Written by: Heather Lewis

In October 2019, Community Services Coordinator Barb Dyer and I had the opportunity to attend a three-day professional development retreat and SRV workshop.

So, what is SRV? Social Role Valorization is a very involved and detailed concept, but the basic premise is that people are much more likely to experience the “good things in life” if they hold valued social roles than if they do not. Therefore, the major role of SRV is to create or support socially valued roles for people in their community.

During Mainstay’s last management meeting, Barb and I gave an overview of what SRV is. Since that meeting, I’ve heard staff discussing the concept. In the future, we plan to share even more information with staff – beginning with a workshop conducted by Guy Caruso, Western Coordinator, Institute on Disabilities at Temple University later this month. Following the workshop, we will be looking to identify people to help spread the concept throughout Mainstay and will be offering numerous follow-up trainings throughout the year.

I left the workshop in October with, not only a better understanding of the principles of SRV, but also myriad ideas for implementation to help the people we support at Mainstay achieve “the good things in life.” I look forward to working with everyone as we move forward with SRV implementation at Mainstay.