We are the parents of an adult with significant developmental disabilities and some physical disabilities who requires ongoing support, and Vanguard Landing is our first choice for a future home for our 35-year-old son.

We support the goals of HCBS: privacy, dignity, meaningful relationships, access to the broader community, and as much choice, independence and, most importantly, happiness as possible. But after 35 years of caring for our son, we also know that independence can look very different for different people.

Our son cannot drive, independently use public transportation or Uber, safely prepare a healthy meal, or even go for a walk alone in a typical neighborhood. Wherever he lives, he will need support with many everyday activities. Simply living in a home in a typical residential neighborhood would not make him more independent or more integrated into the community.

That is one of the reasons Vanguard Landing would be a good fit for our son. There, our son could safely and comfortably walk on his own to visit a friend, exercise, attend an activity, or simply enjoy being outside. For our son, that would not represent greater isolation. It would represent greater independence. Those opportunities would supplement—not replace—his participation in the broader Virginia Beach community. He would continue to go out regularly for shopping, restaurants, activities and other community experiences, with the individualized support he needs.

Meals are another example. Our son will probably never safely prepare a healthy dinner independently. Meaningful choice for him is not whether he can cook by himself. It is whether he can choose what and where he eats, decline what is offered, and have another reasonable option. At Vanguard Landing, he could eat or prepare food in his home with assistance or choose to eat at the café. We can easily imagine him developing friendships with people he sees regularly there.

Our son needs help understanding and making major decisions, but he absolutely knows what he likes and does not like. He has had opportunities to see how other adults with disabilities live, including visiting friends in group homes. He has also experienced Vanguard Landing and has made it clear that he wants to live there. We are not making that choice for him; we are supporting the choice he has made for himself. His choice matters.

We believe the goals of HCBS can be achieved through a spectrum of residential choices. Traditional group homes may be right for some people, while intentional communities may be right for others. The setting that provides the greatest independence and happiness for one person may not provide the same for another.

We hope people like our son will be able to use their waiver-funded support services at Vanguard Landing, just as they can in other residential settings. That choice should not depend on whether a family has the financial resources to privately pay.