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We are people with disabilities, family members of people with disabilities, teachers and students in our local school systems, university professionals, doctors, accountants, consultants, community activists.
We hold a vision that people with disabilities in southwest Virginia will be active members of our communities and will have the support they need to live the lives they choose. We know that in Virginia people with disabilities who want to live in the community may need help and a microboard can help them. A microboard provides respectful, person centered support for individuals and their families. The most important first step toward establishing a microboard for a person is helping the person to have a strong circle of friends.
A circle of friends can save lives. All people need to have friendship and love in their lives. As Aristotle stated "Friendship is a thing necessary to life, since without friends no one would choose to live though possessed of all other advantages."
People with disabilities often lead lives of isolation and segregation; they do not have friends. The people in their lives are either family or paid professionals, not close friends.
Friends are people who enjoy doing the things you like to do, spending time with you, listening to your hopes and dreams, sticking with you through the good and bad times. While friends may sometimes help you make decisions, they do not force you to do anything.
Now think about living life as an adult where all your decisions are made for you; when you get up in the morning, when you go to bed, what you wear, what you eat, what you do or don't do each day. Which one of us would want to live with only that which someone else determines is "in your best interest." Sadly, many people who experience disabilities in the New River Valley live lives like this.
Circles of friends empower people with disabilities by filling in the gaping hole between paid service providers and family. Friends search for gifts and capacities in each other. Those gifts are discovered by a circle of friends gathering together and listening to a person's stories and dreams. Community Opportunities assists the person to identify and develop a devoted circle of friends. Circles are the heart of microboards; they help people have the support they need...forever.
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