Title
Service Provider Promising Practice: Using Staff Networks to Build Community Membership at LOQW
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Summer 7-2017
Keywords
Community Life Engagement, CLE, Supported Living, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, I/DD, Developmental Disabilities, ThinkWork, # H133G140150, #90DN0295
Disciplines
Regional Sociology | Rehabilitation and Therapy | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social Work | Sociology | Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling
Abstract
LOQW (Learning Opportunities/Quality Works) is a community skills training, service coordination, and employment services provider in northeast Missouri. LOQW employs over 100 people and serves 14 counties in northeast Missouri and 600 customers annually. Their mission is to “positively impact the lives of individuals through support, advocacy and connection to resources.” LOQW operates several satellite offices in addition to its main office in Monroe City, MO. One of these satellite offices is located in Hannibal, MO, a city with a population of less than 18,000. For comparison, Busch Stadium in nearby St. Louis can hold over twice that amount of people. But being located in a small city does have its advantages. One advantage is that a majority of the Hannibal staff has lived there for their entire lives, and they have countless connections in the area. Staff often use their own networks to bring people they support into the community and access services. These relationships also help create many volunteer opportunities that allow individuals to build reciprocal relationships with members of the community.
Recommended Citation
Lyons, Oliver and ThinkWork! at the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston, "Service Provider Promising Practice: Using Staff Networks to Build Community Membership at LOQW" (2017). ThinkWork! Publications. 43.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/thinkwork/43
Included in
Regional Sociology Commons, Social Work Commons, Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling Commons