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About Our Own Lives
Formed in 2023, Our Own Lives is a new disability services organization that will begin providing direct services to the disability community in Southwest Colorado in July of 2024. We serve individuals and families in Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma and San Juan Counties. Previously the direct services arm of Community Connections, Inc., we have decades of experience providing person-centered, inclusion-focused supports to the disabled community on its own terms.
From our backbone of Direct Service Providers, to our leadership team, Board of Directors, and Client Leadership Council, Our Own Lives has people with disabilities driving our work. Even our logo was designed, refined, and chosen by people with disabilities. Because we are the experts in Our Own Lives.
The mission of Our Own Lives is to provide quality support on our own terms, for us to be free to be ourselves. We center the disabled community to be heard, and we build each other up to change our world. We are all experts in our own lives.
Our Mission
Our Vision
We envision a world where people with disabilities are included and accepted for who we are, and we are valued for the contributions we make.
Our Core Values
At Our Own Lives:
You are the expert, and in charge of your own choices.
And Together:
We create communities where everyone belongs.
We support and advocate for each other.
We are creative and embrace change.
We help each other, work together, and leave nobody behind.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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A: Our Own Lives is a newly established nonprofit organization that provides services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live, work, and play in Southwest Colorado. Launching on July 1, 2024, Our Own Lives affirms the disability advocacy value that “We are all experts in our own lives” and is centered on providing services that are person-driven, affirming, empowering, and inclusive of disabled people at all levels of organizational planning, leadership, and employment.
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A: Our Own Lives is an approved provider for Home and Community Based Services for people enrolled in the Developmental Disability (DD), Supported Living Services (SLS), Children’s Extensive Support (CES) and State General Fund Supported Living Services (State SLS) Programs. Our Own Lives provides a diverse array of services, including:
Employment Support
In Home Support (support to clean, cook, shop, bathe)
Support to coordinate medical needs
Mentorship
Leadership and Advocacy training
Person directed behavioral support
Community access and transportation
Host homes for people seeking around the clock support
Day Services and activities in individual and group formats
Respite care
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A: “We help each other, work together, and leave nobody behind!“ Our Own Lives offers a distinctly different experience than traditional disability service providers. We do not believe it is enough to provide quality services if we are not including and affirming the disability community every step of the way and in all aspects of our organization.
Central to our values is the importance of empowering disabled people to have an active role in building up our community and our organization and making sure people have the opportunities to contribute and be valued on their terms. We apply these values at the individual level, affirming the person’s right to receive services and support without sacrificing their autonomy and control, at the group level by supporting people to plan and develop their own community events and social gatherings, at the leadership level though having an inclusive board and our elected Client Leadership Council, and at the organizational level through ensuring and increasing the representation of people with disabilities in employment, management, and executive roles within the organization.
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A: Our expertise is supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities living in Southwest Colorado. We bring into the organization decades of experience providing progressive support to people with IDD and provide quality services to people at all levels of support from 24 hour care to occasional check-ins.
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A: If you or someone you know is interested in accessing Our Own Lives services in Southwest Colorado, you should contact Community Connections, Inc., the Case Management Agency for our region. CCI case managers will support you through the application and service planning process. To receive services from Our Own Lives, you would tell your case manager you wish to choose Our Own Lives as the provider for the services you wish to receive from us.
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A: Our Own Lives aims to empower disabled people to change our world on their terms! The organization centers the perspective and lived experiences of people with disabilities, and people with disabilities form the very backbone of organizational leadership. Our team is committed to upholding our mission and values, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, person-centered care.
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A: There are several ways to support Our Own Lives and its mission to empower individuals with intellectual disabilities:
Engage with our community and build relationships you will never forget!
Volunteer your time and skills
Discuss with us how disabled people can become valued employees at your business and organization.
Make a donation to support our programs and services
Spread awareness about Our Own Lives and the importance of inclusion in our community
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A: Visit www.ourownlives.org to stay informed about Our Own Lives news, events, and other initiatives.
Our Team
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Scott Smith
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Scott Smith, MSW, has worked in the field of behavioral health and human services for over a decade. He attended Fort Lewis College where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and later attended the University of Denver where he received his Master’s in Social Work. He began his social work career in k-12 education by implementing trauma informed strategies, restorative practices and substance use prevention frameworks both in the US and abroad. He has served on numerous boards and committees at the local and state levels and previously served as the President of the Southwest Colorado chapter of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness). Scott worked as a case manager, and later as a program manager at La Plata Youth Services from 2013 to 2018. Scott later served as the Executive Director of the Alliance for Suicide Prevention of Larimer County from 2019 to 2023. During his tenure there, Larimer County was the only county in Colorado to consistently reduce the suicide rate, year over year. Scott is a life-long advocate for social justice and when he isn’t working you can find him skiing or hiking with his wife and dog (Jenn & Winnie), soaking in the hot springs, gardening, and cooking food for family and friends.
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Jeff Newman
VICE PRESIDENT OF STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
Jeff brings 20 years of advocacy and non-profit experience to Our Own Lives. Jeff has worked in many different roles founding, forming, leading and managing disability related non-profits. In advocacy roles, Jeff is an accomplished public speaker on representation, disability rights, Disabled history and the history of disability advocacy and guardianship reform. Jeff is nationally known for his work engaging as a disabled advocate with the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), calling for mainstream ABA services to affirm disabled identities, include the client in decision making about their services, and embrace assent and consent are non-negotiables. Jeff joined the board of Community Connections in 2012, and in 2015, left the board to take paid employment at Community Connections. During his time at Community Connections, Jeff drove numerous changes and improvements to provide services more focused on the person’s wishes and ensuring the person’s rights and prerogatives were respected. He developed an advocacy and leadership training program, worked with people in services to develop the Client Leadership Council, reworked agency trainings to focus on person centered practices and understanding the disabled experience, and increase representation and leadership by disabled people at all levels of the organization. With the transition of Community Connections’ Adult Services into Our Own Lives, Jeff is thrilled to be a part of an amazing team of advocates and staff working to build a truly empowering and affirming model of services from the ground up. When not working, Jeff is busy skiing and camping with his family and tinkering with his various old “toys” of cars, trucks, snowmobiles, jetskis and campers.
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Gary Harriman
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Gary is a professional accountant with over 40 years of experience ranging from basic bookkeeping all the way through the CFO functions. The bulk of his experience was in the Oil and Gas Industry which led to a desire to work for a company that does good in the community and for everyone it touches. Although not a native of the Durango area, Gary considers it “home” as in the last 27 years living here he has raised four children and three grandchildren. Originally Gary was a Fine Arts major who changed over to Accounting when future life needs indicated an existence above “starving artist” would be necessary. Gary is a 100% people person with a robust sense of humor who believes that at the end of the day, we are all in this together so why can’t we just get along. His hobbies include playing guitar, doing something artsy using pencil, pen and ink or pastels and getting around town using Durango’s river trail.