Toward Maximum Independence

Toward Maximum Independence Serving individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities, Deaf & Hard of Hearing, & veterans

We are advocates for the belief that disability does not mean inability. We believe that each person has an inherent dignity and unique self-worth. Our long-standing VISION is that all people enjoy full inclusion in the work place, community and society in general. Independence and self-responsibility are fostered by respect for the individual’s autonomy and by empowering the individual to make informed decisions. Everyone should have the opportunity to reach their potential competence with opportunities to perform functional and meaningful activities or work with support if needed to promote success. All people we support experience full inclusion in their daily lives in all aspects of community life. We believe that the three cornerstones of a strong life foundation are; living as independently as possible, having the opportunity for real work for real pay, and providing children and young adults with caring family homes with personalized supports.

Take a peek inside to see our 2025 holiday card, featuring a beautiful design by our incredibly talented client, Kelley....
12/23/2025

Take a peek inside to see our 2025 holiday card, featuring a beautiful design by our incredibly talented client, Kelley. We are so proud to showcase her creativity this season! πŸŽ¨πŸŽ„

As we look toward the new year, we invite you to learn how your support helps us continue transforming the lives of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. ❀️

➑️ View Card: https://www.tmi-inc.org/so/18PgKDr-K?languageTag=en

Greetings ~ As we reflect on the past year, our CEO Dr. Rachel Harris, our Board of Directors, and our entire staff want to extend our warmest holiday wishes to you and your loved ones. We are deeply honored to serve such a vibrant community. Our work is driven by the incredible individuals we serve...

Spreading some holiday cheer! πŸŽ„βœ¨ Our Toward Maximum Independence (TMI) Corona office had an absolute blast at their holi...
12/23/2025

Spreading some holiday cheer! πŸŽ„βœ¨ Our Toward Maximum Independence (TMI) Corona office had an absolute blast at their holiday party! πŸ₯³

A massive thank you to our dedicated staff! Your hard work and heart make events like this possible, ensuring our clients have a wonderful time and create lasting memories. ❀️

πŸ“Έ Special thanks to Angelina Rodriguez for capturing these beautiful moments!

✨  The Toward Maximum Independence (TMI) El Centro office had a great time at their holiday party! πŸŽ„ A true highlight of...
12/22/2025

✨ The Toward Maximum Independence (TMI) El Centro office had a great time at their holiday party! πŸŽ„ A true highlight of the day was a very special visit from Gabby and her service dog, Roxy! πŸΎπŸ“– They shared a beautiful Christmas story that brought so much joy and warmth to everyone in attendance. ❀️

A huge thank you to our entire El Centro team for your hard work in hosting such a fun and festive event. Your dedication ensures that our clients have a memorable and inclusive holiday season!

We also want to give a special shout-out to Priscilla Robles for capturing these moments. πŸ“Έ

What a festive day of celebration at the Toward Maximum Independence (TMI) Temecula office holiday party! πŸŽ„βœ¨ Our team tr...
12/22/2025

What a festive day of celebration at the Toward Maximum Independence (TMI) Temecula office holiday party! πŸŽ„βœ¨ Our team truly brought the magic this year, filling the day with exciting raffles, heartfelt birthday recognitions, presentations, a gift exchange, and dancing! πŸ’ƒπŸŽ

A special visit from Santa brought smiles to everyone in attendance! πŸŽ…πŸŒŸ We want to share a huge thank you to our dedicated staff for their hard work in making this such a joyful event for our clients. It’s your passion that makes our TMI community so special! ❀️

A big shout-out to Ana Provido for capturing these wonderful memories! πŸ“Έ

Look at these beautiful smiles! 🀩 Our TMI CONNECT group had a wonderful time getting creative and making crafts together...
12/17/2025

Look at these beautiful smiles! 🀩 Our TMI CONNECT group had a wonderful time getting creative and making crafts together. There is nothing better than seeing everyone’s personality shine through their handmade holiday art. πŸŽ¨πŸŽ„

A HUGE THANK YOU to Frances Johnson for leading these fun online events for our clients! βœ¨βœ‚οΈ

12/12/2025

❀️ So proud of some of our TMI Temecula groups who brought wonderful cheer to our community through caroling! 🎀🎢 They did a fantastic job at the following sites: Animal Friends of the Valleys 🐾 (the doggies singing! 😍) and Vineyard Place Memory Care. 🏑

