Stability
Sometimes systems talk about “choice” as if people with disabilities are being offered equal options. But that is not always what is happening. If the supports that allow a person to live safely at home are weakened, restricted, or removed, and no safe home-based alternative is built, then a facility may start to look like the only option. But that does not mean the facility is the best option. It may only mean the system made home impossible. That is not real choice nor is it true community living. For medically complex people, the supports around them are not extras. They may be the very reason the person is stable, healthy, and able to remain in the community. When those supports are pulled away, the person may become less stable. Then the system may point to that instability as proof that the person needs a facility. But the crisis may have been created by removing the support that was preventing the crisis in the first place. That is dangerous! For my son Alex, this is ...
