La Vida Felicidad, Inc., is a non-profit agency that provides services to individuals with special needs in Valencia and Socorro Counties.  Currently, those receiving services include: elderly and disabled individuals, persons with developmental disabilities, and children infant to three years old with special needs and their families.

 We are committed to improving the life quality of persons with special needs.  This is what drives the agency.  But we are careful when providing services to be respectful of consumer and family choices.  We retain the right to make mistakes in our own lives, and sometimes are quite good at it.  We hold a philosophy that consumers are entitled to the same human dignities that we so nonchalantly enjoy, including the right to make mistakes and/or choices that we might not agree with.

 We care about the integrity of the services we provide in the community.  We will not grow the agency at the expense of quality services.  Expansion occurs because of a community need for the increase in services, and not for any self-serving reason.

 We try to be politically correct in how we speak about the people we serve, but also try to remember that proper terminology is not the only way to be respectful to consumers.  The attitudes we hold and the interactions we engage in say so much more about our true intentions.  We hope our philosophy encourages retention of consumer-centered staff.

 The agency also encourages that we all try to remember to treat each other with the same respect and non-intrusiveness that we hold for consumers.  We respect employee needs, such as family issues that involve childcare, elder care, and family members with special needs or disabilities.  We actively recruit minorities and persons with disabilities.  Workplaces benefit from input of people with diverse cultures, backgrounds, and life experience.

 When funding sources change their rules and regulations, it is sometimes difficult to adjust, but we try to remember that the receipt of funds brings a commitment to the terms associated with the funds.  We continue working with funding sources as long as the benefits of specific funds outweighs the compliance issues.  We communicate the associated difficulties to the funding sources in a way that promotes change and dialogue.    We also recognize that sometimes there are limited resources to optimally operate programs, but we do the best we can in providing services with these funding limitations.

 We encourage working and partnering with other community agencies.  There is never a reason for unnecessary duplication of services.  Collaboration and good inter-agency relationships often improve the quality and scope of the services provided.

 And last, but not least, we know that we are not indispensable to consumers and families.  And we are not here to become indispensable.  Whenever possible, we assist consumers and families to need us less in their lives, not more.  We try to remember to not let our egos get in the way of consumer-centered and family-centered services.