A HUGE THANK YOU to our amazing DSPs (Direct Support Professionals) who made this possible: Elizabeth Flores, Heather Clapper, and Terri Brock. πŸŒŸπŸ™

A special shout-out to Elizabeth, who has faithfully helped set up and lead our Christmas Caroling for the past few years! Our clients truly shine ✨ and bring joy to everyone they visit. Great job! πŸŽ‰β›„οΈ



πŸŽ…βœ¨ What an electrifying night at the Temecula Santa's Electric Light Parade! 🀩 A massive shout-out and heartfelt THANK Y...
12/11/2025

πŸŽ…βœ¨ What an electrifying night at the Temecula Santa's Electric Light Parade! 🀩 A massive shout-out and heartfelt THANK YOU to our amazing DSPs and Managers who volunteered their time, creativity, and energy to make the TMI float shine! Your dedication truly lights up our community! 🌟

This wouldn't have been possible without the stellar coordination and hard work of our TMI Division Manager, Eva Prendes! Eva, thank you for leading the charge and for all your efforts! πŸ™ And for capturing these wonderful memories! πŸ“Έ

And, of course, a special round of applause for our client, Andrew, who totally nailed his role as The Grinch! πŸ’šπŸ‘

We are so proud of the TMI team and the spirit you showed! Happy holidays, everyone! 🎁

Our Hemet and San Jacinto team had a BLAST at the Hemet Christmas Parade! πŸŽ„This was our second successful year joining t...
12/09/2025

Our Hemet and San Jacinto team had a BLAST at the Hemet Christmas Parade! πŸŽ„This was our second successful year joining the fun, and we couldn't be prouder of our "Great Outdoors" float! πŸ•οΈ

A HUGE THANKS to our client Michael's parents for the trailer donation, and especially to TMI DSP Debbie Cuen and Michael's mom, Kathleen, for turning it into this masterpiece. We LOVE IT! ❀️

Shout out to all the participating staff and clients for representing TMI! Thank you to Sonia Luna-Vasquez for the awesome photos! πŸ“Έ

12/09/2025

We're bringing the holiday cheer and "The Great Outdoors" straight to your feed! Check out our reel from the Hemet Christmas Parade! πŸŽ„βœ¨ It was our second successful year participating and our team made a fantastic float! A HUGE THANK YOU to our client Michael's parents for letting us use the trailer, and the dream-team decorators: TMI DSP Debbie Cuen and Michael's mom, Kathleen! Seriously, best float ever! πŸ•οΈ

Thank you to all our amazing staff and clients who marched and brought the TMI spirit to life! And a special thanks to Sonia Luna-Vasquez for the awesome footage! We ❀️ you, Hemet!

Watch us roll! πŸŽ₯

πŸ“Έ Holiday party fun! πŸŽ„What an incredible time we had celebrating at the TMI San Diego/Escondido Client Holiday Party! Ou...
12/08/2025

πŸ“Έ Holiday party fun! πŸŽ„What an incredible time we had celebrating at the TMI San Diego/Escondido Client Holiday Party! Our photos and videos capture all the joy and festive spirit!

A massive thank you to our amazing DJ, Richard Samora, who kept the energy high and the dance floor packed! 🎢 You rock!

And of course, this fantastic event wouldn't have been possible without the dedication of our outstanding team:

β€’ Frances Johnson, thank you for your hard work organizing!
β€’ All of our wonderful volunteers and face painters!
β€’ Our committed Board members!

Thank you for making this event so much fun for our clients and staff. We are so grateful for everyone who pitched in! ❀️

Check out the photos below! πŸ‘‡

Today is International Day of Persons with Disabilities! ✨ In honor of this important day, we're sharing a powerful stor...
12/03/2025

Today is International Day of Persons with Disabilities! ✨ In honor of this important day, we're sharing a powerful story of resilience, growth, and independence.

➑️ Read how our team celebrated Wyatt's journey on the autism spectrum: https://www.tmi-inc.org/post/resilience-on-the-spectrum-tmis-surprise-party-honors-wyatts-journey-to-independence

It's a beautiful reminder of the courage it takes to pursue independence and the supportive community that makes it possible. ❀️

At Toward Maximum Independence (TMI), we believe that achieving independence is more than just learning new skillsβ€”it’s about having the right support to overcome life’s biggest challenges and celebrate every milestone. For our client Wyatt, a young man on the autism spectrum who has worked in...

