Your Space, Your Life
Are You Ready to Live on Your Own?
Living on your own means:
- Managing your own schedule
- Being able to afford your living expenses (rent, utilities, food, etc.)
- Managing your money
- Getting around your home mostly or entirely on your own
- Grooming and dressing yourself
- Arranging your own transportation
- Buying and preparing your own food
- Cooking and feeding yourself
- Cleaning your home and belongings
These are the activities of daily living (ADLs). Just because you have a disability doesn’t mean you can’t do these things on your own!
“Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and safety.” ~ United Nations’ Declaration of Human Rights
Living freely and independently is a human right that EVERYONE has. This means that you should be able to live your life the way YOU want, make your own decisions, and even make mistakes and learn from them.
In fact, you probably will make a few mistakes living on your own. That’s okay! It’s part of the process. Everyone makes mistakes. It’s about whether you can deal with them and learn from them.
By law, you have the right to live on your own. The law also requires businesses and public buildings to be accessible. This means they must be designed so that people with disabilities can move within them, like anyone else, to enable independent living. Plus, there are also many grants, programs, and strategies available to help you afford to live on your own. First, you have to decide if you’re ready to live independently.
How do you know if you’re ready to live independently?
Are you thinking about living on your own? Try to answer the following questions honestly.
It might be helpful to talk through them with a parent or another person who cares about you.
If you can answer “yes” to all of these questions, you may be ready to live on your own.
- Do you know how to perform ADLs, such as moving around inside or outside your home, going to the bathroom, dressing, or eating, with little or no assistance?
- Do you look forward to the challenges of independent living and know there might be stress?
- Do you know how to respond during an emergency? Can you call for help if you need it?
- Can you communicate your needs and concerns?
- Do you want to live on your own, even knowing that there may be hard work involved in functioning independently? (You may have been working toward this by learning to use equipment.)
- Do you have a way to access transportation for work, medical appointments, and other routine trips?
Do you think you’re ready to take the next step to independent living? NNCIL’s staff can help you identify the pros and cons of living on your own, select the right housing options for you, explain paperwork, and point you to helpful resources.
Visit NNCIL’s Transition Services page to learn more!
