Path2Independence – Agenzija Sapport

Background

Young adults with disabilities often face limited opportunities to develop independent living skills, particularly when living in residential settings or under overprotective care with parents. This gap in service provision can hinder autonomy and community integration. Therefore, some youth might be interested in living independently but have never had the opportunity of trying it out. Youth who live in a residential setting or with caregivers, can get a taste of what independent living requires. Young adults living at home especially those who face overprotectiveness from family or have limited chances to explore independence.


Objective

Path2Independence is a 3-day experiential pilot designed to support youth with disabilities who aspire to live independently but have never had the opportunity to try. It bridges a critical gap by offering a structured, short-term live-in experience combined with professional support and evaluation.

The Path2Independence pilot project aims to provide a structured, experiential learning opportunity for youth aspiring to live independently. The initiative seeks to foster confidence, skill acquisition, and self-determination through real-life practice.


What makes it a good practice:

  • Evidence-Informed Approach: Based on Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory, the project uses real-life experience as a foundation for skill development and reflection.
  • Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, and Youth Workers work together to provide holistic support from different perspectives, ensuring physical, emotional, and social needs are addressed.
  • Structured Evaluation: Skills assessment during the live-in informs future support plans and service development.
  • Person-centred approach.

Method

The three-day pilot combines informal preparatory meetups, a supported live-in experience, and post-intervention evaluations. An interdisciplinary team—comprising Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, and Youth Workers—assesses participants’ current abilities, identifies support needs, and facilitates reflective learning. Therefore, the journey starts with a series of meet ups so that the pair of youth get to know each other in an informal way and prepare for the journey ahead. It is being organised by an interdisciplinary team of Social Workers, Occupational Therapists and Youth Workers, as well as the Family Support Unit and Transition Team. The professionals will be present during parts of the live-in to assess the current skills of the participants and identify the support needs required moving forward. The data collection includes observational recordings, ADL performance measures, and qualitative feedback from participants and caregivers.


Intervention Components:

  • Informal Meetups: Build rapport and prepare participants for the live-in.
  • Supported Live-In: Safe environment to practice independent living skills. Supervised independent living trial.
  • Evaluation & Follow-Up: Identify strengths, areas for growth, and support needs.
  • Ongoing Collaboration: Sustain progress through continued engagement.

Expected Outcomes

Enhanced autonomy, improved daily living skills, and strengthened empowerment processes. Findings will inform scalable models for community-based transition programs. We’re empowering young people to gain confidence, skills, and the freedom to thrive independently.

This project an opportunity for experiential learning in practice. This theory by Kolb uses experience as the source of learning and development.


Significance

This project represents a replicable good practice for bridging the gap between dependence and independence, aligning with contemporary social work, youth work and occupational therapy frameworks. It demonstrates how experiential interventions can promote inclusion, resilience, and rights-based empowerment for youth with disabilities.


Outcome

The first cohort of participants provided positive feedback about the overall experience, as it provided them with an initial exposure to the meaning of living independently. They also suggested to increase the duration of the live-in and reduce the staff to service-user ratio at one time.


Impact

This project demonstrates how short-term, experiential interventions can foster independence, reduce family overprotection, and inform long-term transition planning. It serves as a replicable model for inclusive, community-based service innovation bridging the gap between dependent living and independent adulthood.