❀️   is here! Please help us continue to transform the lives of children and adults with intellectual and developmental ...
12/02/2025

❀️ is here! Please help us continue to transform the lives of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. ✨ Donate to our Julie Casey Honorary Fund today: https://www.tmi-inc.org/julie-casey-fund

We thank you in advance! πŸ™

🌟 Mark your calendars for December 2! In two weeks, we'll be participating in to raise vital funds for our Julie Casey Honorary Fund! πŸ—“οΈβœ¨

We created this fund in honor of Julie Casey, a young woman with Down syndrome whom we were privileged to support for nearly eight years. Julie lived independently, worked at her local library, and her energy and enthusiasm were truly infectious. With her love for music and dance, she was often the life of any TMI special event! πŸ’ƒπŸŽΆ

Sadly, Julie passed away unexpectedly in 1996, just weeks before her 27th birthday. Her mother, Delores Casey, served on TMI’s Board for over ten years. Both Julie and Delores made a profound and lasting impact on everyone they met.

The Julie Casey Honorary Fund provides crucial cash grants to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are supported by TMI across our services:

🏑 Community Living Services: Grants help clients move from group homes to their own apartments, purchase essential items for independent living, or even buy a baby crib.

πŸ’Ό Employment Solutions: The fund assists clients with job hunting clothes and uniforms, bus passes, alarm clocks, and other necessities for employment success.

πŸ‘¨β€πŸ‘©β€πŸ‘§β€πŸ‘¦ Family Support: Grants have helped send children to summer camp, assist with medication costs, and purchase clothing.

Your support helps us honor Julie's all too brief life and helps us continue to make a real difference for the people we serve. We've been able to respond positively to hundreds of worthy applicants thanks to your generosity! πŸ™

Here are 4 ways you can support TMI this :

🎁 Donate directly to the fund at TMI-INC.ORG.

πŸ“’ Spread the word and raise awareness of the abilities of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities so our clients will be given more opportunities.

πŸ“± Share our posts and stories on social media to reach more hearts and hands.

πŸ‘¨β€πŸ‘©β€πŸ‘§β€πŸ‘¦ Become a TMI Resource Parent and make a difference in a child's life.

Thank you in advance for your incredible support! Let's make this a huge success for the Julie Casey Honorary Fund! ❀️

Address

4740 Murphy Canyon Road Ste 300
San Diego, CA
92123

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm

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Our Story

An estimated 1 in 6 people are born with an intellectual and/or developmental disability (IDD). Just like all of us, they are also born with hopes, dreams and the drive to contribute to society. Toward Maximum Independence (TMI) is a nonprofit organization that has been dedicated to transforming the lives of children and adults with IDD since 1981 and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing since 2000. The individuals we are privileged to serve deserve nothing less than love, acceptance and the opportunity to reach their full potential in life with opportunities to perform functional and meaningful activities or work with support if needed to promote success.

We believe that each person has an inherent dignity and unique self-worth. Our long-standing VISION is that all people enjoy full inclusion in the work place, community and society in general. It is our CORE VALUES that have always guided our work and continue to set the culture in our workplace, allowing us the privilege of providing services for our most vulnerable citizens, We are advocates for the belief that disability does not mean inability. Independence and self-responsibility are fostered by respect for the individual’s autonomy and by empowering the individual to make informed decisions. All people we support experience full inclusion in their daily lives in all aspects of community life. We believe that the three cornerstones of a strong life foundation are; living as independently as possible, having the opportunity for real work for real pay, and a safe and caring home. All Board members, volunteers and staff act with honesty, integrity and openness in all aspects of our work. We strive for excellence and commit to provide our clients with the highest quality of services. We work in an accessible manner to engage with all of our stakeholders to leverage available community resources to benefit our clients. We exercise responsible stewardship by maintaining effective governance and management practices. We generate adequate resources, manage resources effectively, support and recognize our volunteers and appropriately support and compensate staff. We strive for a healthy working environment for all employees and volunteers knowing that the organization benefits from an organizational family that is productive and enjoys a pleasant and positive workplace.

We are grateful to our clients and families for choosing our services and we look forward to many more years of providing innovative and trusted programs.