rachel Milano-Davis shared the Charting the LifeCourse (CtLC) Framework with us. She introduced how we planned to explore, learn and share CtLC as Values began to chart our path forward. Read the 2023 blog here. In April 2024, members of our Values’ team attended the 8th Annual […]
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Trauma Informed Care: The Healing Power of Choices
I think most people can think back to a time when we felt trapped and helpless. Maybe it seemed like the world was spiraling out of control. Perhaps our life was unraveling before our eyes, or we had just lost something that mattered to us deeply. The reality is, many things in life are out […]
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Beginnings and Continued Commitments
A new year offers time for reflection, resolutions, and new beginnings! In late 2023, we welcomed Myra to the In Home and Community Leadership Team as our new Community Support Facilitator for southeastern PA. In this role, Myra works in partnership with people using services and their families so they are leading lives of their […]
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Navigating the Return to Community: A Thank You to our Support Partners
It is a story that’s all too familiar. The pandemic had brought about unprecedented challenges for everyone in our communities. Yet, for us? Our Support Partners were the ones on the frontlines from day one. People we support and their families who all have had their share of challenges during the last 3 ½ years. […]
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Helping to Make Healthy Eating Choices
Everyday Lives: Values In Action promotes self-direction, choice, and control. Self-direction is possible when: We must respect people’s right to make decisions about the “big things” in their lives, as well as the smaller things, including what to eat. People who provide support often ask the question: “How do we help a person to make healthy […]
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Welcome to Pam’s World
Independence, Creativity, and Choice…three individual rights that are sometimes taken for granted. Imagine being a person with disabilities who relies on the support of others to exercise these simple rights. Consider being unable to choose what you wear, the foods you eat, or the places you visit. This is the unfortunate reality for many people […]