My name is Thomas Treasure. For the past year, I have lived in and worked as a Direct Support Professional at an intentional community in Washington, DC called L'Arche that provides homes for people with, and without, intellectual/developmental disabilities. I have learned to serve the residents while sharing my life with them, and it has been a wonderful experience, words fail me sometimes. In a caregiving context, our house falls under the definition of a "group home"-- as do the houses we operate in Arlington. I read the proposed changes to the legal definition of a "group home" and I was very concerned about the exclusion of facilities such as ours, in which caregivers and residents live in the same house. Specifically, I refer to the language that reads "a congregate service providing 24 hour supervision in a community-based home having eight or fewer residents that provides 24 hour supervision by persons in direct care positions who do not live in the home." I am based in DC, and have developed a strong relationship with one of our houses in Arlington, and I am concerned about the effect the proposed change would have on them. We do not claim to offer a one-size-fits-all solution for people with intellectual/developmental disabilities; we offer a choice that some such people opt for. And the people I live with have thrived in it. The rich, meaningful life we enjoy here would not be the same if we did not live side-by-side, staff with residents. We become a part of their lives and they become a part of ours. I urge you to amend your definition to include facilities where staff "live-in" to what they do.

Thomas Treasure

Direct Support Professional, L'Arche Greater Washington DC