Independence is not thought of in a physical sense. It has more to do with feeling independent, being in control of your own life, and having sufficient self-esteem to actively pursue a chosen lifestyle. The essence of citizen ship contains rights and responsibilities directly pointing to participation in and contribution to society. This involvement should be controlled by the individual. In some cases it may be enough to appoint someone else to worry about certain aspects of development and management, but that does not detract from the value base that says there should be room for an individual's input and direction within all aspects of service development and management.
Personal resources refer to the inner strengths which are continually supported and enhanced.
Community resources refers to external resources such as wheelchair accessible transportation, housing, or access to employment, which are the necessary ingredients for living in a community. Canada had a well developed self-advocacy track record. This led to the creation and mobilization of Independent Living Centres. In the medical rehabilitation field, independent living became the goal of life skills development programs. Another rehabilitation centre runs a program aimed at teaching blind people how to function on their own.