While preserving its tight-knit organizational culture, Cindy and Vic’s promotes high expectations and shared leadership for people with disabilities and is a model of inclusion and empowerment across the community. Cindy and Vic’s is recognized for outstanding ongoing education for individuals and staff, an array of entrepreneurial and supported living opportunities, and cutting-edge resources.
Shared Vision Statement for Alaska's Developmental Disability System
We pledge to uphold both our vision and the shared DD vision for the state of Alaska through our policies and our community presence
How did The DD Vision come to be?
Alaskans share a vision of a flexible system in which each person directs their own supports, based on their strengths and abilities, toward a meaningful life in their home, their job and their community. Our vision includes supported families, professional staff and services available throughout the state now and into the future.
VISION IN ACTION!
My Voice My Choice
The foundation of our agency is built from the personal stories, skills, and strengths that each participant brings to us. We have had a dream for many years to develop a tool that would help everyone to honor and share those stories – beyond the medical model and deficit focus of the Plan of Care.
Meanwhile, there is a true sea-change at work in the disability services field! From grassroots advocacy groups to mandates at the federal level – there is nationwide agreement that Person-Directed Services are the way to go! We couldn’t agree more! In 2017, we wholeheartedly joined the Alaska DD Vision group, and have lent our voices and experiences to the process of securing this vision for the future through the legislative process. Conception
In 2015, we were contacted by Erika Pinter, an old friend of Cindy’s. They met in Oregon as graduate student classmates and fellow Alaskans in their Special Education Master’s degree program. Erika had gotten back in touch with Cindy in search of a partner with whom to develop a meaningful research project – the results of which would have a positive impact on disability services recipients across agencies. We shared with Erika our vision for an effective tool for telling a personal story that could also be used for staff training, sharing with peers, presented at planning meetings, and so on. Erika worked her magic and applied for a sabbatical visit to Alaska during which she would develop this tool, conduct pre and post project surveys, perform observations, and then gather and submit her findings as a study with Northern Illinois University.
We were so pleased to hear from Erika a few months later that her sabbatical proposal was accepted, with a start date of early 2018… which felt like the distant future at that point. And now, here we are, with the project nearly complete and ready to share with all of you!
Through the work of our Advocacy and Outreach Administrator, Anna Pieper, and countless hours of interviews with folks who enrolled in the project, we now have a useful template and customized slideshows.
