"Our vision is of a society that values each individual
and provides the opportunity for all people
to lead full and productive lives"

Learn more about the Silcock Family

Accessing the Local Community

First Step Supported Living Services promotes the idea that consumers should have full access to their community. To this end, FSSLS provides on-going training and support to assist consumers learn about various community services and to develop each client's community access skills.

Consumers are offered a variety of opportunities to make use of the generic resources available to all members of the community. Many of our clients require continued support in areas such as: banking; shopping at the grocery store; doing laundry at the laundry mat; going to the tailor; using the post office; attending medical appointments; accessing the public library; participating in adult education classes; touring local places of interest; registering to vote; and traveling via public transportation among other activities.
FSSLS support staff encourage consumers to use natural opportunities to access community services. This means that our consumers go to the laundry mat when their clothes are dirty. They go to the tailor when they require hemming or clothing repair. Most of the skill training our consumer's receive also happens in the natural environment. That is, consumers don't practice banking skills at home or by doing workbooks, instead our consumers learning banking skills while at the bank.

Consumers use public transportation when they have some place to go. Finally, direct training often occurs naturally by community members. For example, when a consumer is using the grocery store he or she is encouraged to ask any questions directly to employees of the store instead of only communicating with the FSSLS support staff. By accessing the local community daily, our consumers learn new skills and increase their existing independent living skills. Additionally, our consumers expand their communication skills and increase their self-confidence. Finally, with continued access, our consumers develop relationships with others in the community and thus increasing their circle-of-support.