Support Clusters

The Challenge

Many people with complex needs, such as citizens with multiple disabilities, often find themselves surrounded by 'service systems' that are poorly co-ordinated and lack accountability for the person's well-being. For individuals who require support from two or more systems, this is particularly problematic. People labeled with a dual diagnosis (developmental disability and mental health problem) and their families report that people often 'fall between the cracks.' How can communities respond to the suffering that families often have to endure?

Participants

In the early 1990s, CCBR collaborated with several organizations in Waterloo Region, including the Canadian Mental Health Association, to co-sponsor the Support Cluster Project. With funding from the Ontario Innovation Fund, this 30 month project brought together agencies, families, and advocates to design a 'new way of working with people with complex needs.' CCBR was responsible for researching and evaluating this innovative design that included a new model of support and ways of mobilizing people to respond to this vulnerable group of citizens and their families.

Innovative Solutions

1. Created a new valued-based approach for supporting people with complex needs

• Started with assumption that social support is critical for individuals and families

• Recognized that professionals (formal support) and family and friends (informal support) both need to be involved

• Defined a  'support cluster' as a well-facilitated intervention that includes a circle or group of informal and formal supporters who gather around an individual and family to assist them with planning, goal setting, support, and community connections

2. Created communication and educational vehicles for families

• Community forums created opportunities for dialogue, initial mobilization, and family to family support

• Regular newsletters reached out to families and community agencies

• Values of social support (informal and formal) were consistently emphasized

3. Evaluated the 'support clusters' intervention

• Gathered baseline information, including families' stories

• With action research approach, provided feedback to the project every six months

• Provided support for everyone involved to reflect on the evaluation's lessons and then adjusted the intervention in light of the findings

Discoveries

The support clusters strategy proved to be highly successful:

1. Individuals with complex needs increased their quality of life

2. Families felt supported in ways they never had previously

3. Facilitators played a critical role in the success of people's support clusters and follow-up showed that only some of the support clusters were able to maintain themselves without strong facilitation

4. Community mobilization increased after the 30 month demonstration, as several organizations formed the Support Clusters Network of Ontario. This group secured grants, developed resource materials, and organized workshops across Ontario

5. The intervention proved to be useful in a variety of contexts and with a range of populations, including frail elderly people and people with mental health issues.

-written by John Lord

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