transformation in service

of people with disabilities in closed off and heavily restrictive institutions must be challenged, and it must be changed. With a partnership with Government of Uttarakhand and Dehradun’s premier Lehman Hospital, two family-style homes have been leased that are embedded in a community, where 8 women with developmental disabilities live, with one round the clock caretaker. In the last 6 months, we have been a witness to the value of autonomy and decision-making, and the positive and therapeutic effect that has had on the women in these homes. We have seen first-hand the changes these women have undergone, and how their neighbors have also evolved to overcome their reservations about them. The community has started to look inward to question the stigma and the discomfort they have only after a few months of interaction with the women.

We dream of a world, where every individual makes her own decisions, of her free will. Where every individual has capabilities of being part of a community. Where the shackles of institutionalization, the loneliness of abandonment and the disregard for a person’s humanity, are undone. Where everyone has a skill set to be a productive member of the society, with a sense of belonging to a family, to a home, to a community, and with a life of normalcy and autonomy. We believe that the Community Lives is a small step and a giant leap towards this goal. We are very excited to see the journey these women will embark upon, and what they make of their lives.