Leading Practice Guidelines

Valued Social Roles

Type: Contribution & Growth

Guideline: People experience belonging, dignity, and full citizenship when they hold valued roles in their communities. Every person—regardless of disability or support needs—has gifts, capacities, interests, and aspirations that can be expressed through meaningful, culturally valued roles. Organizations are responsible for supporting people to discover, develop, participate in, and sustain valued social roles that reflect who they are and how they want to contribute. The organization seeks formal and informal ways in which people supported can share their gifts and talents.

What does this look like?

The organization supports people to discover their gifts and talents and to find places, spaces and groups within their neighbourhood, community groups or geographic area where they can share and contribute.

Staff help people reciprocate friendly actions and overtures to nurture relationships.

Staff actively look for and offer opportunities for people served to play leadership roles within the organization.

The organization has a process to identify and match people supported who have the skills and desire to mentor others with those who may benefit from mentorship.

Staff are expected, trained and supported to look for opportunities for people to contribute in meaningful ways.

People are supported to hold roles that are personally meaningful, culturally relevant, and valued by others.

Roles occur in ordinary community settings where typical citizens live, work, learn, volunteer, play, and gather.

People are known for their contributions, strengths, and identity rather than their disability or service label.

Supports focus on building competence, confidence, and independence in the person’s chosen role.

Relationships grow naturally because people share interests, responsibilities, and spaces with others.

Families, friends, community groups, and cultural communities see the person as a contributing participant.

Staff act as facilitators and connectors—not gatekeepers or controllers of the person’s opportunities.

Dignity of risk is upheld. People are supported to try new things, make choices, and develop skills without being shielded from everyday experiences.

Segregated or disability-specific activities are minimized unless chosen by the person—and never used as a default.

Roles evolve over time based on the person’s goals, identity, and life stage.

How would you know this is happening? (Evidence)

What you see in systems:

• Person Centred Planning and Support Plans document gifts, talents and skills as well as current and desired opportunities to contribute. Plans identify the roles each person holds and what supports are needed to sustain or deepen them. 
• Organizational committees, boards and groups include people served on their membership.
• Policies, strategic plans and job descriptions explicitly prioritize valued roles, belonging and community participation. 
• Social Role Valorization principles and community-building are integrated into training, supervision and evaluation. 
• Schedules and staffing structures allow people to be in community, not tied to organizational routines and rules. 
• People with complex or high support needs are offered the same opportunity for valued roles. 

What you see in actions:

• People act as leaders, mentors and contributors in informal and formal capacities in the organization, their neighbourhoods and community groups. People have opportunities to give back to others in small and large ways.
• Staff take time to learn about each person's interests, culture, values and identity.
• Staff try to discover what the person loves or is drawn to and leverage these interests first as opposed to simply what the program might offer. 
• Staff are aware and engaged in supporting people to contribute on a daily basis. Supports are unobtrusive, respectful and fade as the person grows in confidence.
• Staff help people engage in new activities by providing options and information and encouraging new experiences. 
• Staff support the person to present themselves in positive ways, paying attention to and providing information on the impact of imagery and perception of others.
• Staff help people build and enhance current roles, identifying where they might want to contribute more. 
• Partnerships exist with employers, volunteers, cultural groups, recreation centres, schools, clubs and neighbourhood associations.