The movement toward SDL has been gathering pace in recent years and gained real momentum throughout Ireland and within SHS since the immersion project in May 2013. This project brought cross representative teams (service users, family members, managers, frontline staff etc.) from organisations all over the country. Together they immersed themselves in week long workshops and lectures exploring different approaches to service delivery. The main focus was on a support structure directed by the person and facilitated by the organisation, Self- Directed Living. The National Federation of Voluntary Bodies organised the event and brought leaders in the field from all over the world to facilitate the learning. For the past couple of years Sunbeam House has initiated our own training programs and lectures by Irish and international leaders in the intellectual disability sector such as Michael Kendrick, Mary Keely and Doreen Kelly. The most powerful, influential and valuable learning of the SDL approach has been through the sharing of peoples stories of their lives transformed by.

SDL is difficult to do properly. Life is not straight forward therefore SDL is not a straight forward process. The supports offered are unique to each person and can often change in accordance with the person’s wishes or requirements. The values of the person come first not those of the supporter or indeed the organisation. This is why the Organisational Development Team has made the decision to commit a small staff team to a Self- Directed Living approach of support. The SDL team will be working for some people within our services that have expressed (verbally or through action), a strong desire to direct their own supports.

We have chosen to rent a small base on the main street in Wicklow town. To avoid confusion in support delivery style, we have chosen our base to be outside of other SHS properties. The base is also purposefully small to avoid it becoming a centre for activities. It will be used for meetings with people and their families. It will also act as a resource/administration base for the team and a place to share learning and experience.

The approach the SDL team is using is based on the theory of practice of Social Role Valorisation. We have been trained on how to apply this theory into practice on the Enabling Excellence training program. To begin with the SDL team are working with a small group of individuals.

Social Role Valorization, when well applied, has the potential to help socially devalued people to gain greater access to the good things of life, and to be spared at least some of the negative effects of social devaluation.