To live on his own, work hard, and pay his own bills: These were Brad’s lifelong goals, a vision he had long communicated to his family and his case manager.

Brad grew up raising animals and comes from a family that prizes hard work and self-sufficiency. Brad has always had a job, but the idea of Brad moving out made his parents nervous. They call themselves “over-protective” as parents and were very concerned about safety. But they also realized the importance of Brad being able to live independently, especially since he is an only child: “One day he’s going to be on his own, and this [moving into his own place] is just a dream come true,” his mother said.

With the support of enabling technology, Brad has reached his goals. As we hear in the video, his move is a “life-changer for everybody”: Brad now lives in his own place near his job, his Direct Support Professional, and his parents. The technology is also helping his parents address their concerns about safety. As you can see in the video above, Brad’s enabling technology from SimplyHome includes a SimplyHome System with sensors that observe and prompt some of his daily living activities. Brad receives reminders to make sure he clears off the stove, and the system sends alerts if he leaves it on too long; he also has a smart button to indicate that he took his medication. Brad is also using other sensors in his house, including a panic pendant and a smoke detector monitor, as well as a Ring Video doorbell.

Brad accepts services from Core Services of Northeast Tennessee and got connected to SimplyHome through Tennessee DIDD’s Enabling Technology pilot program. SimplyHome helped lay the foundations for the pilot program in 2017 and continues to serve as a technology and education partner with TN DIDD, including providing and installing technology for Carl Lipford, the first person to participate. Carl was able to move into a place of his own in the spring of 2018.

Joel Walker, TN DIDD Case Manager and Tech Champion, sums up the goal of the pilot program:

“At DIDD we talk about people’s vision of a preferred life. And we gear a person’s outcomes towards those visions. Brad’s vision was to live on his own. Technology made that vision a reality.”

When asked if he likes his new home, Brad’s answer is short and sweet: “Yeah,” he says, with a grin.

Congratulations on your new place, Brad!

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