Home Living Resources

AARP HomeFit Guide (PDF): This resource from the American Association of Retired Persons provides valuable information on maintaining a safe home. Use the worksheets and checklists to make sure your home fits your needs.

Olmstead U.S. Supreme Court Decision Fact Sheet (PDF): Learn about this legal decision that supports the rights of people with disabilities to live in community settings rather than institutions.

Fair Housing Act Fact Sheet (PDF): Learn about this law that protects the rights of people with disabilities when seeking housing.

Housing (Community Living Skills Session via Healthy Community Living): This online session describes the types of housing available and provides tips for searching and applying for housing, and for moving into your new home. The session also presents ways to make your home more accommodating for your needs as well as information on how to prepare for a natural disaster. *For this online session, you will need the username and password provided by your CIL staff. Sign in and select the Housing session.

Learn about Self-Advocacy: Your Next Home (Video via Self-Advocacy Online): This video can help you list the criteria you want in a new home, and teaches you how to look for a home that fits your needs. The video discusses important things to consider when looking for a new home.

How to Prevent Falls Fact Sheet (via Healthy Aging & Physical Disability Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, University of Washington): This resource lists the consequences of falling, potential risk factors for falling, and describes many ways to prevent falls in the future.

Maintenance Guide for Users of Manual and Power Wheelchairs (PDF via Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center): This fact sheet provides information on maintaining a manual or power wheelchair including when each part of the wheelchair should be inspected, what you should look for, and the steps to take to keep it in good working condition.

Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals (via ADA National Network): This resource provides information on service animals and emotional support animals and the rights of those who use them. Connect with your Center for Independent Living to learn more about service animals in your state.

Renting with Disabilities (via Tenant Resource Center): This resource provides information on renting with a disability. It discusses discrimination, reasonable accommodations, and things to consider when renting.

Fair Housing Act Fact Sheet (PDF): Learn about this law that protects the rights of people with disabilities when seeking housing.

Olmstead U.S. Supreme Court Decision Fact Sheet (PDF): Learn about this legal decision that supports the rights of people with disabilities to live in

community settings rather than institutions.

Working with Your Health Care Provider Facts, (via Health Access for Independent Living): This webpage provides basic tips for working with doctors and other health care providers.

Assistive Technology (AT) Facts, (via Health Access for Independent Living): This webpage describes what assistive technology is, how various types of technology can help people with disabilities, and how to get and pay for it.

Healthy Relationships - Community Members- PCAs, Community Living Skills Session (via Healthy Community Living): This portion of the online session, Healthy Relationships, can be found by selecting the Community Members tab and clicking the Personal Care Assistant subtab. Here, you will find information about hiring a PCA and things your PCA should and should not do for you. *For this online session, you will need the username and password provided by your CIL staff. Sign in and select the Healthy Relationships session.

Disability Identity - Adjustment and Acknowledgment, Community Living Skills Session (via Healthy Community Living): This portion of the online session, Disability Identity, can be found by clicking the Adjustment & Acknowledgement tab. Here you can navigate through the rest of the session to learn how to recognize your disability, how it may impact your identity, and what accommodations you need to have in order to be successful in what you want to do. *For this online session, you will need the username and password provided by your CIL staff. Sign in and select the Disability Identity session.

How to Successfully Hire and Manage a Personal Care Assistant for People with Spinal Cord Injury (PDF via Shepherd Center): This resource offers helpful information to consider when hiring and managing a PCA. It provides insight into hiring through a Home Care Agency or a Non-Agency Caregiver and offers different tools you can use during the hiring process like an advertisement template, a tool to assess your own needs for care, and a service agreement template.

Personal Care Assistants: How to Find, Hire & Keep (via Craig Hospital): This resource discusses criteria to consider in order to find the right PCA for you.

Hiring a Private Caregiver? What you Need to Know (via Caring): This resource provides some tips on identifying a private caregiver and things to do before you hire one.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Training and Managing Personal Assistants: Consumer Guide, Research and Training Center on Independent Living: This resource offers helpful information regarding training, managing and working with personal assistants, including checklists for managing tasks. However, since policy regarding programs for personal assistance vary by state, and has been changing, it would be best to check with your local CIL (or ILC, as they are referred to in this resource), for the latest information regarding funding for personal assistance, self-direction, and other programmatic information.

Budgeting and Finance, Community Living Skills Session (via Healthy Community Living): This online session provides the basics of spending, saving, and managing your money. Find tips on using a budget to help you meet your goals. *For this online session, you will need the username and password provided by your CIL staff. Sign in and select the Budgeting and Finance session.

Learn about Self-Advocacy: What to Know about Public Benefits (via Self-Advocacy Online): This video illustrates how people with disabilities who are eligible can receive financial support from the government. The video briefly describes programs, and the requirements for them, that support people with disabilities.

What to Know about Trusts & ABLE Accounts (via Self-Advocacy Online): Learn information about special needs trusts and ABLE accounts that support people with disabilities.

Personal Finance Guide for People with Disabilities (via Calculator.org): Learn information about personal finance from ways to save money to setting financial goals for yourself.