Our history
On My Own of Michigan is a nonprofit founded in 1997 by parents of young adults with developmental disabilities. These families were looking for, but could not find, independent living options for their children.
After much consideration and planning, they worked together to create the option they had searched so long for: a supportive, inclusive community that allowed their children to live the lives of their dreams.
In our nearly 25 years of service to the metro Detroit community, we’ve helped individuals with autism, Down syndrome and other cognitive impairments achieve and maintain independence.
Take a look at our community’s current demographics.
Our vision
Our vision is to be the first-choice community in metro Detroit for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Take a look at how we plan to achieve our vision.
Our mission
Our mission is to support individuals with developmental disabilities as they build and maintain their independence.
Our promise to you
When working with us, we promise to:
- serve as your one-stop shop for independent living support—if you have a question, we’ll find the answer for you,
- offer you peace of mind and be there when you need us, and
- connect you with peers and help you build long-lasting friendships.
As we do this work, we want you to feel like:
- you matter to us,
- we’re a trusted partner,
- you’re making a good investment, and
- you’re working with experts.
Our commitment to equity
Each of us should have the opportunity to live our best life.
At the core of our mission to support individuals with developmental disabilities as they live their best lives is our commitment to equity.
Unfortunately, not all have
access to the same opportunities.
Some of us are advantaged simply because of the color of our skin, our gender
identity, our religious beliefs, our sexual orientation, our age, our bank
account balance or our abilities.
And some of us are excluded from opportunities simply because we do not have
those same advantaged characteristics.
We therefore see it as our duty to identify and eliminate any barriers within our organization that negatively impact our community’s ability to live our best lives.
To fulfill our commitment to
equity, we prioritize the following in our daily work:
- recruiting a diverse community of members, staff and board trustees by networking in many different communities,
- making our member, staff and board trustee application processes open and accessible to all,
- including screening questions about an individual’s commitment to equity throughout our staff and board trustee hiring processes,
- seeking the perspectives of our diverse community when making organizational decisions,
- asking ourselves how bias might be impacting our perspectives, policies and practices,
- growing our understanding and ability to identify our implicit biases and how they show up in our organization by engaging in group learning and discussion, and
- being transparent about the inner workings of our organization, including sharing our financial results, salary ranges, decision-making processes and demographic data widely.
We know this is work that is neither easy nor a one-and-done. It is work that we must commit to each day and throughout our organizational life.
And as we do this work, we welcome you to join us.