Specialty Placements

I am the guardian of a wonderful gentleman, Andrew B. Andrew has many problems, but mostly his problem is that he has dementia at the age of 43. This makes his placement extremely difficult because what 43 year old man wants to live at a nursing home? He's left several nursing homes in the past. So the hospital social worker and I embarked on a nine month Odyssey to get Andrew into a placement. Poor Andrew, meanwhile, was at the hospital the entire time.
Luckily, however, Andrew went to Leeway in New Haven Connecticut on Wednesday. Leeway is a wonderful placement for those with HIV. I've been speaking with the social workers this last week getting Andrew settled into his new home. They have volunteers to take him clothing shopping (wonderful, since he's been wearing a hospital johnny for the last nine months), activities, and all sorts of therapies. I'm going to visit Andrew next Friday and I can't wait to see Leeway in person.
Andrew posed a challenge because he falls into a group of people who are not served by our current health care system. As a younger gentleman it is assumed he can live on his own. However, Andrew cannot remember to feed himself and needs reminders to take his complex regimen of HIV medication. What happens to those of us who cannot take care of ourselves but are not elderly? While I don't agree with the State facilities where the incapacitated were housed in previous generations, unfortunately, few organizations or placements have stepped in to take their place. So there is a generation of those with head injuries, early onset dementia, or other major health issues that have few options for skilled care other than nursing homes with the elderly.
My hope is that some day we find a middle ground between locking up the incapacitated among us and leaving them to fend for themselves. Neither is a good option.