My adult son desperately wants to live at Vanguard Landing.  He currently uses his Community Living Medicaid Waiver to live in a group home.  He is not happy living in a group home. While he is technically in the community, he has no real interaction with his neighbors.  Most neighbors are busy living their own lives and simply do not engage.  Of the neighbors who know that his is a group home, most think it is a halfway house for people who are transitioning from drug, alcohol or mental health treatment or prison facilities.  They are wary of the people who live in his home and avoid them rather than reaching out in friendship.  This is hardly a situation in which he is making friends and integrating into a community.  

He has explored other waiver supported options with his CSB case manager.  None of the options currently open to him match his idea of what he wants out of his living situation.  

My son is a whole person.  He wants friends.  He wants to have a job where he feels like he is making a real contribution, not just filling time.  He wants meaningful engagement in his neighborhood and in his community.  He wants to choose where, how, and with whom he lives.  After exploring all of his options, he decided that Vanguard Landing offers the services he requires to maintain his independence in a setting that matches his vision for the way of life he wants. 

Few, if any, of us approach our living situation as a one-size-fits-all choice that can be determined by other people for us.  My son should have the same freedom of choice that we have.  He has chosen Vanguard Landing.

He has worked hard to furnish his townhome at Vanguard Landing and he is excited to live there.  However, he knows that if life at Vanguard Landing does not match his expectations or if he later just wants a change, he can use his waiver to live elsewhere.  In short, this is his choice and he knows that he can change his mind at any time.  

Please allow my son the freedom of choice every person should have in where he lives by allowing him to use his Community Living Medicaid Waiver at Vanguard Landing.