Self-Advocates talk about Quality of Life interviews
Do you do things in your community like shopping, going to movies, or eating out?
This is an example of one of the fifty questions in the “My Life – Personal Outcomes Index”, a survey tool being used in the Fraser Region.
For the past several months, self-advocates from the Lower Mainland have been actively engaged in a Quality of Life demonstration project. The project has employed 20 self-advocates to conduct 300 interviews with adults receiving CLBC funded supports and services from seven service providers in the Fraser Region.
The self-advocate interviewers used a survey tool called “My Life – Personal Outcomes Index” which was developed by Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) Edmonton Region Community Board. The survey is valid and reliable. “My Life” measures eight domains in the Quality of Life framework that was developed by Dr. Robert Schalock. The eight domains are: personal development, self-determination, interpersonal relations, social inclusion, rights, emotional well being, physical well being and material well being.
Alecia Emery and Gerry Juzenas surveyed self-advocates using the “My Life - Personal Outcomes Index”
All the surveys have been sent to Howard Research in Alberta to be analyzed. They will write a report for CLBC and for each participating service provider. The reports will provide information about how individuals feel about their lives, and will help service providers improve the overall quality of their services by focusing on what is truly important to those they support.
The self-advocate interviewers were hired after successfully completing three days of training. They learned about how to conduct a successful interview, being prepared, teamwork, recording, invoicing and professionalism. After these three days, interview teams were contacted through e-mail about their upcoming weekly interview schedule. Interview teams also received on-the-job coaching during their first weeks of interviewing.
The teams have independently conducted interviews at different locations from the North Shore to Abbotsford. Interviewers have characterized their work as “going outside my world”. It has put them in the position of working with new people and different work styles. They have also learned how to use email and a cell phone; and figured out many new transportation routes.
Self-advocates have reported they like meeting new people, proving to themselves that they can do new and challenging work, and feeling important because they are doing work that can make a difference to people lives. When asked what makes a successful interview they stated:
- Patience
- Giving people thinking time
- Being silent while people think
- Not to rush people
- Understand that some people need to think out loud
- Making people feel comfortable
- Staying professional
- Being considerate of an individual’s feelings
When asked about the challenges of being an interviewer they listed the following:
- Last minute changes to a schedule
- People who do don’t show up for their interview
- Meeting different kinds of people and not knowing what’s going to happen in the interviews
- Getting attached to the person being interviewed and knowing I can’t get involved in their life
- Dealing with all the unknowns: people, schedules, new places, people’s feelings about being interviewed, questions about the project
Having successfully met these challenges they now talk about how important it is to be professional, to go with the flow, to think on their feet and to always be prepared for change.
Interviewers came together every six to eight weeks for a work meeting to discuss how things were working for them, tricky situations, transportation supports, team work and correct procedures for using the “My Life” survey. At a recent work meeting they were asked “How has being a Quality of Life interviewer changed you?” Some responses were:
Self-advocates and trainers who worked on the Quality of Life Demonstration Project.
“Being an interviewer has given me more confidence. I am shy to talk to people I don’t know, but now I feel comfortable with small talk.”
“It has changed me by giving me the realization that everyone has problems and has difficult challenges in their life and even so keeps a smile on their face.”
“I look at the whole world different.”
“I am more aware of what I am doing in my life now.”
“What I am doing is important and I feel like a valued member of the community.”
“Being an interviewer means that I can be a leader, and be a professional; that people, like my co-workers, friends and my family, admire me for what I am doing.”
“I always wanted to work with self-advocates. This is my dream job!”.
