Adaptive and assistive technology has come to our Supportive Living Program and it is providing a great deal of support to individuals living and moving into their very own apartments.

Last year, Living Resources was awarded funding through a New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) Supportive Residential Habilitation Transformation Grant. This injection of revenue is allowing us to completely revamp our approach to Supportive Living.

Under this grant, our existing Supportive Living Program is expanding to include 15 individuals. 10 of those individuals will be new to the program, transitioning into new or vacant apartments. Five of those individuals already reside in our supportive apartments, but through the grant, they will be offered an enhanced experience.

We are partnering with SimplyHome, a company that seeks to empower independence through innovation, to install technology in 10 apartments supported by our agency. This technology can include monitors to video-chat with Living Resources team members and sensors for doors, ovens, and smoke alarms. SimplyHome offers a great deal of customization, so the technology for each apartment can be tailored to an individual’s wants and needs. We are also working to utilize Amazon echo dots, foldable shopping cards, bed shakers, motion-sensing hallway lights, and a smart medication tracking system called Pill Drill, that will remind individuals when it’s time to take any prescriptions they may have.

The key goal of Supportive Living has always been to empower individuals to live on their own in their own apartment, integrated into their community with limited staff supports. “It’s not cut and dry,” explains Courtney Mason, Assistant Director of Community Living, “Our programs are structured so that everything’s just really personalized. We really want to focus on what each individual’s specific needs and goals are. We are constantly looking for ways to maintain and increase independence.”

The program has seen many success stories, including Jennifer Jones, who is warmly called the Mayor of Supportive Living. She lived in two institutions before coming to Living Resources and she has lived in her own apartment for years. “I get to set it up any way I want,” she shares, “I don’t have to share anything with anybody. Nobody is telling me ‘Oh, I want that over there, that’s my corner.’ It’s all my corner!”

Much of the new technology is being tested and experienced for the first time by supported individuals, team members and board members alike at the Supportive Living Program’s recently-established staffing hub, also funded through the OPWDD grant. The hub is based out of an apartment in Albany and it features a room where clinical staff can hold confidential meetings and all the amenities you would find in a typical apartment. The kitchen, living room, and bathroom are ideal for use by individuals learning and practicing skills so that they can transition into a supportive apartment.

“The grant is a start for growing the Supportive Living program, but it’s not the end,” shares Daryllyn Ward, its manager, “We don’t set limits. A lot of people will ask me, if the individual fails do we say, no, go back and get more support? No. We all fail and we all make mistakes. That’s the learning piece of the program. That’s how we all grow.”

“It’s important to remember, promoting and achieving maximum independence and control for individuals does not just save resources and benefit the service system, it benefits individuals as well,” says John Breitenbach, Director of Community Living, “Having maximum independence means individuals have maximum control over their own lives and destinies. It means individuals have a greater sense of purpose, self-worth, and confidence. It means providing individuals with a greater level of dignity and happiness.”