Budget 2027: Disabled people deserve the chance to live an ordinary life in the community

It is important to remember that independent living does not look the same for everybody.

My name is Sarah Jane Lavin, and I’m a person with an intellectual disability. 

I have been living independently for about two and a half years. I am very happy living in my own home. I like being independent and being able to make choices about my own life. 

But getting here was not easy. It took almost a decade to get the housing I needed. That is too long to wait.

And getting a house is only the first part of the problem. You also need the right support to be able to live in that house.

I have a personal assistant who comes to my house to support me to do chores like cooking and cleaning. To me, independent living means having the right support to live the life you choose.

It is no good just putting a disabled person into a house and then leaving them without the support they need. Some people will not be able to manage that way. Independent living needs to mean having a home and having the right support.

It is also important to remember that independent living does not look the same for everybody.

Some people might want to live on their own. Some people might want to live with another person. Some might want to live in a house with several other people. It is about having choice to decide what works best for you.

I lived with my mum before I got my own home, and I know families do their best, but parents cannot always be there forever. We need to think about what happens when parents get older or when something happens to them.

Too often, a crisis happens before a person with a disability gets the support they need. That should not be how the system works. The government needs to plan ahead.

People with disabilities need more than housing — we need employment and education opportunities too.

Sarah Jane Lavin: 'I am very happy living in my own home. I like being independent and being able to make choices about my own life.'

I recently started working three mornings a week in a local school. It is only a few mornings, but it is work, and being paid for your work matters. People with disabilities should have the opportunity to work if they want to.

The same goes for education. If somebody wants to go back into education when they are older, why shouldn't they? It should be their choice.

For me, the most important things in life are being happy, being well and being safe.

What's your view on this issue?

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I know there are people who are feeling hopeless because they have been waiting so long. But I would say: try not to give up hope. Keep trying.

I know from my own experience that it can take years. But eventually, I got my own home in a community I feel connected to. People with disabilities deserve that same chance as everybody else, we just need support along the way.

I know it’s possible because I am living it. Now I want other people to have the same chance.