Independent Living

Activity IV: Living on my Own and Reaching my Goals

Objective: Youth will begin thinking about where they want to live in the future and will develop a realistic understanding of costs of living according to the lifestyle desired, and what jobs will be able to support their cost of living.

Suggested time frame: 30-45 minutes

Format: Large group

Materials needed:

  • Computer, projector, and internet connection for demonstration of the California Reality Check website [if these are not available, can have participants complete this segment of the activity on their own].

Suggested facilitator preparatory activities:

  • Visit the California Reality Check website and go through a demo:

Vocabulary/terms:

  • Personal Assistance Services: Personal Assistance Services (or PAS) are services which help an individual to live as independently as possible, including assistance with daily personal care needs (transferring in/out of bed, assistance using the restroom, with dressing, bathing, meal preparation, feeding, etc.). PAS may also involve providing reminders or cues to take care of their own personal care needs (i.e. reminders to take showers, take medications, etc.).
  • In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS): IHSS is a program administered by each county in California which provides funding for disabled individuals who may require assistance personal care such as bathing, feeding, dressing, and/or domestic services such as shopping, cooking, and housework. This funding allows individuals with disabilities to hire workers to provide care for them in their home or at their place of employment.

Procedures:

  1. In a large group setting, pose the following questions to all participants to help them start brainstorming about where they see themselves living in the near future:
  • Where do you want to live or who do you want to live with?
  • Do you still want live with your parents?
  • Do you want to live in an apartment with roommates?
  • Do you want to live in an apartment by yourself?
  • Do you need a wheelchair accessible apartment?
  • Will you need personal care attendants?[you can explain what these are by stating: “Personal care attendants are people who are hired by you to help you with things you cannot do for yourself because of your disability – this may including helping to get you out of bed in the morning, cooking your food, or taking you grocery shopping.]
  • If so, how will you pay for and find personal care attendants? [It is unlikely that participants will know the answer to this question – here is where you may want to suggest that a next step may be to ask their regional center case worker about this if they have one, or look on the youth Transition Toolkit website under the “Independent Living” tab for more information about IHSS]
  • How will you pay for rent?
  • If they do not come up with ideas on their own, say something like “some youth use Social Security benefits (SSI or SSDI) to help pay for rent, but often this does not provide much money to live on. Many youth choose to find a job.”
  • Do you want to work? If so, what are you interested in doing? How much money would you like to make (or need to make in order to support your selves)?

A good segue from the last question is to demonstrate the California Reality Check website ( If you have a computer with internet and a projector available, it would be ideal to do a brief demonstration of the “Get a Reality Check” activity in-class. Otherwise, have participants go to the website on their own and report back to the class how much money they would need to make to support the type of lifestyle they would like to live.