Owning a house with a white picket fence is often referred to as the American dream. At a very young age, Edwin “Ed” Dingman cherished his independence and chased this American dream.
To reach this goal, Ed worked hard, employed since 2006 by Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired working in their janitorial department. His goal was to someday purchase his own home.
Ed lived on his own in a rented a home for many years but due to factors out of his control had to leave. Needing a place to stay, Ed moved in with his sister. She was happy to make room in her home while he worked on a plan for a new place to live. As it turned out, Ed lived with his sister for over 6 years. He was thankful to have a place to live but longed for his own place again.
As he planned, Ed began to work with LIFEPlan Care Manager, Elizabeth Hafner. Elizabeth and his sister worked together to put the supports in place (e.g. SNAP, HEAP) to support Ed’s dream.
When a house next door to his sister went up for sale, Ed was drawn to its rustic charm. A nice cabin style house with 5 acres of land, Ed loved the house but didn’t need that much land. His sister, however, could use the land for her farm animals, so they struck a deal.
Ed’s sister purchased the property and Ed purchased the house to achieve a true win–win scenario!
Today, Elizabeth and Ed are in the process of setting up Self Direction services as Ed would like more supports to increase his independence. He is especially interested in learning to cook with the help of a ‘coach’, who is paid using his self-direction budget.
“Ed is very proud of his home as it allows him to have a quiet place for himself and to have greater independence, “Hafner said.
Ed realized his dream of home ownership in October 2019. When asked how this felt to him Ed said, “It makes me feel good that I have my own place and can do the things I want to do.”
Terms:
SNAP or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides nutrition benefits to supplement the food budget of needy families so they can purchase healthy food and move towards self-sufficiency.
HEAP-Home Energy Assistance Program helps low-income people pay the cost of heating their homes.
Self–Direction an OPWDD program that gives you flexibility to choose the mix of supports and services that are right for you so you can live the life you want