Company Profile
Company Overview
AVENUES WAS CREATED TO SUPPORT PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES IN BECOMING AND REMAINING ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN THEIR COMMUNITY AND IS COMMITTED TO EMPOWERING INDIVIDUALS TO MAKE THEIR OWN CHOICES AND EXPERIENCE LIFE'S DIVERSE POSSIBILITIES.
Avenues SLS provides Supported Living Services (SLS) and Individualized Day Services to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who reside in the Santa Clarita and San Fernando Valley areas of North LA County.
Avenues Supported Living Services assist people to coordinate the support they need to live safely in their own homes, access and develop connections within their community, and choose the people and places they spend their time with and about. The “Supported Living Services” that Avenues SLS provides look completely different for each person we support, and are individualized based upon each persons unique needs, skills and preferences.
Supported Living Services include, but are not limited to: Budgeting and bill paying, building healthy community connections,correspondence with official agencies, purchasing skills, assistance with the recruitment, screening, hiring and supervision of personal attendants, community resource awareness, self-advocacy, positive behavior support, mobility training, adaptive social skills, use of leisure time, assistance with home modifications and vehicle modifications, assistive technology and communication devices, interpreters, marital and sexual relationships, parenting skills, training in the selection and use of interpersonal communication skills, 24-hour emergency assistance services, cultivating and maintaining friendships, crafting unique technology care and repair of durable equipment.
Avenues SLS also assists people in the coordination of their IHSS (In-Home-Support-Services) such as: personal health and hygiene, household care and maintenance, bathing, dressing, grooming, eating.
Avenues SLS Individualized Day Services provide up to five days per week of career planning and community support which can include:
Seeking and maintaining a job (paid or volunteer)
Enrolling in classes at college or adult school, recreational or hobby classes through local Parks & Rec., YMCA, joining a Gym, etc.
Receiving exposure and gaining access to new and preferred community activities
Providing structured support during times when the individual is not working
Avenues SLS prides itself on developing person-centered services, and has implemented inclusive, individualized services since its inception in 1993, when we were being mentored by CHOICESS. The level or degree of assistance for these services will be determined by the person’s IPP (Individualized Program Plan) which is developed by the individual and their team of support (including Avenues SLS staff and the Regional Center Service Coordinator). Natural supports and generic community resources will be pursued to decrease dependence on paid supports, although the effectiveness and availability of these resources will be reviewed at least quarterly to ensure that necessary supports continue to be available.
Avenues SLS fully complies with federal Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) regulations, and has supported many individuals to move out of State Institutions and segregated settings into homes of their own, with the support they need to be safe and successful.
Company History
Avenues: Navigating the Spectrum of Relationships, Rights and Responsibilities, Inc. was originally a part of, and mentored by Joe and Becky Donofrio of CHOICESS, from 1993 through June of 1997. CHOICESS was one of the initial agencies providing “Supported Living” services in the state of California (which CHOICESS has been doing since 1988). Avenues continues to rely on CHOICESS as a valued resource. We were one of the original vendors of California’s CSLA pilot program (California Supported Living Arrangements) in 1993 through North LA County Regional Center.
Our vision is not to be the biggest agency, but to be valued as an agency that provides the best possible services to meet the unique needs of each of the people we support. After looking at other agencies across the US and Canada, Scott and Lori determined that a goal for supporting 20 people in SLS was sustainable, in that they would be able to continue to spend some quality time with each of the people supported and develop the staff and family infrastructure needed to build and maintain healthy support relationships. By focusing on one person at a time, it took Avenues SLS 10 years to reach its goal of supporting 20 people. Avenues SLS continues to maintain this vision of support, and has a waiting list for services.
Since 2003, Avenues SLS has mentored colleagues to start their own agencies (2) and assisted one additional person to become self-vendored. This work has assisted several individuals to move from institutional settings to their own homes in the community, which has been a richly rewarding process. Avenues SLS and the people we support have made over 100 presentations at state and national conferences, webinars, and University level courses on topics related to: Supported Living Services, providing meaningful days, positive behavior supports (behavior and communication), alternatives to chemical restraints (overmedicating), aging with dignity, how to advocate to get the life I want.
Benefits
Simple IRA - 3% match
Tuition Reimbursement up to $1,000/year
AFLAC (employee paid)