This is the first article of the new Adult Home Column where you will read about the plight of New York State's adult home residents from the residents themselves as they advocate against civil rights abuses within their housing developments.
On January 26th, I was part of a group of adult home residents pushing for recognition of the lack of appropriate housing and case management for residents of adult homes. We entered the Mental Hygiene Budget Hearing symbolically chained to cardboard boxes that were made to look like adult homes with No Exit signs over their doors. Our purpose? To demonstrate the need for alternative housing options and independent case management services for adult home residents. Two of us later testified at the hearing. This was just the most recent of many other such activities. The day before, twenty-five of us had participated in NYAPRS annual lobby day.
For too many years, we adult home residents have been considered nonproductive, childish, crazy and potentially dangerous. So, because we have a mental illness, the public and the government in Albany have considered institutionalization to be the best way to "manage" us. We beg to differ. The fact that we are and have been advocating for ourselves for some time should tell people that most of us are able to manage ourselves. An adult home has been my place of residence for 12-13 years now. It was supposed to be a temporary solution for losing my job and my apartment because homelessness is no way to live.
I was only supposed to be here long enough to find an apartment. Obviously I'm still here. The usual question is whether I was too lazy to find an apartment for myself or was it something else.
There is no skills-training and now all of a sudden I have to depend on everybody else to do what I used to do for myself—cooking, shopping, laundry, housekeeping. At the home, we are not allowed to use the laundry or the kitchen. Being discouraged from being independent, you begin to rely on other people. It creates a sense of defeat and self-doubt. It becomes more and more difficult to think of doing things for yourself. In the home, I've found hopelessness and I've found residents who feared retaliation for any show of independence. I have to fight frustration and depression every day. But I refuse to give up.
I'm pretty sure that with a minimum of supports I could return to independence. I'm 62-years-old and I've known an independent, self-supported life.
Much has been learnt about treating mental illness. In order to treat it, we need proper case management of individuals as well as appropriate and affordable housing. Case management must be independent of the homes. Appropriate housing means correcting the stigma attached to mental illness.
We are seeing more promise in our conversation with our state legislators and representatives in Albany. We need to continue our efforts and we encourage others to join us. Hopefully this column will be a shot in the collective arm to keep this push on the right road.