The State of California provided financial support for disabled people to hire personal assistance, so they didn’t have to be dependent on roommates and friends, as I was in New York. And the Center for Independent Living represented a community that could help me figure out how to access everything I needed to be on my own—like how to find an accessible apartment, where to repair my wheelchair if necessary, and how to actually advertise for and hire a personal assistant, which I’d never done before.
