Lester always dreamed of having a home. Lester is supported by his loving family and The Arc of Northern Chesapeake Region in Aberdeen, Maryland, as they listened to Lester’s dream and began planning to make this possible. Through the collaboration of Lester’s support circle of family and friends, The Arc, and Harford County Habitat for Humanity, and Lester’s commitment and “sweat equity”, his dream became reality.
Region: United States of America
Tiffany- A Life That’s Mine
Tiffany is a young woman who lived in a “nursing” group home, and desired to direct her own life, live in her own home, stay connected to “her people”, and work…living life as most other young adults do. The Arc of Howard County partnered with Tiffany and her family, to transform their supports to make this possible.
Riding Life
Brad Goldman is a man with DRIVE. After living for most of the first 25 years of his life at Metheny Hospital and School in Peapack, NJ, he sought out the support of Neighbours Inc. to assist him in pursuing his vision of life as someone who had the power and authority to create life he wanted to live. Seventeen years later, Brad has lived in his own apartment, managed his own staff, and thrives as a painter, photographer, and business entrepreneur.
I’m Going Home!
Sherry tells about the long and winding journey she has been on, from living with her family, to a variety of residential places, before she finally gets to live where she has always wanted, her very own place to call home. With the support of friends, her church community, and the agency that provides her support, Sherry moves out of a large group setting into her own home.
Tom Nerney Story
Tom Nerney – Defining Self-Determination – Leading national expert on self-determination, Tom Nerney, explains self-determination and the restoration of citizenship from 3 levels: personal, organizational, and political. He cites 4 universal human aspirations important to focus on: a place to call home, community membership, relationships, and work.
Neighbours International
Neighbours International was founded by Patti Scott in 2009. After 14 years of successfully leading Neighbours Inc.– an innovative non-profit organization created specifically to support people with disabilities and their families in choosing and designing a life for themselves within their local towns and neighbourhoods in New Jersey and southeast Pennsylvania — Patti had received many requests to establish “Neighbours” agencies in communities across the United States. Neighbours Inc’s vision is not one of expansion, but rather focusing on deeply engaging in partnering with people with disabilities, and their families and allies in the communities where they live and work.
ACL- Administration for Community Living
All people, regardless of age or disability, should be able to live independently and participate fully in their communities. Every person should have the right to make choices and to control the decisions in and about their lives. This right to self-determination includes decisions about their homes and work, as well as all the other daily choices most adults make without a second thought.
Life’s A Journey
Listening is how we discover where to go. Independent Facilitation involves supporting people with disabilities, and those who love them, in building and sustaining desirable futures. It requires a focus on listening and discovering; gathering a supportive network; connecting to people, places, and activities in the community; and accessing and managing resources that can support life in the community as citizen, worker, volunteer, neighbour, and friend.
Barriers to Independent Living for Individuals with Disabilities and Seniors
Identifying variables that serve as barriers to independent living is especially important given estimates predicting that the numbers of seniors and individuals with disabilities will double in the next 20 years. This doubling will tax an already burdened and costly system of care. The present study queried consumers and other key stakeholders about potential barriers to independent living and their importance.
The Research and Training Center on Independent Living
The Research and Training Center on Independent Living is made up of a team committed to research that can be used to enhance Independent Living (IL) for people with disabilities. Our mission is to further Independent Living for people with disabilities by collaborating with consumers on productive research and by using innovative methods to disseminate useful knowledge. Our team is based at The University of Kansas in the Life Span Institute. We partner with researchers at other universities and professionals at a variety of other disability organizations.