Darwin's roommate, Glen has lived with Darwin since Darwin's move from
the institution. Glen had lived in the institution where Darwin lived,
and moved out a number of years ago. Before Darwin left the institution,
Glen lived in several different places. When Darwin was ready to leave
the institution, the Options in Community Living staff reintroduced them
to each other and they agreed to try living together. They live with Randy,
their paid attendant, who was recruited through Options. Randy has worked
for them since Darwin moved to Madison from the institution, and has lived
with them since 1986.
Randy is a college student who is supporting himself through school. As
a live-in attendant, his salary comes through two sources: adult foster
care payments for Glen and Community Integration Program (CIP) payments
for Darwin, who requires significantly more assistance than Glen. CIP is
one funding source that has been used to support individuals formerly living
in state institutions to move into the community.
Randy is away from the apartment at least two weekdays and two weekend
a month. At these times, two other staff members, funded through CIP, support
Darwin and Glen. Darwin and Glen, but not Randy, have their names on the
lease, and they split the apartment expenses between themselves, with Randy
paying for his share of the food. Randy is not expected to provide skill
training or case management, but to be a roommate who also provides personal
care and other kinds of assistance in daily living.
The Options staff provide ongoing case management and training in daily
living skills to Darwin and Glen, and a speech communication therapist
also comes to the apartment to work with Darwin. Darwin, Glen, Randy, and
an Options staff member hold house meetings twice a month to make sure
things are coordinated, to decide who will do what for the upcoming week,
and to ensure that life is going the way Darwin and Glen want it to go.
The first apartment Darwin and Glen lived in was nice, but it wasn't really
theirs in the way the apartment in the co-op is. In the co-op, there is
a real community. The people living there have a bigger stake in their
living environment than do people in the typical apartment complex. The
Options staff helped Darwin and Glen find and arrange to become members
of the housing cooperative.
This cooperative has a number of unique features. It is a part of Madison's
downtown community renewal effort, and is seen as a valued, desirable place
to live. It is a mixed-income cooperative, in that there are three levels
of rent, with one third of the tenants in each category. Tenants paying
at any of the three levels (assisted, moderate, and market-rate) are found
everywhere in the cooperative, and they all have the same types of apartments.
Another nice aspect of the cooperative is that there are people of all
generations. The people who live there do not build up equity in their
apartments but are owners in the sense that they can stay as long as they
like, they are all part of the decision-making in regard to how the cooperative
runs, and they share the responsibility for managing it. There is a community
garden in the back, and a lovely playground for the children. Four apartments
on the first floor are totally accessible, and others on that floor can
be adapted for a person with physical disabilities. Darwin, Glen, and Randy
live in on of the accessible apartments.
Both Darwin and Glen like to get out and do things. Darwin contributes
to the co-op by delivering co-op mail like fliers and notice to his neighbors,
and he regularly goes out to movies, coliseum events, parties, restaurants,
and sports activities like bowling, swimming, skiing, and horseback riding.
He, Glen, and Randy took a Wilderness Inquiry II trip to Yellowstone this
summer; previously, they have gone on vacations and weekend camping trips
together as well as separately. Glen likes doing many of the things Darwin
enjoys, but he pursues some of his own interests as well.
Darwin and Glen have lives they enjoy, in a home that is really theirs, doing what they choose to do and exploring new vistas, new experiences, every year.