Jensen: My name is Jensen Caraballo,
and I am a proud 26-year-old person
with a disability.
I was born with spinal muscular atrophy type 2,
which is a neuro-muscular disability
that affects my muscles.
When I was fifteen years old,
I was forced to live in an institution.
I was told I'd only have to be there a month,
I ended up living there
five years, ten months, and five days.
I was in the foster care system at the time,
and they decided to place me in the nursing home,
even though I didn't want to be there.
I remember the first day I moved into the facility
like it was yesterday.
It was the day after Halloween in 2005.
All I had was a box, and nothing else.
I just sat in my room for hours,
not knowing what to say or do.
All I kept thinking to myself was,
"I can't wait to get out of here."
A month had passed,
and there was no sign of me getting out.
I was completely discouraged,
especially after meeting some of the residents
that had been there for years.
I met people who were institutionalized for decades.
Some people were there for 30 years or more.
There were even babies and toddlers living there.
Most of the people I met
ended up dying at the nursing home.
According to a report
by the Technical Assistance Collaborative,
more than 200,000 non-elderly people with disabilities
in the U.S. currently reside in nursing facilities.
This is what I was surrounded by,
and it terrified me.
I didn't want to live out the rest of my life
in an institution, but this is the message
that was constantly being portrayed to me.
I was able to go to high school
while I was institutionalized.
My aide would get me up and ready every morning,
and the bus would pick me up at the facility.
But living in an institution isn't something
that I wanted to share with many people in school.
How do you explain to people
that you have to live in a nursing home?
In 2009, when I was eighteen,
I graduated from high school,
and for the first time
realized I had other living options
after talking to a friend of mine that worked at
the Center for Disability Rights (CDR).
That's when I decided to fight for my freedom.
CDR supported me throughout the entire transition.
I regained my freedom after 2,135 days
of being institutionalized.
I now live in my very own apartment.
I make my own decisions.
I pay my own bills.
I do my own thing.
Yet, my fight is far from over.
Our fight is far from over.
With the help of activists of yesterday,
today, and tomorrow,
we can create a world where people
with disabilities are free.
But it's important our country listens to our stories.
Hear our cries for freedom.
Join us as allies in the Independent Living
and Disability Rights movements.
Written and directed by Jensen Caraballo.
Special thanks to Chris Wood,
Maria Acosta, Joe Stone, Tim Wheat, and Julian Hiler.
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