Blog | Tag: Hcbs

Throughout September, Disability Rights Florida shared Olmstead Voices: Stories of Choice and Community, a series featuring people with disabilities talking about what community living means in their own lives. The people who participated in Olmstead Voices had very different experiences with disability, services, and support. What connected their stories was not one particular service or one definition of independence. It was the ability to have a say in their own lives and to take part in the communities around them.

For many people with disabilities, services and supports can make everyday life possible. But having a service on paper does not always mean it is meeting your needs in real life. Transportation may be unreliable. Personal assistance may not be available at the times you need it. A support plan may no longer reflect your goals, routines, or priorities. That is where self-advocacy begins. Start by asking yourself a simple question: Are the supports I receive helping me live the life I want?

People with disabilities in Florida faced many obstacles this year. These barriers are not new, but 2025 made it clear there is still a long way to go before everyone can live, work, and participate fully in their community.

People with disabilities have the right to live, work, and take part in their communities. But for decades, many were denied that right. Too often, they were placed in institutions, far from loved ones and opportunities, even when they were capable of living independently with the right support. That changed in 1999 with a landmark Supreme Court decision called Olmstead v. L.C.