For Mat self-direction isn’t just a service model – it’s the foundation that allows him to work, lead, and live independently.
At 39 years old, Mat supports himself and his brother, who lives with autism and schizophrenia and recently moved into Mat’s home. Maintaining stable housing, steady income, and consistent care is essential to both of their well-being. If one piece of that system fails, the consequences ripple quickly. “If I lose my supports,” Mat explains, “I don’t just lose my job. I lose my home, and my brother loses his home too.”
Self-direction is the foundation that makes stability possible.
Mat is visually impaired and relies on a small, highly skilled self-directed support team to manage the complexity of his life. That team supports him at home, in the community, and in a demanding professional role — one that includes long hours, unpredictable schedules, and statewide advocacy responsibilities.
Today, Mat is a homeowner, an advocate, and the executive leader of a statewide self-advocacy organization. His success did not happen despite self-direction. It happened because of it.
Mat began self-directing in 2008 after working with more traditional service providers. While those models work well for many people, Mat knew he needed something different. “I wasn’t looking to leave providers because something was wrong,” he says. “I was looking for something that fit my life better.”
Self-direction gave him control and flexibility. It allowed him to hire staff with the specific skills, reliability, and trust required for his day-to-day responsibilities. “The biggest difference,” Mat explains, “is that I can choose the people who support me and adapt my services as my life changes.”
One staff member supports Mat professionally, assisting with transportation, note-taking, and logistics that make full-time employment possible. Another provides personal supports at home and in the community and can step in when coverage is needed. Together, they form a small but essential system that allows Mat to work, lead, and care for his brother.
These supports are not optional. “What I do for a living is hard to support,” Mat says. “If I can’t pay people a reasonable wage, I won’t be able to find anyone willing, or able, to do this work.” Unlike large provider agencies, self-directing individuals cannot offset reduced wages with benefit packages or internal staffing pools. Competitive wages are often the only way to attract and retain qualified direct support professionals. When wages are cut, staff leave not out of disloyalty, but out of necessity.
“My goal,” Mat says, “is to get to a point where I don’t need DDA-funded employment supports anymore. Self-direction is what’s helping me get there.”
This is what success looks like.
Mat’s story demonstrates that self-direction works not just as a philosophy, but as a practical, fiscally responsible approach. It supports employment, housing stability, and family caregiving while allowing public dollars to be used efficiently and intentionally. It also highlights the critical role of direct support professionals whose work makes these outcomes possible.
“When self-direction works,” Mat says, “it catches people who might otherwise fall through the cracks.”
For Mat and many others, self-direction does more than fill a temporary gap. It builds a future – for individuals, for families, and for communities.