Success Stories

Mandy, is a gentle, soft-spoken 35-year-old woman with cerebral palsy. She resided in a group home in Wilkes County for 11 years prior to moving to an Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) for medical reasons in 2011.

Mandy’s greatest love is animals, and the ICF could not permit animals due to allergies among the other residents. Mandy liked the ICF but longed for a home where she could be around animals. Smoky Mountain Center, in collaboration with Community Alternatives, which provides a continuum of community-based services for people with physical and mental disabilities, informed her about Money Follows the Person (MFP).

Community Alternatives introduced Mandy to Clara, who was authorized to provide services as an Alternative Family Living provider.* Clara invited Mandy to live with her and her family.

MFP coordinated the transition to the AFL, including making several accessibility upgrades so Mandy could live there safely. Mandy moved into Clara’s home in 2013.

On a typical day, Mandy gets dressed and puts on her leg braces. Then she goes to Wilkes Vocational Workshop, where she works while socializing with the other employees. On Tuesdays, she looks forward to spending a half-day working with the animals in a veterinarian’s office. When Mandy is not working, she likes to watch cooking shows on TV and experiment in the kitchen. She enjoys going to church on Sundays, taking walks around the neighborhood and catching up on the neighborhood “news.”

Last summer, Clara, Mandy and Clara’s niece took a trip together to Washington DC.

“This is a real home, compared to the other place,” Mandy said.

* Alternative Family Living (AFL) is a support option allowed under the Innovations waiver that enables an individual to live with a paid caregiver and the caregiver’s family.

When Mandy is not working, she likes to watch cooking shows on TV and experiment in the kitchen. She enjoys going to church on Sundays, taking walks around the neighborhood and catching up on the neighborhood “news.”