What is a "circle of support"?

 When disabled people are talking about their life situations, we often hear a lot of buzzwords thrown around–"supported living", "vendors", etc. One term people tend to hear very often when they're talking to disabled people or social workers is the individual's "circle of support". So, what is that, exactly?

A "circle of support" as we usually define it simply consists of the people who are available and trustworthy to help us when we have issues.   Everyone, not just disabled people, need this kind of help. Many of us turn to family members or therapists when loved ones die or financial problems arise. A lot of the people you see begging at the street corners are there because they lack proper support for their grief or other issues. Our circle of support is essential because, at some point in our lives, we are faced with problems that are not humanly possible to solve without support. But for disabled people, a circle of support is even more essential for daily life.

 People who have disabilities have limitations on what they can do that most non-disabled people don't have. This means that, in order to function in society, we need other people to provide the support necessary to fulfill our needs. For example, a blind person relying on sound to navigate his/her environment cannot drive, but in everyday modern life, we often need to commute somewhere to pay our bills. So the blind person has a driver to take him/her to work. That driver is a part of the blind person's circle of support.

Because our circle of support is integral to our daily life, we disabled people keep track of who is helping us very closely. In my case, I have a (confidential--please don't ask) document consisting of the names and addresses of all of the people who are part of my circle of support, including doctors and family members. This list is distributed to everyone who is on it, so that when situations arise, they can coordinate.

People who hear the phrase "circle of support" should understand that it is not just something that only disabled people need. It is something that is essential to everyone, and that most individuals have--a set of trustworthy people that they can turn to when situations occur that require help. For most people, they're simply family or friends who help them when something goes wrong, and they live life mostly independently. But for us disabled people, our family and close friends are as essential to  our participation in the community as oxygen is for life.