I and its attributes

I want to open my door.

I want to be able to invite a friend to stay over.

I want to open my blinds.

I want to be part of my community.

I don’t have a Rota blue-tacked to my wall,

I don’t expect to find one anywhere at all,

If the telephone is ringing, I pick up to see who calls,

I don’t have great big posters about slips and trips and falls.

I decide what happens, when I go to bed, or eat,

I decide who enters in, which people I will greet,

I decide on furniture, which bed, which bath, which seat,

I decide the temperature and when to turn up heat.

All the things around my house, they all belong to me,

I don’t have strangers coming in changing channels on TV,

All the post I get is opened by the addressee,

I have dominion in my castle, I have privacy.

I don’t use my home for meetings, training or interviews,

The colours in my carpet are my favourite chosen hues,

All records kept about me are accurate and true,

And if I really want to I will own 100 shoes!

I will make my choices; I will make my own decisions,

And any plan I make contains my own wishes and visions,

Any person in my home is only here by my permission,

No office do I have here, no rules and no restrictions.

I decide who to employ to a vacant situation,

I decide on where to store my medication,

I have the right to keep my Mother out of my accommodation,

And I don’t need a weekly fire evacuation.

No risk assessment stops me from trying something new,

I make my own mind up about everything I do,

When I need support I will let you know if it is you,

Hands off! It’s my home! Or Sam Sly and I will sue. Hands off, it’s My Home is a poem by Adrian Kennedy,