Community Living Services at Life Skills
Life Skills' Community Living team is committed
to helping individuals with developmental disabilities --
including autism -- live independently in homes of their own in the
community. We recognize that this is a big step for a family to
take, and we want to help you and your family make a smooth
transition for your loved one as he/she either moves from the
family home to a community home or welcomes support into an
existing living situation. We have a highly trained and
specialized transition team that focuses on this process and will
help guide you through it.
Community Living services may be lifelong and include various
skill-building opportunities in areas such as safety, personal
budgets, housekeeping, personal care and nutrition. Life Skills
staff works in clients' homes, offering training and assistance
whenever needed, ranging from 24 hours a day to just a few hours
each month. Moreover, our staff to client ratios tend to be 1:1 to
1:3. These services are available to qualified residents of
St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County.
Community Living services are largely individualized, but
in general emphasize the following:
- Enhancing communication skills
- Decreasing challenging behaviors
- Increasing independence
- Teaching skills that reflect the normal rhythm of life
- Fostering community involvement
As has been the case for more than two decades, Life Skills
continues to lead a statewide effort for advocacy to help people
achieve more independent lives by moving out
of state-operated institutions. This undertaking has led to
dozens of people with disabilities living in their own homes,
becoming citizens, neighbors, taxpayers and participating members
of their respective communities.
Life Skills' Community Living team serves an average of 550
clients annually. For more details about eligibility, click here.
For more information, please contact Judy
Goldford at 314-567-7705, or by e-mail at judy.goldford@lifeskills-mo.org.
To download our Community Living Frequently Asked Questions, click here.