Empowering Independence Through Technology.
This year’s Supportive Housing Association (SHA) Conference brought together more than 350 leaders, innovators, and advocates intent on advancing supportive housing across New Jersey and beyond. JSDD’s Life | Home | Tech team was a part of this statewide event— as presenters and exhibitors— discussing and demonstrating how enabling technology is transforming independence for older adults and adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD).
Executive Director, Linda Press and Susan Nasberg- Abrams, Life | Home | Tech Program Manager, were a part of a panel discussion titled:
The Power of Partnership: Advancing Supportive Housing Through Innovation & Inclusion.
The discussion was moderated by Adam Kubler, Employment Services Coordinator, New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities (NJCDD) and including presenters Lara Schwager, Founding Principal LJS Consulting and Development and Thomas Witherel, AIA, NCARB, | Vice President of Design & Architecture | BNE Real Estate Group.
The panel discussed how early collaboration between the service provider, developer, and architect created opportunities to integrate accessibility features, smart-home supports, and remote support options into the building’s design.
- Aligning development and service goals from inception
- Ensuring lived experience informs design decisions
- Incorporating enabling technology to expand independence
- Leveraging supportive housing projects to advance broader affordability objectives
This housing model—and the collaborative approach behind it—
guides Life | Home | Tech’s planning for future developments and the expansion of remote support options throughout the community.
JSDD sponsored an exhibit table that showcased how Life | Home | Tech uses enabling technology to help individuals discover greater independence at home, in the community, and in their daily lives.
- Remote support systems
- Smart-home safety technologies
- Medication supports
- Environmental controls
- Daily-living prompting and coaching tools
- …can be customized to best support each person to meet their goals.
Many attendees asked to tour the demonstration home, to see the technology in action and explore how it may benefit the people they support. Additional services now being offered are:
- Consulting services for organizations, developers, and municipalities
- Classes and workshops to train older adults, adults with IDD, staff, families, and caregivers
- Professional development for agencies seeking to incorporate enabling technology and remote supports into their service models
As more providers and builders look to embed technology into supportive housing and aging-in-place initiatives, Life | Home | Tech is committed to being a regional leader and resource in this essential work.
The SHA Conference reinforced the importance of early collaboration in shaping the future of supportive, inclusive housing. Life | Home | Tech remains dedicated to assisting older adults and adults with IDD reach their personal goals for independence—using technology as a powerful tool for self-determination, safety, and connection.
The conversations will continue as visitors come to the demonstration home, and as partnerships grow with organizations who share JSDD’s vision for a more inclusive, tech-enabled future.
We are grateful to our funder The Inclusive Healthy Communities grant program and the Division for Disability Services for their ongoing support of our mission. Their understanding of our program’s goals, along with their commitment to fostering community partnerships, plays a critical role in advancing this important work.