Creative Supports

Creative Supports is another way that Excel Society continues to set new trends with service provision. Recognizing the individual nature defining "quality of life" for each person, Excel Society has assembled a strong Creative Supports team.

Creative Supports service options include: support home operator, supported independent living, respite care and cooperative day supports. Creative Supports is opening new doors to creating unique, community-based service options.

Support Home Operator

Previously known as supportive roommates, Support Home Operators (SHO), are people living in the community who invite an Excel client with a disability, to live in a shared living environment. These clients are funded by Persons With Developmental Disabilities. The SHO operator enters into a "contract" with Excel Society to provide community living support.

Support Home Operator client supports span all levels of community independence based on the philosophy that: "individuals live cooperatively in a 'home' environment". All Support Home Operators ensure clients have:

• active lifestyles respecting personal choices;
• positive behavioural and emotional support;
• increasing positive control and daily living skill development;
• building community and natural supports;
• shared growth, understanding and respect;
• opportunity to grow from shared commitment;
• safe, secure, healthy living environments.

This is an excellent opportunity to provide one-to-one care by supporting an individual in your own home! Together everyone benefits!

Respite

Respite is a unique "off-shoot" support enabling Support Home Operators options to exist. Because Support Home Operators options are considered a 24 - hour, seven day per week support, there inevitably are periodic times when the cooperative SHO arrangements require a relief break. Respite options are made possible through trained, specialized staff members hired to temporarily replace the SHO, when there is a need for respite.

Supported Independent Living

Supported Independent Living options are innovative, cooperative community supports focused for individuals with disabilities. Funded by Persons with Developmental Disabilities, these clients continue to require guided community living support in specific areas of their lives. A growing client support option, Supported Independent Living, or "SIL", meets the need for unique and adaptive client supports in our community. These clients are currently integral members of their communities and they accomplish this with a little help from a carefully selected Creative Supports team. Just some of the guiding principles of Supported Independent Living include:

• build effective community abilities by increasing participation through promoting connection with others;
• realizing that real support starts by changing the way you look at things - remember the person;
• knowing that nothing is impossible if you are willing to create the opportunity;
• paying attention to what is important - quality of life, what fulfills, what is valued;
• ensuring that interactions are made on purpose with tolerance and understanding;
• developing personal community living and coping skills given sensible progress; SIL options are a new model of community support directions; which instil greater confidence and begin with a commitment: "that clients can have optimistic community living futures because where they once experienced challenge; they now have access to support staff with the creative energy to help them overcome obstacles".