 This video is about choice. Times are changing. Not too many years ago, persons with developmental disabilities had very few choices. For many, their only choice of a place to live was a large state institution. As the Director of the Department of Developmental Services, I've seen attitudes and barriers to new living arrangements change over time. The people you're going to see on this video all used to live in large state institutions. Now, thanks to a new program called Community Supported Living, they're all living in their own homes or apartments. And do they like it? You bet. Let's take a look. Being in a state hospital, there were some good points about it and some bad points. I learned a lot, you know, about taking care of myself from there, you know. When I was younger, I used to wonder why I was there, you know, and I wanted very much to get out of there. To make a long story short, I was talking to a good friend of mine who convinced me that it would be better, a whole lot heavier off. You know, being on my own, and so I said, okay. And so, here I am. And so, I moved in here in this apartment on July 15th, 1991. And it'll be two years tomorrow, which I've been living on my own. So, anyway, I've had, and it's been, I've had a lot of success. I'm really hoping in the next ten years that everyone is looking at Supported Living, Community Support of Living Arrangements, and seeing that this is just someone, like all of us, we're just people out there trying to make it out there, and that we're going to find the support systems that we need. Having the freedom to come and go as you want. I like that. I like that, because we can go out and do what we want to. We're on our own now. We don't have to let staff know where we're going. Just so we have the emergency pager number with us and all, and that. For seven years, I've lived at Casa for a long time. And I like to move out, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat. And over here, I do more stuff for myself now. And I've done a long ways from living here in the moment. But you eat so many. And I've come a long ways. When I first came here, I had to have help. But now I do everything myself. So one of the glories I think about this program is these people are really in their own homes. So every decision they make is about their own home. I've seen people just take so much pride in cleaning up their own place, because it's the first time they finally got their own kitchen, their own living room. And they're so much eager to take care of these tasks because there's so much pride that goes along with it. They're not cleaning someone else's house. They're not buying someone else's groceries. This is all for them and their own home and it's so much more rewarding for them. I'm one of these people who really believes anybody can succeed with the life they choose as long as they receive the right amount of support. And some people need a lot. I mean, they need a huge network. And some people need a little. But I think with the right amount of support, many things are possible. Actually, I had a very normal life for a handicapped child. I was not put in a lot of institutions until my parents died. I lived at home. So, no, I was not. And I was not a sheltered kid. You know how most kids, parents sheltered him from the exposure of the true world. And I think that's why I'm as independent as I feel I am today. Because my parents did not try and tell me what to do or run my life. And the time I was really 15-on, from 15-on, which also made the relationship that much better between my parents and me. As we were growing up in later years, they would give me advice. But once I hit 21, I was basically anything I wanted to do, they really didn't question. Which I find in a lot of my handicapped friends, they still get questions. They still don't have the freedom that I feel I had growing up as a child. Overall, if I had to do it over, I would probably still do some kind of independent living thing. When you might prepare hobbies? What? Parties. Parties or your hobbies? And dancing too. Like, yeah, go to the gluices and dance. We're going to be going this Saturday. Yeah!