Creative Caring: The Vita-living Story

Creative Caring is the story of one determined family whose son, Ricky, had intellectual disabilities so severe that the typical resources of a community were not available to him. Finding that situation intolerable, they fought relentlessly to create a caring community for Ricky and hundreds of others. Vita Living fought bureaucratic hurdles, abuse from the community, and serious economic challenges so it was brought to the edge of collapse. The goal was to obtain a coveted license to open the first small community-based home in Texas to provide life long care for people with severe mental retardation and behaviors. Despite being told it was impossible, Renee successfully pursued her dream.

This memoir, a reflection on her over 40 years of working with children and adults with intellectual disabilities, is a call to action for our society to consider the welfare of all, not only the able bodied.

Creative Caring is the story of how Renee and Stan turned the challenges their family faced into triumph. But even more, it's the story of how they succeeded in creating a more generous and nurturing environment for an entire population who has much to contribute to the world around them

Renee Wallace has spent most of her 40-year career caring for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Michigan, New York, and Texas. She and her husband, Stanford Wallace, had four children, including a son with severe disabilities. His extensive needs were the impetus for starting Vita-Living