Abilicorp will soon start a Community Living Support Services (CLSS) division. CLSS will enable people with disabilities and the elderly to live in their chosen community, controlling and receiving high-quality products and services that they and their families need.
The Need
The current pandemic clearly shows the danger and heartbreaks institutionalize living causes. Too many people with intellectual disabilities and mental health issues are homeless or incarcerated. Despite tremendous advances in civil rights laws, removal of architectural barriers, access to education, and promoting the employment of people with disabilities, this cohort's poverty level remains disturbingly high. Lack of good Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) is a significant reason for this.
Most people with disabilities rely on government agencies to get the disability-related products and services they need. Often, agencies utilize long-term care facilities or Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) through Supportive Living Services (SLS) businesses to provide the actual day-to-day assistance. These third-party entities decide the type of support necessary, who the providers are, when, and how they will assist.
The Proposed Solution
In the last few years, an increasing number of agencies, such as California Regional Centers, offer Self Determination Programs. These programs enable participants to have complete control over their assistance needs. Before starting the program, the participant and their agency's representative negotiate an annual plan and budget. As long as participants stay within their allocation, they can purchase any product, employ anyone, choose any service provider, and manage their lives. For decades, the Disability Movement has been striving for this type of independence. Independence often requires knowing when and how to ask for assistance. Many people do not have the time, energy, skills, or desire to assume all the responsibilities associated with managing life, especially when they have a disability.
To make substantial, long-lasting progress towards the inclusion of people with disabilities into mainstream society and reducing the poverty that this cohort and their families endure, high-quality, affordable products and services must be provided. As we recover from the current economic depression and globalization, technology and AI displace millions of workers, establishing a new service-oriented work model will be welcomed. Well-capitalized businesses that have significant lobbying abilities offer the biggest hope for success.
Services the Community Living Support Services will include advising, employing, and or co-employing people who will provide services including,
Life coaching | Financial planning | Emergency Planning |
Personal care assistance | Home-keeping | Cooking |
Communication assistance | Emotional assistance | Emergency assistance |
Technology assistance | Managing staff | Managing budgets |
Transportation | Companionship | Facilitation |
Tutors | Leisure skills instructor | Nutritionist |
CLSS will also ensure workers receive what they need and want regarding work hours, wages, paid time off, affordable healthcare, saving plans, and retirement plans. Many people with disabilities and older adults receive funding for disability-related expenses from government agencies that often delay payments. CLSS must be well-capitalized to endure these delays.
Receiving government funding for disability-related expenses very often requires people with disabilities and their families remain in poverty. Funding usually covers the bare minimum needed to survive. Community Living Support Services's entrepreneurs, investors, and people in the Disability Movement must lobby to change this paradigm. Funding disability-related expenses must enable this cohort to be fully employed, have savings, build assets, and live the American Dream.
The Opportunity
The skilled nursing facility and home care industry has annual revenues of $130B and $80B. Yet, based on the medical model, their main objective is to make their consumers 'better' or make them as comfortable as possible for the remainder of their lives. By investing in Community Living Support Services, that paradigm will change, enabling people with disabilities and the aging population to fully live as they choose.
The Start-up Phase
In the start-up phase, an administrative assistant will work with me to
establish the infrastructure required to run a business
recruit an advisory committee and a developer that will develop processes and procedures needed to implement an independent living model of self-determination
recruit experienced home care or assisted living executives, especially entrepreneurs with disabilities, eager to use the self-determination model as an alternative to the traditional supportive living model
create a business plan and a marketing plan
recruit investors
Would you please let me know if you or anyone you know may be interested in this exciting new adventure or have questions?
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