Innovative LIFE Options
Innovative LIFE Options
Innovative LIFE Options (or LIFE) is a non-profit organization that was developed to provide resources, training, information and case management to individuals receiving funding from the Manitoba Government’s individualized funding program called “In The Company of Friends” (ICOF). ICOF is a self-managing model where money is given directly to the individual to hire staff, pay bills - with the help of a well-defined support network. The role of LIFE is to assist each person in developing and sustaining a strong and well-functioning network. That network supports the individual to self-direct life decisions each day and ensures that he/she is well connected with family and friends and community.
The Importance of Friendships in Support Networks
In this audio clip Marsha Dozar, Executive Director of L.I.F.E., explains the centrality of relationships of friendship to the Support Networks for “In the “Company of Friends.”
ListenFunds are used to help each person move into their own home, engage in productive and challenging daytime activities, and help meet their social goals. Their formal support network, made up of people from the community, their family and their existing friendships, helps them both with decision making and with activating their plans. Relationships of reciprocity soon develop where they did not already exist. Each individual’s relationship with his/her support network is the foundation of In The Company of Friends.
