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Mr. Arvind Sekar is the sort of person who reveals himself only over time. About a year ago, his circle of support – a group of people who care about Arvind and his future, spent some time helping him to think about what the future might hold for him. After holding down a number of short-term jobs, Arvind was back in a job-readiness program, where he has spent a good part of his life. Making items for sale did not seem to interest him, the hospitality industry was not a fit, and an internship at Café Coffee Day seemed to engender little excitement.

When the discussion turned to caring for the land, Arvind’s entire face lit up and he began speaking with such animation about caring for the earth, about farming practices which make careful use of water and soil, and about  preserving elements of the soil and caring for plants. The circle came alive with ideas for roles Arvind might fill in environmental advocacy, positive farming techniques, protection of the earth, and working for a good cause.

Helping people, especially young people, find their place in this world is affirming work. For many people, including people with disabilities, finding out what is “a fit” requires having lots of experiences, stretching a bit, and experimentation to see what brings out the best in us.

Mohammed has always stood out to his family and friends as a unique teenager who has big ideas about his future. When the pandemic struck, the centre which he attends each day in Bangalore switched from hands-on, face-to-face support to online classes and online activities. He was not interested in this, and those who know him well could see this.    However, the onset of the pandemic opened up new possibilities for him. He shifted with his family to their farmhouse in Hyderabad, where he may well have discovered his niche.

Photo by Sujata Khanna Photography. Sitting in the first SRV workshop was like looking into a mirror for Elizabeth Albuquerque (Liz).
“… my belief system, of how every human being deserves respect, dignity and a purpose in life …. was right there staring back at me.” Creating meaningful and valuable social roles for each person is the basis of a happy, productive individual, leading to a happier and more productive community. It was important for Liz, to facilitate Alyx, her daughter, into making a difference, however small, by being a contributor in the community, a giver rather than being a taker at all times.

Social devaluation and marginalization diminishes people, makes people seem small, and even makes people invisible to the rest of society, particularly if they are locked away in mental hospitals. Valued social roles, even small ones, have the capacity to help people be bigger, stand taller, feel stronger, and shine.

Photo by Sujata Khanna Photography. Person-Centered Planning can be a powerful method to help envision all sorts of valued roles a person might move into. Autism Society West Bengal gave their organization a powerful boost when they combined their SRV savvy with a tool like PATH to give a roles-based vision. Mr. Amitava Basu took center stage at his PATH planning session, surrounded by the people he most trusts and regards. When he began to talk about how important his role is as a classroom assistant at the Lake Gardens unit of ASWB, his circle members listened. They began to think about ways he might fill the role of school employee more fully. STRENGTHENING existing valued roles is one of the important parts of SRV theory, and the people in Amitava’s circle understood this, and used this idea in supporting him.

Samarpan always wanted a job. He wanted to travel to work, get paid, and work just like any other young person his age. However, studying in a special school, he was constantly protected, and taught skills in “pretend situations,” so for him, real work had not been a real consideration. And then came the introduction to SRV. A personal futures plan was developed alongside Samarpan, in which he expressed his desire to work at a real job. At the same time, the organization that supports Samarpan, Ashish Centre, was exploring SRV implementation, and had learned about some important aspects of skills teaching relating to helping learners develop real skills.

Kiran, a young woman with developmental disabilities, lived in a congregated, segregated institution under terrible conditions for many years, as both a child and an adult. Moving to a typical home with 3 other women was a big change in her life, and she had no friends or relatives to welcome her there, except for the staff who are working with her and the women she moved in with. As we all know in SRV, there is a tendency for natural relationships, if a vulnerable person has any at all, to be replaced by paid relationships in the form of paid workers. In Kiran’s situation, we realized soon after her move that she was surrounded by people who were paid to be in her life, or who were volunteers for her service organization. They are caring, committed, and dedicated staff, but one cannot forget that they are, indeed, paid workers, and people need more than just paid or volunteer workers in their lives.

In the city of Bengaluru, the families and leaders of Bubbles Centre and Pragati joined together to empower families to engage powerful, inclusive, person centered tools to help imagine and move towards positive and possible futures for the students and young adults they serve. Within their method, a group of families joined hands to learn to facilitate the PATH process as well as Personal Futures Planning. Over 20 such processes have been led by parent facilitators to work towards full futures for 20 individual children and adults, ranging in age from 5-35. As a result, young Maaya has gathered with over 20 family members, friends, teachers and neighbors to create an inclusive future. Arvind explored and developed a passion for care and healing of the earth through sustainable farming and water saving techniques, and Aditya sketched his desired future out, leading to his first experience in independent living in his own place. PATH is a wonderful way to create a vision of valued roles, and works so well when laid upon a foundation of Social Role Valorization.

Photo by Sujata Khanna Photography. When Bhawna and Rosy left the shelter home, they owned nothing – not a stitch of clothing, a photograph, or a memento to tell their story, to hold their history, and ground them. Those who assisted these young women to leave that shelter home in the north of India and move to a typical home in a village understood the importance of having personal possessions. They are a form of asset, not only a financial asset but an identity asset.