Who we are:

Creative support Alternatives provides Supported Living Services to people with developmental disabilities. Supported Living is an unlicensed service that is defined under the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, www.dds.ca.gov, and is primarily funded through the San Diego Regional Center, www.sdrc.org.

Supported Living services are supports that are flexible and tailored to a person’s individual needs and are provided in a person’s own home.

Creative Support Alternatives is dedicated to assisting individuals who are interested in having their support services individually tailored, provided and monitored by a single, small, comprehensive agency.

Creative Support Alternatives believes that all individuals share the basic rights to:

• live in a real home, which reflects personal choice and control as to lease/ownership, location, and potential occupants

• work at a real job in the community which offers meaningful work, fair compensation, and dignity.

Central to the agency's core values are the themes of inclusion and interdependence. It is believed that the quality of life experienced by the individual, as well as by others in the community, is enhanced when support services are focused on the individual's active participation in community activities, events and routines, and the building of personal social networks. The Supported Living Services offers individuals who require varied levels of support to live safely and successfully in the home or neighborhood of their choice. Creative Support Alternatives believes that effective decision-making on the part of the individual requires an agency committed to: the provision of meaningful options; support for choices made; facilitation of emerging self-advocacy skills; and, the use of Person-Centered Planning processes to ensure the growth and active involvement of the individual's personal support network to include family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and significant others.

What we do:

Whether through teaching or companion support, our services will assist people to:

• Locate, acquire and maintain affordable housing through lease or home ownership.

• Develop a support team, which may include live-in and/or come in support. Support teams are developed according to an individual’s specific needs, and can range from one hour to twenty-four hour per day of support.

• Complete daily living activities, such as cooking, cleaning, shopping, and personal care.

• Ensure optimum health through access to healthcare, medication management, and development of healthy lifestyle routines.

• Build open person-specific strategies to promote personal safety.

• Create personalized twenty-four hour emergency backup support.

• Access neighborhood stores and services, and to participate in local organizations and events.

• Fully utilize available resources such as Social Security Benefits, In Home Support Services, housing assistance, and mental health services.

• Manage finances to meet financial responsibilities, maintain long term financial stability, and minimize risk of exploitation.

• Develop behavioral supports which promote people’s positive reputations.

• Facilitate relationships that embrace mutual support, friendship, and companionship.

• Identify and acquire adaptive eqipment and technology.

• Explore employment interests, job development, and receive on-the-job support.

• Advocate for equitable access to all a community and its resources have to offer.

Mission Statement

Creative Support Alternatives is a small, grass-roots agency committed to empowering people to live full and included lives as members of their chosen communities.

We accomplish this by:

In Memory of Tiffany Ward

Creative Support Alternatives lost a dear and precious friend. Tiffany Ward (or “Tiff” to her friends) passed away on February 2, 1999 at the age of twenty-seven.

Though she did not live long enough to realize her dream of moving into her own apartment, Tiff always celebrated with friends as they achieved that same dream. It is with this thought in mind that we have established the Tiffany Ward Memorial Fund.

This special fund will be available for persons with disabilities served by Creative Support Alternatives. The fund has been used in the past to assist people with money for purchasing accessible vehicles, rent deposits, to build ramps, to modify apartments for accessibility, to pay companion expenses for vacations, etc..

If you would like to contribute in Tiff’s memory, please make checks payable to:

Creative Support Alternatives

Memo: Tiffany Ward Memorial Fund

Checks can be sent in care of:

Creative Support Alternatives
6824 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

On behalf of all of us, thank you for your support.