Holding Our Dreams: A Position Statement on Organizing Support for Family Groups in the Durham Region1
John O’Brien
Oct. 1998
Current realities………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2
Significant changes ……………………………………………………………………………………. 5
Internal developments………………………………………………………………………………… 5
Shifts in the system …………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
The need for a third kind of organizing …………………………………………………………. 8 Role…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8
Functions ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8 Resources……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9
Limits …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. … 11
Concluding summary …………………………………………………………………………………… 12
1 A position statement defines a proposal for concerned people to build on. It is not a plan to be implemented but a possibility for involved people to develop through their reactions. This position statement arises from the work of a group of parents and staff who have been active in shaping the family network in the Durham Region. The group met on 6-7 October 1998 to review the development of the family network and to consider what will be necessary for the network to thrive in Ontario’s changing service and civic environment. John O’Brien facilitated the meeting and drafted this position statement based on a record of the discussion that was carefully reviewed with participants in the discussion.
