From a parent

“For many years our focus as parents of a daughter with disabilities was on school and family issues. As she grew older we realized that sooner or later we were going to have to face ‘the future’ whatever that held. We thought that maybe she would outgrow some of her challenges. She might live in her own apartment somewhere, have friends, and come home for help when she needed it. The day came when we had to accept that she will need some level of support throughout her life. Living alone was not an option and accessing other support services or group living arrangements seemed to elude us. We engaged her in the conversations and decisions about these options. She herself realized that she wanted to be with friends, to have access to a community, to live away from her parents, but she was nervous about being entirely on her own. By sheer grace we happened upon Specialized Housing, Inc. Their model combines home ownership with staff supports. It builds on the idea that communities are support networks for all citizens, providing access and encouragement for all to participate in community life. We joined a group of parents who were working to establish a new home in Arlington, Massachusetts where our daughter lived happily from 1997 to 2010.

“She works at the supermarket, plays keyboard in a small group with her housemates, contributes to the governance and operation of the house by sharing the work of cooking, cleanup, trash removal, shopping and managing the friendship network required of a shared living environment. She is a regular consumer at the local library, the computer café, and local restaurants. She patronizes the music store and a variety of specialty shops.

“She is quite independent, but she still needs supports. She has challenges with many of the responsibilities expected of adults, such as keeping a job, scheduling regular medical appointments, managing her money, keeping her belongings and her personal space in order. She does not drive, and is dependent on public transportation to access employment and services.”