Concurrent Session:
My Bed of Roses: Cultivating Valued Social Roles

My Bed of Roses: Cultivating Valued Social Roles

Michael Mooney has received services for the past 65 years with 17 of those spent living at the Dever State School in Taunton, Massachusetts between the ages of 5-22. Upon discharge from the institution and suffering from some deep wounding experiences, Michael made some poor decisions and was not properly supported which resulted in him being institutionalized again.  Fortunately, someone who knew Michael when he lived at the state school had just started an organization supporting people and was asked to step in to help him out of a tough situation.  For close to 40 years now, Michael has been supported by the Nemasket Group in Massachusetts, US.  Through the conscious efforts of his support staff, the organization, and other people who care about him, Michael’s life today is much richer due to his valued social roles.  In this presentation, Michael will share his experiences and how they have impacted him, and what and who has been helpful for him. His co-presenters, Karin Bonesteel and Chris Rosonina will share what they have learned from and with Michael and how this and practicing SRV has guided them in their efforts.

Presenters

Karin Bonesteel​

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Karin Bonesteel currently works as the Training and SRV Implementation Coordinator for The Nemasket Group, Inc., in Fairhaven, Massachusetts (US). Karin has a BA in Psychology and a Master’s in Social Work.  She started learning and teaching Dr. Wolfensberger’s work while in New York, and currently sits on the North American SRV Council.  Karin moved to Massachusetts in 1992 and was directly involved in the closing of the Dever Developmental Center and the building of the community system. At The Nemasket Group, Karin works to help the people served by the organization to have valued social roles and to embed the practice, language, and principles of SRV within the day-to-day operational culture of the organization.​