8 years ago, I made the best decision I ever made. I left the life I knew in traditional services and moved to a new community so I could begin living through the Self-Direction Program offered by New York State and the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). This change didn’t just affect my life; it affected my husband’s as well! This was how I began to unpack the box that the system tried to put me in.
Traditional Services shoved me into a box that was often overflowing with rain, stuck in a shared space. Everyone placed their own objectives, rules, and timing on me. Everyone knows that once a cardboard box gets wet, it falls apart, and the contents are ruined. That is where the traditional system left me: falling apart and patched with weathered strips of duct tape, allowing me to live a bare-minimum existence.
As I begin to unpack my box with you, I hope you gain insight to encourage you to advocate for change in your own way. Maybe you’ll unpack yours along the way, too.
The Girl Who Couldn't Fit into A Box 