Dan Maletz’s desire was to always be independent and the 32 year-old has been working toward that goal since he was a young man. Dan, who entered The Arc of Howard County’s residential program in 2013, first lived at Fairhaven in Jessup before moving to Dorsey Search in 2015. “I advocate for myself,” he said. “I posted on Facebook and said I wanted to move. I told my parents I liked where I was living (Fairhaven), but it was too remote.”

          Being the active guy that he is, Dan wanted to have access to places and activities, so moving to Leyden Way in Dorsey Search gave him that opportunity. “I am an independent guy! I wanted to be able to walk to places; go to the shopping center; ride the bus,” he explained. Dan’s zest for independent living has blossomed in other areas of his life too! “I really like astronomy and going to star parties,” he said. “I enjoy going out to dinner and going to movies and hanging out with my girlfriend, Margaret.” Dan is very much looking forward to a trip he is taking to Texas in late April. He will go with Margaret to Fort Worth to participate in a very special family event. “We are going to see Margaret’s cousin’s son receive his very first communion,” he said.

          Dan, who currently works at Harris Teeter in Fulton, is also supported by Humanim during the day. When he is at Humanim he has more opportunities to do some of the things that are important to him. “I really like my program at Humanim,” he said. “I have favorite things to do at Humanim. I like to do math problems and interact with the people.” Dan still has some very specific goals he would like to accomplish going forward which are very similar to what any of us would want for our lives. “I have a driver’s license so one day I would like to own my own car…and I would really like to have a place of my own too!”