Our objective is not to run the lives of people with disabilities but to support people to run their own lives. 

Our Mission

To assist people in developing and maintaining the self-direction of their services and supports, fosters and grows community connections and relationships, and values the ambitions and goals of the people we support by joining in their pursuits and sharing in their successes. In doing so we inspire systemic change.

Who We Are

Shared Support Maryland, Inc. is a statewide nonprofit that provides person-directed, customized support and services to people regardless of impact of disability. We are one of several dozen agencies in the country offering this type of support.

Shared Support Maryland’s defining characteristic is our ability to balance rigor and flexibility. Because life can sometimes be achieved in surprising and unplanned ways, we seek to balance: 

  • The discipline of person-directed planning and our commitment to be fully responsive to people’s changing needs; 

  • The importance of the dignity of risk and human rights; and, 

  • Transparency and accountability with the determination to support people in creative ways.

What We Do

We support people to live the lives of their choosing. People live in their own homes, alone, or with people whom they choose. People hire, are the employer of record and are in charge of their own support staff, hold jobs that pay a living wage, and spend their time in activities of their choosing.

  • Self-Directed Services

  •  The Training and Development Institute

What People Say

"I felt that a lot of the tools are manageable and something I can and will do."

— Training Participant

"I personally came in with an expectation and [SSMD] exceeded all of them."

— SSMD Participant

We do things differently. 

We are proud of our commitment to providing respectful and personalized supports. We could not do this without the support of our friends, donors, grantors and funders, people who make decisions for themselves, master skills for life and work, and make real contributions to the world.