Anna is Changing her Life with "It Takes a Network!"

Anna Casebolt has new hope for achieving her dreams through the "It Takes a Network!" (ITAN) program. Anna, who is on the waitlist, had been eager to find a way to improve her situation. When she heard about the ITAN program through her Denver Options intake coordinator, she and her husband, Dean, decided to participate. Now the couple is working toward new goals and creating a personal network that will help Anna build a better future for herself and her family.

The ITAN program helps adults like Anna on the Denver Options waitlist by assisting them in identifying and achieving their goals through planning and the creation of a personal network. The project is not a replacement for services they would receive if they were taken off the waitlist. Rather, "It Takes a Network!" is a way for participants to enhance their quality of life by connecting to the larger community. The program was created through a partnership between Denver Options and Families and Allies Working Together, an organization that helps people with disabilities participate in their community.

Anna has already identified her goals by creating a PATH (Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope), and she has ten people in her network. Agnès Dwenger, a Families and Allies facilitator, helped Anna create her PATH. “We’re focusing on positive possibilities and goals that can be accomplished in a year for Anna’s first PATH,” Agnès explained.

Since Anna and Dean have a strong partnership, Anna’s PATH includes joint goals with Dean. Spending time with family and friends is very important to both of them, so several of Anna’s goals focus on that. The couple would like to travel to see their son Jeremy, who lives with Anna’s mother in Michigan, and to visit Dean’s sister. They are also planning a video game party with friends and members of Anna’s network.

Anna enjoys the support she is receiving through the ITAN program so far. When she and Dean moved into a new apartment recently, her personal network was there to help unpack and organize everything. She’s also excited about the possibilities her PATH is creating in her life. “I like my PATH. I can change my life, and I’m actually growing to become something I want,” she explained. “It’s changing my life a lot now.”

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Learn more about Families and Allies Working Together.

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