Shared Support Stories: Tony Sampson
Tony Sampson is a hard-working family man from Montgomery County, Maryland who loves sports. He has family and friends all around the Baltimore and Washington, DC area, even Philadelphia and Cairo!
Tony has a very prosperous and fulfilling life. He has his own home, a full-time job, and a busy social life. He works during the day and relaxes in the evenings. He likes taking walks, hanging out with friends, and watching sports on TV. On the weekends, Tony enjoys going to museums, the library, the mall, and when at all possible, goes to WWW events, regardless of distance. Before he was in charge, his life was drastically different.
For 4 years before moving out onto his own, Tony was living in a group home with four people and had a job coach who never left his side. He worked as a janitor and was paid $3 every 2 weeks. Tony felt as if he was treated like an Elementary School child. He got into trouble for talking back or not doing what he was told when he was upset about something. Tony says his human rights were violated on a daily basis and when he stood up for himself, he got yelled at. When asked about how he felt, Tony stated that he was treated like a slave.
On several occasions, Tony asked his service coordinator if he could leave the group home and was always told “No”. The final straw came when Tony was out celebrating his birthday, became stranded and got home late. As punishment, he was put on “probation” for 3 days and wasn’t allowed to do anything. Once again, he went to his service coordinator, only this time, he says, he demanded to get out.
In 2006, Tony discovered Walbusters, a group of people that assisted other individuals to transfer to a different service provider or type of service. This is where he met Diana Stewart and Tracy Wright. At that time, Tony was referred to Shared Support Maryland, Inc. and the New Directions Waiver. The New Directions Waiver allows a person to direct their services and become the employer of their own staff. SSMD helped Tony get an apartment, hire his own staff, and find a real job where he earns a real paycheck. He feels that SSMD has opened up a brand-new world for him. He has seen shows, visited places, and eaten at restaurants that he had never been to.
Today, Tony enjoys inspiring others through his Self-Advocacy work. For the past 5 years, Tony has been working at The Home Depot doing various tasks such as assisting customers; helping with safety and security; sorting recycling; and loading large items. Tony also writes articles for Apostrophe Magazine that sells art calendars for Art Enables. Tony feels that he is a role model and says that he has never been prouder of himself than he is right now.
By Tony Sampson
