Community Living
Community living means being part of social relationships with family, friends, coworkers, and partners. It includes choosing where and with whom you live, keeping your home safe, and using community resources like the post office, transportation, bank, and grocery store.
A supported decision-making plan is when you have a trusted person to help you with:
- Making decisions about roommates, housing, banking, shopping, transportation, social activities, and dealing with peer pressure.
- Understanding and talking with roommates, friends, bankers, shopkeepers, transportation providers, and others.
- Taking care of your home, banking, shopping, using transportation, making friends, joining activities, and handling peer pressure.
Click the image below to view and download the Supported Decision-Making Plan Resource Guide.
Click the image below to view and download the Power of Attorney Resource Guide.
Transportation: Using public transportation is an important part of community living. It lets you go to places like the grocery store, bank, or a friend’s house. Learning how to use transportation is a skill you can develop. This Using Public Transportation guide can help.
Employment: There are various employment supports to help you train for a job, find a job, and succeed at work
- Visit Work Together North Carolina’s Employment Action Plan website.
- Find a list of Inclusive Employers in North Carolina at the Work Together NC website.
- Learn about supported employment at The Arc NC website.
- Learn about work after age 50 at AARP’s Back to Work 50+ website.
Community-Based Servicers: North Carolina has several programs to support you living in the community. These community-based services usually don’t offer 24-hour care but do provide help with housekeeping, daily living activities, and meal preparation.
- Find information about programs to support community living at the Disability Rights NC website.
- For other community-based services, contact your local Department of Social Services (DSS). You can find your local DSS at the DHHS website.
- For information about community-based services for older adults contact your local Area Agency on Aging (AAA). You can find your local AAA at the DHHS website.
Communicating well is helpful for participating in community living and getting the support you need from others. These skills include making eye contact, having back-and-forth conversations, making friends, or negotiating. In social skills training, a clinician, parent, or other trusted adult can help you identify social skills to develop. With training and practice, you can improve your communication with others.
- You can learn about good communication at the Safety Powers Online Learning Center website.
Deciding to date or enter a romantic relationship is exciting but can be challenging. A key part of dating is learning how to have a healthy relationship and recognizing signs of an unhealthy one.
- Learn about healthy dating relationships in the Peer-to-Peer Autism guide.
Peer pressure is when people you know push you to do something you may not want to do or that might be dangerous, harmful, or illegal. Resisting peer pressure means learning how to avoid these situations and knowing how to say “no.”
- You can find some information about resisting peer pressure on the SAMHSA website.
- Download SAMHSA’s Helping Kids Say No to Peer Pressure Factsheet.
Sexual education covers topics such as basic anatomy, social skills for healthy relationships, relationship boundaries, information about intimate relationships, personal safety, and recognizing signs of sexual violence or abuse.
- You can learn more with the Sexual Health Resource Toolkit for Parents and Caregivers of Youth with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
- Visit the Easter Seals website to learn more about love, dating, relationships and disability.
- The Birds and the Bees is a sexual education curriculum for people with I/DD.
Click the image below to view and download the Foster Care 18-21 Resource Guide.
