Vision, Mission and Principles

Our Vision

“A community where everyone belongs”

Our Mission

To nurture the ability and willingness in our community to welcome and support all people as valued and contributing citizens.

Our Principles

Principle # 1

We believe everything starts with the person.

• We will help people plan for their good life
• All supports are tailor made together with the person and their family
• All budgets are individualized
• We will advocate for the Ontario government to individualize funding for disability supports

Principle # 2

We believe we are accountable to the person first while honouring relationships in the person’s life.

• We will support the individual’s right to call on family and friends for support and advocacy throughout his or her life
• We will support families to be active decision-makers in the lives of their children and youth

Principle # 3

We believe that a range of relationships are valuable and important to everyone.

• We will support people to explore and develop those relationships through intentional and natural opportunities

Principle # 4

We believe everybody has the right to self-determination.

• We will support people to be full citizens of their community
• We will support people to direct and monitor their services and budget
• We will support People First

Principle # 5

We believe that inclusive communities are created and strengthened by recognizing and acting on the belief that each person has unique gifts that are necessary contributions.

• We will help people discover their gifts, abilities and skills
• We will help people use/share/contribute their gifts

Principle # 6

We believe in our commitment to people with developmental disabilities from St. Marys and Area.

• We will walk with people through their journey
• We will find ways to support people currently not supported
• We will have a clear, transparent, equitable process for how decisions are made regarding who receives what service (including the allocation of funds, existing and new, human resources and assignments)

Principle # 7

We believe that being involved in your community leads to full citizenship.

• We will create inclusive supports
• We will not create or operate segregated and congregated supports

Principle # 8

We believe we have a role in grassroots community development.

• We will support people who use our service, families, board members and staff at every level to lead and take part in community initiatives
• We will support self advocacy
• We will support family advocacy

Principle # 9

We believe it’s important to plan for future needs of people living in our community.

• We see our role as an agent of change in the areas of education, seniors, transportation, housing, recreation and employment
• We will advocate for individual and system change to help people get supports they need

Principle # 10

We believe in an organizational culture that encourages learning, risking, evolving and innovating.

• We will learn together by continuing to question ourselves and each other
• We will stay connected to movements within human services including citizenship, human rights, advocacy and best practices
• We will share information and stories – team-to-team, general staff, newsletter and newspaper

Principle # 11

We believe in the honourable role that staff play in people’s lives.

• We will recognize and appreciate staff, encourage leadership and mentoring opportunities, invest in training

and advocate for good wages, benefits and employment opportunities

Principle # 12

We believe in planning that is separate and local and also, we believe there is a role for independent, unencumbered planning in Ontario’s developmental service system.

• We will explore issues of further separating planning from services
• We will continue to act as a provincial resource while balancing local needs

Principle # 13

We believe that our organization is healthier when there is an active quality assurance process in place in every area of the organization.

• We will regularly ask people who use our service and their families about the quality of services they receive