My name is Lisa Cooley, and I discovered more of my housing story when I was a member of my Regional Center’s client advisory committee. Regional Centers are across California, and they deliver services to many people like me, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. As a member of the client advisory committee, I visited Regional Center clients who were residents of the Sonoma Developmental Center. Even though the residents were “safe”, they didn’t have much choice over their lives, and they were really isolated. They shared with me that they hadn’t seen people they loved in years. 

So it made sense that they asked me about what it was like to live in the community. I remember thinking about how I take my housing and my freedom for granted and how thousands of other people with intellectual disabilities don’t have housing and support like me. 

I live with my parents in Sacramento, CA, who are healthy and active seniors. They are aging, and I am aging too. My parents support me with daily activities, like personal care and food shopping. I am happy living with my family. We are all really close. But time is going faster than I want it to. I’m reminded of my grandparents, who were active during their senior years, and then they got older and aged, and they are no longer with me. 

As I continue to age, and so do my parents, I worry about what’s going to happen when they can’t support me in the ways that they do now. When that happens, I see myself living with my brother, and hopefully, all of us can live in the same neighborhood.  Even though we have talked about this plan, and I want it to happen, a lot can happen between now and then. There are over 7 million people with disabilities who are living with aging family members who support them. We are worried about the same thing; what’s going to happen next? 

I do not make enough money monthly to pay for an apartment at the market rate. I don’t want to live in an institution like Sonoma Developmental Center. If all levels of government can invest in more affordable, accessible, and supportive housing for people who have disabilities and especially for those whose lives are in some kind of transition, it could help me and millions of others. Thank you for listening to my story.