If you have a success story about Mi Via to share, please contact us OR mail it to:

Mi Via Web Administrator
Elderly and Disability Services Division
Aging & Long Term Services Department
2550 Cerrillos Road
Santa Fe, NM  87505

Chris’ Mi Via Story
(added February 2010)

Hi, my name is Chris and I’m 24. That’s me in the picture.

I’m giving love to a puppy at the shelter where I volunteer. I can do this because Mi Via pays for me a driver. I get to do lots of things because Mi Via pays for me to have people... people who will watch over me and take me places and help me do things... like my job. I have a job coach who keeps me on task when I fold boxes at a pizza place for a couple of hours. I love my job. It might be a small job, but I feel very lucky to be able to work.

I used to have the standard waiver, but I have a lot of seizures—the kind that people can’t see. I say and do strange things at times and maybe I’m not safe being around a lot of people. So the regular waiver didn’t work for me and I had to wait at home for something else.

I live in the country and that meant I needed to find a program with transportation.

I did nothing for a long time. I gave up hope and thought I will die and never have a life, when someone said the magic words, "Mi Via."

It was hard at first to understand all the differences between the regular waiver and Mi Via but we had help putting our budget together. My home team says they are still learning how to do the paper things better.

Me, I have a life now... I work, go to the gym, see my doctors, eat out, see my friends from other services, volunteer with the animal shelter, maybe will go to Special Olympics. I’ve been in a parade to help raise money for the shelter. I passed out candy to people. Yes, I’m still very sick. But I can do all these things because I have my special person by my side at all times.

I love my life. Thank you Mi Via.