Sioux Empire United Way - Agency Success Stories

“I Just Get To Be Me”
Agency: South Dakota ACHIEVE Program: Supported Living Service: Provide support to individuals with disabilities to assist them in living independent lives in the community. Need: Over 18,000 people age 5 or older in Sioux Falls were living with a disability, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. Currently, nearly 130 people participate in South Dakota ACHIEVE’s Supported Living Program. Impact: Many individuals with developmental disabilities do not have the necessary resources or skills to access appropriate employment, housing, medical resources and social/recreational opportunities. SD ACHIEVE gives these individuals the ability to live independently.	Most people don’t enjoying paying rent. But Corey isn’t most people. “I really like the Vikings,” said Corey. He points to a white football smothered with signatures. “Everyone but two players signed it,” he said. 22 year-old Corey was diagnosed with spastic quadriparesis at birth. With the help of Supported Living, a South Dakota ACHIEVE program funded by the Sioux Empire United Way, Corey is able to live in an apartment of his own. “I just like it here,” said Corey, “I don’t miss where I lived before at all.” Corey used to live in a group home with eleven other individuals. Thanks to Sioux Empire United Way, South Dakota ACHIEVE is able to provide staff to assist over 100 people like Corey. Enabling them to live in an apartment in the community, “I don’t have to depend on anyone else or worry about other people. I just get to be me.”
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