Centers for Independent Living Change Lives

ANGELA LUNDY
"I am living proof that CILs are making dreams come true." 

I am a person who is deaf and a leader thanks to the support of Centers for Independent Living (CILs) in Pennsylvania.  My first experience with CILs was at Liberty Resources in Philadelphia.  I met the staff and felt that I was special and understood.  I saw people with disabilities working in an office environment and collaborating with other organizations to help others like me.  

My life has been an amazing journey. When I became deaf in 1995, the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation visited my bedside in rehab and started working with me.  We wrote plans for me to be self-employed and initiated my enrollment into the Workshop Academy at Liberty Resources.  Now, a few years later I've achieved my goals and I'm making a difference.  

I'm the founder and executive director of the Interfaith Specialty Services, Inc. (www.ISSINC.org).  We are a faith-based community outreach program uniquely serving people with disabilities by assisting churches, theological seminaries and organizations in the "how to's" of reaching those of us with disabilities.  

I'm proud that my organization is now one of those collaborating with CILs.  The "In New Hands" staff at Three Rivers Center for Independent Living helped me establish a similar program that gives free devices and rehabilitation equipment to people in need.  Through my experiences with CILs I've achieved so much.  I'm the first fellow who is deaf in the National Afro-American Women's Leadership Institute and I completed the Gallup University coursework in leadership.  I've learned firsthand that CILs are like a circle of helping hands, all connected to empower us to achieve.   I am living proof CILs are helping to make dreams come true!  

GILLIAN WITHEY

This Saturday I will graduate from Edinboro University with a Bachelors Degree in Social Science and a Minor in Music.  Like many 23-year olds I'm focusing on finding a job, starting my career and living independently.  This is an exciting time in my life, but things would be very different without the help of a Center for Independent Living (CIL).  

Unlike most of my college classmates I have Epilepsy with daily seizures.  Sometimes I need special care after one occurs, which makes being alone and living independently difficult.   

About five years ago I contacted my local CIL.  The staff helped me enroll in a state program to receive attendant care services.  Now, instead of being home alone I have an attendant with me.  The CIL also helped me learn how to manage my attendants and improve my problem solving skills.  I also get help from my seizure-alert dog, Piper.  He is trained to sense when a seizure may be coming on, and knows how to help me when one occurs.  

My CIL has empowered me to make my own choices in life.  I'm able to go to class, enjoy accomplishments and new experiences.  One of those experiences will be accepting my diploma and starting an amazing new chapter in my life.  If I'd never visited a Center I know my dreams would be much harder to achieve.   

VINI PORTZLINE

Eighteenyears ago when my son was three-years old, I acquired a spinal cord injury.  After spending six months in a rehabfacility, my doctor recommended I move into a nursing home "for the integrity" of my family.  I wondered if this doctor would do the same...separate himself from his spouse and child, his work, or his life as he knew it because of an injury.  

With the help of my family and the advocates from a Center for Independent Living (CIL), I moved not to a nursing home, but back to my own home.  The CIL provided invaluable support services that gave me the confidence to continue being a mother and in keeping our family together.  Because of the CIL, I currently work part-time as an advocate. My son is now twenty-one and I'm grateful to have been there for him and my husband. Can you imagine my life today without the CIL and if I had listened to my doctor and lived the past eighteen years in a nursing home?   

LYNDA WILLIAMS

If it wasn't for my local Center for Independent Living (CIL) I would be in a nursing home today.  I had a spinal cord injury from a car accident eighteen years ago and I use a wheelchair.  After rehab I was living on my own, but the attendant care services were so bad that I was about to give up and move into a nursing home before age 50.  
 
My life changed when I met a CIL employee and I quickly learned they will do anything they can to help people.  With his assistance I enrolled in the Community Services Program for Persons with Physical Disabilities (CSPPPD) through the Dept. of Public Welfare.  Today, I have great attendants who help me with daily living activities and, most importantly, they're at my apartment enough hours a day that I don't have to live in fear.
 
Thanks to the CIL I'm enjoying life, especially spending time with my grandson.  Not constantly worrying about ending up in a nursing home has given me more self-esteem and a renewed feeling of empowerment.  For example, last month I used a PennDOT program to get a ride to the polls.   That state program wouldn't exist without the advocacy of CILs.  I also earned a Bachelors Degree in psychology and sociology a few years ago.  I'm using my education and passion as an active volunteer with the Northeast Pa. Center for Independent Living and in the community to help other people with disabilities live more independently.   

CHARLES RHOADS

I'm a 53-year-old man with Spina Bifida who moved out of a nursing home and back into the community thanks to a Center for Independent Living. It's one of the many ways my life has changed in recent years.   
 
In 2001, my 14-year career in the accounts receivable department of Hershey Foods ended when hundreds of us were laid off.  Later, I twice moved into a nursing home because of wounds incurred living independently without personal care attendant services.   
 
My second time living in the nursing facility I met with the dedicated staff of a Center for Independent Living.  They helped me enroll in a state program that provides the personal care attendants I need.  Since my native Lebanon County had a long waiting list for public housing, the Center helped me find housing in Schuylkill Haven.  I've lived in my own apartment there for nearly 2-years.
 
I love having my independence back.  Living in the community gives me the freedom I lost in the nursing home.  I can go to the store to buy the food I want, get to doctors appointments on time, and come and go as I choose, not when someone else tells me.
 
Today, I'm searching for a job, preferably in accounting.  I'm excited about getting back to work, taking on the responsibilities that come with it, and further expanding my independence.   These are all opportunities made possible by my local Center for Independent Living.

© 2008 Pennsylvania Statewide Independent Living Council · Ste 100, 2 N Second St · Harrisburg, PA 17101

www.pasilc.org · (Phone) 717-364-1732 · (Fax) 717-236-8800 · (TTY) 717-236-5733

–A governor appointed leadership organization of people with disabilities –

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