Living independently will look different for everyone
The journey to living independently and the steps involved vary from person to person.
Daily activities, like keeping your space clean, making meals, and maintaining hygiene with regular showers are part of independent living. It is important to understand what daily living activities you can do on your own and where you might need help. This way, you can plan for independent living more effectively.
To figure out your skills and areas where you might need assistance, ask yourself these questions:
Once you have answered these questions, you may wish to go through the checklists below of common tasks. Using these checklists can help you identify areas where you may need support with daily living activities. Some tasks are related to:
For each task in these lists, determine the level of support you think you would typically need. It could be:
Now, you might have a better idea of what you’re good at and where you can improve!
Let’s reflect a bit! Consider asking yourself:
Consider an area you want to improve on and let’s come up with some ideas! Here are some ways to learn a new skill or get support. See which ones could work for you:
Sometimes, learning a new skill so that we can do a task independently can be tough, or we might not have the capacity to do so. In this case, think about one of the tasks you said you’d need one-on-one support with.
You could use the same ideas above to find supports in the community or even housing options that include help for those tasks. You might also be able to get financial assistance or services from the Province of Alberta to support you!
As you go through this information, if there is something that you would like help with, please reach out for assistance.
