Our platform dedicated to supporting individuals with hearing loss and disabilities. We offer educational programs, skills training, and resources to empower them. We also accept donations to fund these initiatives and create a more inclusive future.
Our vision is to be a pillar of support for all families in the intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) community. Our goal is to establish healthy habits and relationships, as people with IDDs work toward their greatest level of independence.
We want to create and maintain an unbreakable web of support for those in the IDDs community, and eventully to create and maintain a Dream Home, which would be a safe and supportive living space with caretaker support for those ready and willing to live independently. Our dream is for our students to live their most fulfilled and successful lives, and for IDDs families to have peace of mind about their loved one’s future.
Safety is the foundation on that our values and virtues are built. Our safety practices help keep us safe at home and in the community. In addition to physical safety, we work to cultivate a safe space for ourselves and others. In a safe space, everyone’s voices and feelings are welcomed and honored.
We strive to teach our clients to speak up for and honor themselves in all aspects of life. Whether it’s being treated fairly at work, being clear about desires at home, or setting healthy boundaries with friends or romantic partners, we teach our clients to advocate for their safety and full consent.
We believe the health of one is the health of all, and the success of one is the success of all. At the risk of sounding preachy, we are all connected to the same fabric of humanity. This idea helps our decision-making and helps keep us motivated.
We believe our growth as a community is tied to self-acceptance. Self-acceptance allows us to deepen our acceptance of others. This radical acceptance allows us to be free to self-actualize. It also gives others permission to do the same.
To us, integrity is living life according to the values and principles you know are right…especially when no one is looking.
For us, efficiency is our commitment to maximizing the usefulness of time and resources. As a nonprofit, we depend on the generosity of others. In order to honor our donors and uphold our integrity, we vow to be as efficient as possible with funds while upholding our mission.
We envision a community where all IDD families have access to high-quality independence and community resources. Though we encourage donating to our programs, we never want money to be the reason a person can’t join one. IDD families are usually subject to additional financial stressors, and we don’t want to add to that. If someone is unable to afford suggested tuition, they can request free tuition via email: info@dreamcatchersedh.org. We grant 100% of those requests, no questions asked.
We aim to be a vehicle for our clients to explore their world in the safety and company of close friends. Our clients make the decisions about where to go and what to do in our unscheduled time, as long as the activity is aligned with our principles.
This is why we use choice motivators like “you get to choose what we do, what we eat, or where we go.” This accomplishes multiple things. For one, it gives them the control to explore their world and the activities they are most drawn to. Many programs ask the leaders which activities will be a reward, but we ask the students. Importantly, it also teaches that when they work hard and display maximum effort, or achieve a goal, they get to choose what to do with their free time…just like neurotypical adult life. This prepares them for when they achieve more independence and consequently have more options to choose from in terms of their free time.
We also make group decisions that involve voting democratically, so each individual’s voice is heard, but the group ultimately decides.
