In 2024, Richard Caouette was eager to move out of the Worcester nursing home he had lived in for more than four years. But the 66-year-old man with epilepsy was stuck, sharing space with a roommate, surrounded by medical equipment.
Two years later, Caouette’s life couldn’t be more different. He lives in a group home on a quiet street in Northborough, where around-the-clock aides help him with daily living. He has his own room, decorated with Patriots’ posters. On Sundays, he watches football.
Caouette is one of the beneficiaries of a *settlement prompted by a federal lawsuit filed in 2022 against the state of Massachusetts arguing that thousands of disabled people were being left to languish in nursing homes who could otherwise live in the community.
*Justice in Aging filed the lawsuit alongside Center for Public Representation, Greater Boston Legal Services, and Foley Hoag LLP
