Education

This workshop gives participants a practical introduction to the principles of Social Role Valorization. Through a combination of multimedia presentation and small group discussion, participants will learn about the phenomenon of social devaluation. This event includes discussion of how people with disabilities and other devalued groups have been systematically hurt and harmed by society, and what the impact of that devaluation has been. Participants will also learn about ways to help people have better lives by supporting them to achieve positive valued social roles. We will discuss practical strategies to make this a reality for the people you support.

Ideas that Matter is a half-day workshop aimed at offering a very brief look into some of Keystone Human Services’ foundational principles. We begin by exploring the history of disability, including how people with disabilities have been treated and thought about throughout history. We will take time to consider the threads and consequences of historical mindsets on the treatment of people today.

How can we make connections to places, associations, and opportunities that will give the people we support a chance to participate and contribute their gifts, talents, and passions? We teach and talk a lot in our work about helping vulnerable people get involved in their communities, yet many of us are unsure how to proceed in our own lives, much less in the lives of others. We invite you to explore community with us in an experiential fashion, using a process of discovery called Community Mapping. Where does community life take place? Where are the places that people gather together? How can we join in authentically, and assist others to do so as well? Most importantly, how might life change if we are successful? This two-day event takes an in-depth look at what is involved in Community Mapping and have an opportunity to experience it for yourself.

Keystone Institute is offering monthly SRV office hours – a dedicated space for conversation, reflection, and support around Social Role Valorization.

Ideas that Matter is a half-day workshop aimed at offering a very brief look into some of Keystone Human Services’ foundational principles. We begin by exploring the history of disability, including how people with disabilities have been treated and thought about throughout history. We will take time to consider the threads and consequences of historical mindsets on the treatment of people today.

Much can be learned about human effort, societal forces of oppression and marginalization, and the possibilities for change by studying the rise and fall of “The Great Institutions.” This presentation will describe the founding of such institutions, with lofty and earnest aspirations, through the vast growth of segregation and congregation fed by eugenics ideology, and the eventual decline of the “total institution.”