Independence does not always happen on its own. Sometimes it has to be designed.
Independence By Design partners with people across the lifespan to build supports around who someone actually is — their goals, their culture, their preferences, and their own definition of a good life. We help with running a home, with the skills independent living asks for, with getting out into the community and building the relationships that make it worth being there, and with the transitions that change everything. We support families and caregivers too, through respite* and caregiver education, because a household either holds together or it doesn't.
One size has never fit all, and we don't pretend otherwise. Presuming competence does not mean expecting everyone to do everything the same way, or need the same things. It means starting without assumptions — and then designing around the person in front of us instead of the program we already had.
Independence looks different for everyone. For one person it's managing a budget and a grocery list without help. For another it's getting to a job, keeping a friendship, or a caregiver finally taking a weekend. For someone else it's the daily support that makes staying in their own home possible at all. Our job isn't to decide which one you should want. It's to find out, and then build it.
Independence by Design provides services that promote independence, dignity, informed choice, community integration, and self-determination. Services are tailored to each participant’s strengths, goals, and preferences
Needing support has never meant can't.