WATERLOO - It has been a decade since a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling guaranteed Eric Donat a path out of state institutions and into community care.

Donat, who lives in Waterloo, said he is thankful for the decision handed down from the Supreme Court in Olmstead v. L.C. and E.W. It created an "integration mandate" that requires states to place people with disabilities out of institutions and into community homes when state professionals deem it appropriate.

"In institutions, people's freedom is decided. Things are done to a person, not for them or with them," he said. "My life is my choice. I decide the what, when and where, and how and why, of my life."

Yet Donat, who uses a motorized wheelchair, said much work remains. Access to buildings, adequate transportation, particularly during winter months, or simply the ability to carry his groceries home, remain obstacles in his quest to integrate fully into his community.

Advocates and social service professionals gathered at the Pinecrest building on Monday to celebrate the court decision. The heads of some of Cedar Valley's nonprofit agencies for the elderly and disabled said the state's system, while improved, falls short in providing widely available home care because of a lack of resources and funding.

Donna Harvey, director of Hawkeye Valley Area Agency on Aging, always wears a red bracelet that reads, "There's no place like home." She said the bracelet represents the goal to give every person who wants to live in their own home an opportunity to so.

"I look around and think Iowa is a very progressive state, but then I see what others are doing. We should be embarrassed to see how far behind we are in keeping people in their own homes," she said.

Maintaining a sense of independence and dignity for herself and others drives Teri Jorgensen of Waterloo, who works for Mix 96.1 FM. Born with spina bifida, which occurs when a baby's spine fails to close in the first months of pregnancy, Jorgensen started using a wheelchair seven years ago.

She said she volunteers with Waterloo's disability commission to ensure wheelchair access to buildings and frequently speaks publicly about disability rights. She noted that the even the Pinecrest building where the event was held did not provide easy wheelchair access.

"I feel I've been put on this earth to be that voice. Not all people are born with a disability. A disability can happen to anyone at any point in time in life. It could be you," she said.