Thirty-one-year-old Jamie lives with a developmental disability and also struggled for years with suicidal ideations and psychiatric hospitalizations. Living independently and maintaining interpersonal relationships was extremely difficult due to challenges with a personality disorder and bipolar disorder. For much of her life, Jamie yearned to find independence.
In 2008, Jamie entered our Supervised Apartments where she started to learn coping and anger management skills. The program provides adults with developmental disabilities the necessary daily living skills to function on their own with minimal assistance such as meal preparation, medication administration, household upkeep and community integration.
Today Jamie can proudly say that she has not had any hospitalizations in nearly ten years and no longer experiences thoughts of suicide. With daily encouragement, she now maintains her apartment with minimal help from staff, responsibly takes her medication and advocates for overall health and wellness. Jamie also sustains two jobs which allow her to function independently in the community.
This past May, Jamie and her long-term boyfriend, Raul, held a beautiful, intimate ceremony as a symbol of their love. The couple’s ability to maintain a stable relationship symbolized the icing on the cake to celebrate Jamie’s road to independence! In the future, she looks forward to living with Raul, raising a family and taking a Disney Cruise with a guided tour. Jamie’s story shows that with stable housing and wraparound services, the road to independence is possible.
For more information about services, visit www.oaksintcare.org or call our Access Center: 1-800-963-3377.
