Resilient Advocacy
ADA staff met with a consumer to find housing. They met with the property manager at an apartment complex. The property manager approved a reasonable accommodation request to have an advocate at the lease signing and any lease renewal meetings. However a new letter was sent out saying the ADA staff member had to be at every meeting between the consumer and property management. Since this letter was not reasonable for the capacity of ADANC and goes against the Independent Living philosophy, ADA staff came up with a solution.
They discussed the consumer’s wish to have a two-bedroom apartment, but, her section 8 voucher was only good for a one bedroom. The consumer was about to forego her voucher in order to get a two-bedroom apartment, but ADA staff suggested she look at some one-bedroom units.
The consumer ended up signing for a one-bedroom unit that has enough lighting to accommodate her seasonal depression. With the suggestion of adding some additional lighting with lamps, the consumer wanted to start the process to use her voucher for the one-bedroom apartment.
Travel Training Perseverance
A Consumer reached a significant milestone in his Travel Training. He mastered the trip to Harris Teeter, where he works. During his training he kept a look out for landmarks to identify his stops and prevent him from getting lost. He took it upon himself to keep track of the bus schedule so he will know the estimated times of arrival. The next challenge for him is to travel at night. He is working with his travel trainer on reaching this goal, but he is afraid to travel at night.
