Maps Article: 1 of 4

Understanding MAPs and PATH
Jack Pearpoint, Marsha Forest & John O'Brien

You make the path by walking

MAPs and PATH first and foremost are tools to help restore dreams and ignite hope by drawing people together to envision and plan and enact constructive futures. For us, MAPs and PATH are not just another way of doing a service plan, they represent a different way of thinking. They are definitely not more of the same thing.

MAPs and PATH are designed as healing tools for people and for organizations. They are in fact more spiritual than technical, which is one of the reasons they are difficult to bureaucratize. They must be used with skill and heart, a practice rooted in an ethic of 'do no harm'. This is not simply a matter of technique, it is more an art. There are technical competencies to master, but this is not the difficult part. As an art, person-centered planning requires facilitators to be able to truly listen to people's dreams and nightmares. Next, their hopes and visions must be shaped into sustainable images. Finally, there is a translation into practical daily routines that move them safely in the direction of the dream. Facilitation requires giving over control by taking and practicing the power move from a position of power over others to power with them.

We have invested time and energy in developing MAPs and PATH because we think they make a difference in the lives of real human beings. We believe that these tools are for all of us. We are all human beings. We believe everyone wants and deserves, simply by virtue of being born human, a chance to live fulfilling lives where gifts and capacities are recognized and utilized.

All of us, at various times of our lives, are in situations where we cannot manage alone, our abilities are trapped, and only our 'deficiencies' are noticed. At such times, we need tools to reach out, to renew, to recommission our 'mission', to find the power in our dream, so we can be full, healthy, contributing citizens. That's where MAPs and PATH fit for us.

People who want to exert power over others will use any tool to enhance their control. The only controls we choose to exert are clear ethical guidelines. Thus, if people with power choose to plan for people without having them present, the label on the tool makes no difference, but simply becomes another deceptive shell game to take or sustain power and control . We believe it is not ethical to plan for a person if the person is excluded.