Barbara Bell, SOS volunteer,
Sharon Moore, Past SOS Board
President, and Nicole Buday,
SOS Development Assistant
exemplify SOS values as they
work together to register golfers
for the SOS tournament. |
SOS Values
Our services are driven by these seven essential values:
accessibility, dignity, diversity, self-determination, advocacy, volunteerism, and partnership.
ACCESSIBILITY:
We are committed to the provision of welcoming, informal, and accessible
aid for homeless families and children without cost
to the family in need.
Our services are primarily, but not exclusively, targeted to low-income,
unemployed, and other economically distressed populations.
Our services are primarily intended for families who cannot afford
to purchase help elsewhere, or who may experience difficulties in
acquiring assistance from other local agencies or organizations.
We will strive to provide all services with a minimum of hassle
and a maximum of care. Our programs will offer safe, comforting,
and sensitive alternatives for families in need.
While we will focus on citizens of Washtenaw County, our services
generally will not be limited or restricted based on residence,
age, income, or other demographic characteristics.
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DIGNITY:
Our efforts will embody respect for the complexity of the challenges
faced by the "whole person" dealing with the demands of
day-to-day survival -- particularly as they are experienced by our
targeted low-income populations. We will offer all persons an opportunity
for support in a caring, non-judgmental, and culturally sensitive
environment.
We will operate with a fundamental commitment to recognize and
build on the strengths of the families we serve and the cultures
and communities to which they belong.
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DIVERSITY:
All of our services will actively demonstrate respect for the diversity,
integrity, and humanity of the families we serve.
Because we believe that services are enhanced and enriched through
the inclusion of diverse resources in the helping process, we will
strive to include persons and resources from varied class, race,
gender, age, and interest groups in all of our agency's services
and programs.
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SELF-DETERMINATION:
Our work is based on an underlying commitment to help people help
themselves -- to help them become better able to resolve their own
problems and address their own needs.
Our programs and services will support families in developing the strengths and competencies necessary to move towards
self-reliance and personal change.
Our programs and services are based on the belief that families have the right and responsibility to make their own
decisions regarding participation in services, with full knowledge
of the consequences of their actions.
Our programs and services will encourage, facilitate, and benefit
from the cultivation of mutual support among our targeted populations.
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ADVOCACY:
We view engagement in community education and outreach, social
policy and systems advocacy, and community resource development
as an integral part of our work in order to impact the social, economic,
and communal realities that affect the persons we serve.
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VOLUNTEERISM:
Because we believe in the special power of voluntary caring and
non-formal helping as effective tools for promoting personal change
consistent with our practice principles, we will work to integrate
meaningful volunteer services in all of our programs and services.
Because we believe in the special impact of peer help, both for
the helper and the helpee, we will promote the incorporation of
peer helping practices wherever feasible.
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PARTNERSHIP:
We will work actively with persons in need to help them obtain
services and resources from other helping agencies and organizations
in our community. We are committed to cultivating broad-based partnerships
with other agencies, organizations, and institutions in our community
as a means to expand the resources and effectiveness of services
available for families in need.
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