What is Independent Living?
Most Americans take for granted opportunities they have regarding living arrangements, employment situations, means of transportation, social and recreational activities, and other aspects of everyday life.
For many Americans with disabilities; however, barriers in their communities take away or severely limit choices. These barriers may be obvious, such as lack of ramped entrances, lack of interpreters or captioning, or lack of brailled or taped copies of printed materials. Other barriers - frequently less obvious - can be even more limiting to efforts to live independently, and can result from people's misunderstandings and prejudices about disability. These barriers result in low expectations about what people with disabilities can achieve.
This need not occur. Millions of people all over America who experience disabilities have established lives of independence. They fulfill all kinds of roles in their communities: employers and employees, marriage partners, parents, students, athletes, politicians, taxpayers, etc. - an unlimited list. In most cases, the barriers facing them haven't been removed, but these individuals have been successful in overcoming or at least dealing with them.
A Definition of Independent Living
Independent Living is having opportunities to make decisions that affect one's life and being able to pursue activities of one's own choosing - limited only in the same ways that as for people without disabilities.
Independent living should not be defined in terms of living on one's own, being employed in a job fitting one's capabilities and interests, or having an active social life. These are aspects of living independently. Independent living has to do with self-determination. It is having the right and the opportunity to pursue a course of action. And, it is having the freedom to fail - and to learn from one's failures.
How Centers for Independent Living (CILs) are Different
What makes CILs very different from other organizations is that Centers have substantial involvement of people with disabilities in oversight and service delivery. CILs have a board and staff makeup of at least 51% people with disabilities. Why this emphasis on control by people with disabilities? The basic idea is that people who know best how meet independent living needs are people with disabilities themselves.
The Independent Living Movement
In the late 1960's and early 1970's, this idea led people with disabilities from around the country to take active roles on local, state, and national levels in shaping decisions on issues affecting their lives. A major part of these activities involved the formation of community-based groups of people with different types of disabilities who worked together to identify barriers and gaps in service delivery. To address barriers, action plans were developed to educate communities and to influence policy makers at all levels to change regulations and to introduce barrier-removing legislation. A new method of service delivery was conceived -one which has people with disabilities determining the kinds of services essential to living independently, has people with disabilities directing the delivery of these services, and has people with disabilities providing these services.
The earliest Center for Independent Living was formed in 1972 in Berkeley, California, soon followed that same year by centers in Boston and Houston. In 1978, following effective advocacy by people with disabilities and their supporters all over the country, federal legislation was passed that provided funding to establish Centers for Independent Living (Title VII of the Rehabilitation Act). Today, there are Centers in virtually every state and U.S. territory).
Most Americans take for granted opportunities they have regarding living arrangements, employment situations, means of transportation, social and recreational activities, and other aspects of everyday life.
For many Americans with disabilities; however, barriers in their communities take away or severely limit choices. These barriers may be obvious, such as lack of ramped entrances, lack of interpreters or captioning, or lack of brailled or taped copies of printed materials. Other barriers - frequently less obvious - can be even more limiting to efforts to live independently, and can result from people's misunderstandings and prejudices about disability. These barriers result in low expectations about what people with disabilities can achieve.
This need not occur. Millions of people all over America who experience disabilities have established lives of independence. They fulfill all kinds of roles in their communities: employers and employees, marriage partners, parents, students, athletes, politicians, taxpayers, etc. - an unlimited list. In most cases, the barriers facing them haven't been removed, but these individuals have been successful in overcoming or at least dealing with them.
A Definition of Independent Living
Independent Living is having opportunities to make decisions that affect one's life and being able to pursue activities of one's own choosing - limited only in the same ways that as for people without disabilities.
Independent living should not be defined in terms of living on one's own, being employed in a job fitting one's capabilities and interests, or having an active social life. These are aspects of living independently. Independent living has to do with self-determination. It is having the right and the opportunity to pursue a course of action. And, it is having the freedom to fail - and to learn from one's failures.
How Centers for Independent Living (CILs) are Different
What makes CILs very different from other organizations is that Centers have substantial involvement of people with disabilities in oversight and service delivery. CILs have a board and staff makeup of at least 51% people with disabilities. Why this emphasis on control by people with disabilities? The basic idea is that people who know best how meet independent living needs are people with disabilities themselves.
The Independent Living Movement
In the late 1960's and early 1970's, this idea led people with disabilities from around the country to take active roles on local, state, and national levels in shaping decisions on issues affecting their lives. A major part of these activities involved the formation of community-based groups of people with different types of disabilities who worked together to identify barriers and gaps in service delivery. To address barriers, action plans were developed to educate communities and to influence policy makers at all levels to change regulations and to introduce barrier-removing legislation. A new method of service delivery was conceived -one which has people with disabilities determining the kinds of services essential to living independently, has people with disabilities directing the delivery of these services, and has people with disabilities providing these services.
The earliest Center for Independent Living was formed in 1972 in Berkeley, California, soon followed that same year by centers in Boston and Houston. In 1978, following effective advocacy by people with disabilities and their supporters all over the country, federal legislation was passed that provided funding to establish Centers for Independent Living (Title VII of the Rehabilitation Act). Today, there are Centers in virtually every state and U.S. territory).
5 Core Services
Information and Referral
Independent Living Skills Training
Peer Mentoring
Advocacy
Transition Services
Information and Referral
Independent Living Skills Training
Peer Mentoring
Advocacy
Transition Services
Contact SWCIL to request more information about our Independent Living Program,
request accommodations, or to obtain forms in alternate formats.
SWCIL OFFICE: 109 S 5th St. #700, Marshall, MN 56258
Phone: 507.532.2221 or 800.422.1485 (for MN Relay, dial 711)
Email: [email protected] Fax: 507.532.2222
request accommodations, or to obtain forms in alternate formats.
SWCIL OFFICE: 109 S 5th St. #700, Marshall, MN 56258
Phone: 507.532.2221 or 800.422.1485 (for MN Relay, dial 711)
Email: [email protected] Fax: 507.532.2222