Transition Testimonials

As they talk about the accidents that left them living in a nursing home, Mary and Brian break into broad smiles. "Mary and I were the life of the facility," Brian says. Mary had experienced a severe brain injury and Brian's accident left him paralyzed. The couple's relationship blossomed in the nursing home and they were engaged. Soon after, the Elgin-based FITE Center for Independent Living used the Pathways to Community Living program to assist the couple to move into their own apartment. "It works out nice," Mary says. "I am his legs, he is my memory."

At 40 years old, Scott was living in a nursing home. That changed a year ago, when he moved to his own apartment in Rogers Park with the help of Illinois' Pathways to Community Living program and the Chicago area Heartland Alliance. "Now I am doing very well. I try not to take anything for granted," Scott says. "I don't look at it as a place I have arrived at, I see it as a starting point. I feel like I have found a sanctuary where I can really think about what I want to do".

With the help of the Shawnee Alliance for Seniors, in partnership with the Pathways to Community Living program, one couple has achieved a full year of living in the community. During numerous nursing home stays, the couple's home had begun to deteriorate. Thanks to assistance and support from their transition coordinator, Pathways funds were used to install a wheelchair ramp and make other accessibility modifications. The couple has done very well, and feels a great deal of comfort living back in their own home.