Finding their North Star…..
Person Centered Planning
What is a Person Centered Plan? Why do you need one? In Illinois, this is the first step on the road to anywhere!
It’s what we each do for ourselves in this world we walk through. We think about what we want in life. Where we want to work, what kind of job might SPARK our interest? Where we want to live, a house or an apartment near the train or out in the country, and who we want to live with are the simplest of our concerns and the choices are endless for most of us.
If you have a disability, however, this has not always been the case. Most adults with disabilities, certainly in years gone by, did not have many choices if any. Group home, institution or living with parents or family members were the ‘boxes’ they were given. Some of this is beginning to change. Sadly, Illinois is NOT at the forefront of the changes being made. Illinois ranks second to last in supporting people with disabilities in their search for housing & support services. In fact, despite legislation to the contrary, and national efforts to stop placements in institutions, Illinois is still filling the many institutions continuing to function in our state. In addition, Illinois funding of Direct Support Workers is abysmal, resulting in even fewer options due to staffing shortages. Take action to help change this at They Deserve More.
Please join forces with us to learn what you can do to help initiate more options for our sons and daughters to live THEIR best lives focused on their gifts and strengths with self determination. Let’s show them how wonderful it is to DREAM about a bright future filled with choice and support.
Our ladies all started with their own person centered plan, where we began to understand what their dreams for the future are, where they might want to live and who they want to live with. Look at some of these resources to understand how to start DREAMING with your sons and daughters!
Life in the Community
Where do you want to live? Ok so this is a BIG question. In Illinois, 75% of the people with disabilities are living with parents or family members. Here is the question, would YOU want to still be living with your parents as an adult? How about your sister or brother? Given the CHOICE, what would you pick?
This is what occurred to our family these past couple of years since our daughter moved into the 209 House. Who’s life was our daughter living before the 209 House? Living with us, her parents, sure her life consisted of lots of WDSRA (special recreation) activities, some jobs and occasionally having her friends over. Much of her time, however, was still spent doing things WE wanted to do and of course including her in many of those activities. Contrast that with how her life looks today, with choices about making plans with friends, places she wants to go, food she likes, shopping, cooking with friends and time doing what she wants for relaxation in her own home.
Plan B, when we are gone, we considered life with one of her sisters the next solution. Oh, but what would that look like? Spending time doing what she had been doing with us for her activity base, then….yup, much of her time would be doing what her SISTERS wanted to do in their lives.
Flash forward….Today the 3 ladies, (alias - 3 Peas in a Pod:) have a rich life spending time in a variety of activities of their liking in community and in their home with the supports needed to make that happen. The happiness quotient is evident in all of them. Laughing, cooking, walking, working, attending a church of THEIR liking. Choices, simply put.
Check out these resources to learn about the building blocks needed to help your family member live in community with the power to make choices on their own. Discover ideas to help your sons and daughters build self sufficiency, self esteem and the self-determination to find the joy in their lives that we all take for granted in our own.
What does ‘Living in Community’ look like today in Illinois according to the Olmsted act, Least Restrictive Environment, Home Based Community Support, Medicare, Medicaid Waiver, and Social Services?
Join our initiative to find out how we can expand these CHOICES so deficient in the state of Illinois. We need to speak up, talk to our legislators, write letters and push to get Illinois up this mountain so our sons and daughters have the same VIEW from the top of the mountain that 99.9% of the other states in this country have.
Supported by their Dream Team
Have you ever said to yourself….”My adult child cant live independently” thinking there are limits on the possibilities? Maybe you’ve visited a group home, or even a large community of people with various degrees of abilities and said to yourself, “this just won’t work”. Here’s the thing….Don’t we all deserve to live the life in a home that we dream of? Should our sons and daughters with challenges in their lives be denied opportunities because they can’t go it alone? Should their options consist of a pre-ordained take it or leave it ‘box’ where THEY go to get bundles of support that are in one location? Isn’t this asking a lot from a group of individuals that are given so many struggles; adapting to change, sensitive to new environments, mobility requirements, unable to speak up for what they want. The list goes on.
One of our ladies, Ashley, is an incredible example of how we can support our loved ones throughout their lives to build on their gifts & strengths with a Dream Team to provide a Life-raft on this journey called LIFE.
In search of Medicaid ‘re-imagined’ support
Watch this space for more on Ashley’s story….
