Georgia Options

Georgia Options in Community Living supports people with disabilities to live in their own homes and to have typical life experiences.

Vision Regarding People Served:

• People are full and equal citizens.
• People enjoy full participation in the life of the community.
• People have typical life experiences.
• People exercise choice about how they spend their time and live their lives.
• People live in their own homes, NOT in Georgia Options' facilities.
• People's homes are safe, clean, decent and pleasant places to be.
• People live lives of interdependence - not dependence or independence.

Vision Regarding Staff:

• Staff are personal assistants, companions, partners, collaborators, supporters, friends.

• Staff are bridge builders to the community and to relationships with people: relationships with family, friends, neighbors, church members and other community members.

• Staff are models for others of respectful interaction with people with disabilities.

• Staff are our most valued resource. The people we support help choose their staff; therefore, staff are as diverse as the people we serve. People have staff with great personalities, respectful natures, a willingness to open their hearts and minds to different ideas and to problem-solve with creativity. Staff have compassion and an eagerness to serve. Staff recognize the importance of meaningful and fulfilling lives for the persons they support. Coordinators are positive leaders who focus on outcomes. The director keeps the whole organization focused on our mission. Support staff play important roles in enabling the mission to succeed.

• All staff are ambassadors of our mission and are committed to the work and the people we serve.

Vision Regarding Quality Improvement:

• We are constantly working to get better at what we do.

• We do this by active listening, observing and deepening our knowledge and understanding of the person we are assisting.

• We regularly ask ourselves: who is this person and how can I support this person to live the life he or she wants to live?

• We regularly ask the people we support and their families and friends to evaluate how we are doing and how we can support people better.

• Supported living is a journey, never an arrival. There is no road map, no recipe. We simply make a long-term commitment to the person we support and agree to walk with that person, assisting him or her as needed. We work out problems with others in the person's life along the way. We agree to do whatever it takes to enable the person to live an active life in the community.

• We commit ourselves to the highest levels of integrity, stewardship and accountability.

• We subscribe to the concept of servant leadership. The test of servant leadership is: "Do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served , become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?" (from Robert K. Greenleaf, The Servant as Leader , The Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership)

• We work together as collaborators and team members to figure out solutions to problems.

• We try to create a learning environment rather than a regulatory environment. We know that we will occasionally make mistakes. We accept our mistakes and those made by others and try to learn from them.

• We respect the contributions of each team member.

• We take the time to celebrate our accomplishments.

• We celebrate the life of the person we support.

Personal Outcome Measures:

We use our mission and vision to guide us as we support people in striving to achieve the following results in their lives.

Identity
People choose personal goals.
People choose where and with whom they live.
People choose where they work.
People have intimate relationships.
People are satisfied with services.
People are satisfied with their personal situations.

Autonomy
People choose their daily routine.
People have the time, space and opportunity for privacy.
People decide when to share their personal information.
People use their environments.

Affiliation
People live in integrated environments.
People participate in the life of the community.
People interact with other members of the community.
People perform different social roles.
People have friends.
People are respected.

Attainment
People choose services.
People realize personal goals.
Safeguards
People are connected to natural support networks.
People are safe.

Rights
People exercise rights.
People are treated fairly.
Health and Wellness
People have the best possible health.
People are free from abuse or neglect.
People experience continuity and security.

Georgia Options has national accreditation with distinction from The Council on Quality and Leadership. Click here to learn more about The Council.