The Independent Living Philosophy
Taken from the February, 2021 edition of INvision, newsletter of the Division of Disability and Rehabilitation Services. The article was written by Amy Luellen, Bureau of Rehabilitation Services Liaison to the Centers for Independent Living.
The independent living philosophy
To empower people with disabilities with the freedom to make personal choices
The pathway to independence for an individual with disabilities can be difficult to navigate. Individuals often face difficulty in finding relevant information, in connecting with the appropriate governmental and community-based agencies, and in obtaining the needed services, assistive technology and skills training to live independently. People with disabilities can face discrimination and lowered expectations which also hinder independence.
Centers for Independent Living are great assets in navigating the path to independence. CILs are non-residential organizations that work with and alongside individuals with all kinds of disabilities to create and live the life of their choosing. According to the Administration for Community Living, the federal agency that provides oversight for the community living programs, centers for independent living “work to support community living and independence for people with disabilities across the nation based on the belief that all people can live with dignity, make their own choices, and participate fully in society. These programs provide tools, resources and supports for integrating people with disabilities fully into their communities to promote equal opportunities, self-determination and respect.”
The independent living philosophy believes that people with disabilities are the best experts on their own needs. Centers seek to empower people with disabilities with the freedom to make personal choices and with the goal of making communities places where all people can live, receive an education, work, play and participate in community activities.
In Indiana, there are ten federally and state-recognized Centers for Independent Living. Like their counterparts across the nation, these centers are consumer-controlled, community-based, cross-disability, nonresidential, private nonprofit agencies that are designed and operated within a local community by individuals with disabilities. At a minimum, 51% of staff are persons with disabilities and 51% of each board of directors are persons with significant disabilities.
Each of Indiana’s CILs serve a defined area of the state and structure its services based on the needs of the local communities. However, there are five core services that all CILs provide:
Information and Referral: Centers assist by providing information and referral on the variety of issues affecting people with disabilities such as direct services, community resources and available options.
Peer Counseling: Peer counselors or peer advocates, who have achieved independence and community integration, share knowledge and experiences. By virtue of their disability-related experience, people with disabilities are uniquely qualified to assist their peers in problem-solving and living independently.
Independent Living Skills Training: This service helps individuals to gain the personal living skills and service supports necessary to overcome obstacles that could prevent them from remaining in their homes and communities. Learning to cook from a wheelchair, finding and using accessible adaptive technology, money management and employment readiness classes are all examples of Independent Living Skills training.
Advocacy: Teaching people to advocate for themselves is critically important to independent living. Teaching advocacy empowers individuals to act on their own behalf and to move past the accepted norms of dependency. In addition, centers advocate for systemic change so that communities, states and the nation become barrier-free and enable all people to live, work and play as they choose. Examples of systemic advocacy include petitioning for lifts on buses, accessible buildings and businesses, and laws to prevent discrimination.
Transition Services: Centers work to transition people with disabilities out of institutions (if that is their choice), work to keep at risk people out of institutions and work with young adults as they transition from school to work.