March

20, 2015

The Nashville IDD Housing Group met Thursday night to provide an update on our
new project that is opening on Chestnut Hill, to provide a summary of the
questionnaire parents completed on their adult children with IDDs, and to listen to a
presentation on Planting Seeds of Independence, from Tammy Day, the Program
Director of Vanderbilts Next Steps program for individuals with intellectual
disabilities.

NIDDHG Co-Founder Jaco Hamman welcomed attendees with a two-minute clip
from a 6:01 video on the Friendship House at Western Theological Seminary
https://vimeo.com/user35070381/review/120491806/7ac1b018e3, showing the
video in part to illustrate the concept of seminary students living alongside young
adults with cognitive disabilities.

He reminded the group that NIDDHG held its first meeting on March 20, 2014, and
he talked about some of the inroads we have made in our first year, beginning with a
brief version of the remarks he made at the February 27 ribbon cutting at our first
housing project. Today, he said, is worth celebrating for at least four reasons:
1) We are addressing a significant need. According to the ARC of Davidson
County, there are 7,000+ people in Tennessee waiting for home and
community-based waiver services. Around 40 persons a month are added to
this, when, on average, only 20 persons a month receive the help they need.
2) We are showing that partnerships create possibility. Without Urban
Housing Solutions and their vision for affordable housing and thriving
communities, without grants and support from the Tennessee Housing
Development Agency and The Metropolitan Housing and Development
Authority, without Castanea and the Kingdom values and commitment to
Chestnut Hill, without the Housing group and the families we serve, without
students who seek transformation into leadership, and without friends with a
disability longing for independence, today is not possible.
3) We are creating future leaders who will make a difference in society.
The Vanderbilt Divinity School and Belmont University students who will live
here with our friends will become advocates and leaders in many towns,
cities and neighborhoods.
4) And, we created a space where four, possibly five persons with an
intellectual and developmental disability will thrive.

Jaco then provided a summary of the survey some of our families completed to help
us provide specific, detailed guidance to Urban Housing Solutions on additional

projects in the pipeline, so to the extent that is possible, our communitys concerns
for their loved ones can be addressed. The survey completed in December 2014
and January 2015 was completed by 32 of 143 families, or a response rate of
22.4%. About half of those responding said their loved ones are ready to live
independently now, while half said that is not the case. With regard to employment,
73% of adult children discussed in the survey are not employed; 27% are employed.
Respondents said nearly 4% of their loved ones do not need vocational training,
41% have received vocational training, 31% are interested in vocational training,
and 24% could benefit from vocational training, but are not currently interested.

The level of assistance needed by our communitys loved ones runs the gamut, from
needing minimal oversight to needing help with activities of daily living (eating,
bathing, dressing, etc). Hours of supervision needed range from 21+ hours of need
to fewer than 5 or less hours of need.

Respondents use a long list of service agents: Friends Life, Section 8 Housing, public
transit services, Joy Center, family members, Metro Parks Disabilities Programs,
Vocational Rehab, respite care (private pay), public school, individual support,
Caregivers Services of Middle Tennessee, Special Olympics, private caregivers and
nannies, the Tennessee Respite Coalition, ARC of Davidson County and
Capernaum/Young Life.

60% of respondents prefer a private bedroom with en suite (private) bathroom, half
would be fine with a shared bathroom as long as the bedroom is private. The
numbers dropped to under 20% when it comes to a variety of shared bedroom
situations. More of you prefer renting, but some are open to buying. $450 is the
amount of rent per month most are comfortable spending. 23 of 32 respondents
have good mobility, but most are dependent on Nashville MTA/Easy Access buses.
Of our respondents, 2 have Medicaid Waivers and 10 are on a waiting list. Franklin,
Brentwood, Green Hills and Hillsboro Village are your most preferred
neighborhoods. Murfreesboro Pike and McFerrin Park are your least preferred
neighborhoods.

Following Jacos report on 12 Garden Street and the survey, the program was turned
over to Tammy Day, the Founding Director of the Next Steps post-secondary
program at Vanderbilt University. She said her 30 years in special education have
taught her that we have to find a way to give people a voice. She said we learn what
that voice is through four things:
1) Risk taking
2) Self discovery
3) High expectations
4) Failure

She made a number of points:
What expectations do you have for your child? Do you ask them what
they like to do? Do you know how they want to contribute to the world?

Do you do they know what they have to offer? How do we figure these
things out? We figure these things out through many different kinds of
experiences.
If we shelter and protect our loved ones, how can we expect them to
thrive? When did you first let your loved one experiment and explore?
What message are you giving your child when you trust them to take
risks? You are trusting them. You are giving them freedom. You are
telling them they can handle things. They sense that you believe in them.
Build in opportunities for new experiences. Provide opportunities for
self-discovery.
Our failures are our biggest teachers. We learn from our mistakes. If an
experience is a failure, what can we do to make it better the next time?
Resist saying, Its easier to do it myself. When you say this, you are
telling your loved ones that they cant do it. Let them help.
If parents know their adult child will live separately from them at some
point in the future, how can they start preparing for this eventuality?
How can you make sure your child does not think, I cant move out. My
parents need me. You might start building up to these conversations
with a broad spectrum of questions, e.g. When you live on your own, what
supports do you think you will need? When you have these
conversations when your child is still young, by the time the questions
become relevant, your loved one will have years and years of memories of
these discussions, reducing the burden on the adult child, on the siblings,
and on the parents.

Dr. Day invited attendees to provide her with feedback. This summary does not do
her justice, so please forgive me (Carolyn) not her if something doesnt quite
make sense. But do feel free to contact her for clarification or further explanation of
a point at tammy.l.day@vanderbilt.edu.

We expect to have our NIDDHG website up and running sometime in April and will
send you an email as soon as its live. We also expect to have one more meeting
before we break for the summer, likely in late May. Upcoming speakers in the
pipeline are from LArche Atlanta (www.larcheatlanta.org) and from A VOICE
(www.nashvillevoice.net), a new grassroots alliance of Nashvillians committed to
reducing poverty, in part through affordable housing.

Carolyn Naifeh
Regional Director, Pujols Family Foundation
615-970-0566

Jaco Hamman, Ph.D.
Director of the Program in Theology and Practice
Associate Professor of Religion, Psychology and Culture
Vanderbilt Divinity School
615-343-5404