My name is Débora Keller. I've been Anna Hartman’s aide since 2022, and I'm with her most days at her house, helping with her daily care, her physical therapy, and everything else that goes into her day.

Anna loves getting out. She loves her friends, being social, having things to do. She loves making plans and being aware of her own appointments. But something people who don't know her well might not see is how much it actually takes to make that happen. Before we can go anywhere, we have to plan it out, figure out if the place is accessible, work out what help she'll need once we're there, and fit it around everything else already on her schedule, her PT included. Getting her out the door isn't a quick decision. It's more like a project, every time.

Having things she loves close to her home isn't a replacement for going out, it's what makes going out possible more often, because it stops being the only way she gets to do something she enjoys. When something's right there, it costs her less: less planning, less physical toll on her, less waiting around for me or her parents to have a free hour. She still wants her friends and her outings, and she should keep having them. She also shouldn't have to spend most of her life waiting for the next one to feel like her day has something in it. What limits her right now is distance and logistics. Having more of what she loves nearby wouldn't shrink her world. It would give her more of it, more often, without taking away the outings and friendships she already has.

I've visited Vanguard Landing with Anna. She was excited the whole time, asking questions, not wanting to leave. She was making plans for what we would do when I went to visit her in her new home. What she's looking forward to about actually living there is something she's already told you in her own words. But I can say the version of her I saw that day was happy, lit up, engaged, completely herself.

I'm asking that Anna, and anyone else who has chosen Vanguard Landing, be allowed to use their Medicaid waiver-funded services there. Anna still needs substantial support every day. That doesn't change based on where she lives. She has the right to choose where she wants to live and use the waiver.