John O’Brien
Jan. 2012
There is a certain embarrassment about being a storyteller in these times when stories are considered not quite as satisfying as statements and statements not quite as satisfying as statistics, but in the long run, a people is known, not by its statements or its statistics, but by the stories it tells.
–Flannery O’Connor
Why now?
Known by the Stories We Tell John O’Brien1
There is a certain embarrassment about being a storyteller in these times when stories are considered not quite as satisfying as statements and statements not quite as satisfying as statistics, but in the long run, a people is known, not by its statements or its statistics, but by the stories it tells.
–Flannery O’Connor
There are at least three good reasons for the people who create and count on DFRS to invest time in considering the question that brought us together on 24 January: Who are we to each other and to families today? All are related to major changes in the developmental disabilities service system as the Ministry continues the multi-year process of implementing the Services and Supports to Promote the Social Inclusion of Persons with Developmental Disabilities Act, 2008.
First. Families experience new uncertainties as a result of changes to the eligibility determination, resource allocation, and direct payments management processes. New acronyms –DSO and SIS– indicate a shift in the people, place and procedures where important decisions affecting a family’s paid supports will be made. Legislative concern for equity and fairness (understood as treating all alike and objectifying allocation decisions) have not yet translated into a concern for adequacy of funding, so a growing number of families continue to wait for funding or find ways to stretch inadequate funding over increasing requirements for paid assistance. These demands on families’ adaptive capacity call for a check on DFRS understanding of its identity and contribution to family well being.
1 These my reflections on a discussion on 24 January 2012 that involved the Board, staff and allies of the Durham Association for Family Respite Services (DFRS). The purpose of the day was to explore better ways to articulate what is distinctive about DFRS, given the concerns raised for families and for DFRS by the transformation process being implemented by the Ministry of Community and Social Services (the Ministry). This report is a step along the way to better self-understanding among DFRS’ people, not a finished product. These reflections do not give equal weight to all areas of the discussion. I have briefly summarized much of the discussion, which understandably focused on the uncertainties imposed by the restructuring of the system and the actual and potential negative consequences that participants in the discussion associate with system changes, I have focused on what I heard people say that might add to DFRS ways of expressing its self-understanding. At Peter Dill’s invitation, I have included ideas gained in conversations outside the meeting with people associated with DFRS and discussions at a workshop on 23 January that included people from several of DFRS organizational allies. These reflections were drafted on 29 January 2012.
