Independent Living Centre Kingston

Kurt Halliday | Jul 30, 2015

Resources and support for people with disabilities

Independent Living is a world-wide movement of people with disabilities working together to create resources and support for themselves. It is often considered a key part of the disability sector, as its focus is on the “whole person”, empowerment, and self-direction.

Delivered through Independent Living Centres, “IL” programs are designed to connect with the personal experience and need of the consumer. They tend to be longer-term and more wide-ranging than most human services programs. They also connect with community services such as medical, employment, volunteering, educational, housing, justice or seniors services.

Core programs at IL Centres are Independent Living Skills, Information and Networking, Peer Support and Community Development.

IL Skills include disability management and is designed to assist individuals and families in personal change especially - gaining awareness, developing life and social skills, building plans, taking action and whatever else it takes to change one’s life for the better.

Information and Networking often connects with IL Skills as it assists individuals and families in understanding how services work in the community, getting and using information, completing applications and working with practitioners whose assistance is required.

Peer Support is not only a program connecting individuals at a drop-in or dinner club - it’s also how things work at an IL Centre, which is an organization of people with Independent Living Centre Kingston 2 Resources and Support for People with Disabilities. Mentoring of people new to disability, giving real support to those becoming disabled, and grappling with barriers is our daily work.

Community Development, for Independent Living, means building IL into community services and assisting partner agencies or practitioners in understanding the value of consumer-direction (learning for oneself, taking ownership of a situation, connecting one’s person or one’s life to a process).

IL Centres may deliver other programs designed to build accessibility, consumer-direction, better living supports, co-operation and self-exploration.

Ontario’s “Self-Managed Attendant Services”, for instance, makes it possible for persons with mobility barriers to employ and manage their own attendants.

The Canada-wide “Navigating the Waters” project supported individuals seeking employment with wage subsidies, training dollars and longer-term personal assistance when it came to barriers in daily living.

Unique projects helping seniors and others with disabilities who are isolated are an essential component at many centres.

Workshops providing information and awareness, personal connections and practical experience about many topics are in development at IL Kingston.

IL Centres are often hubs connecting agencies and peer groups when it comes to fundamental living issues such as poverty, isolation, gaps in service, disability, abuse, addiction, underemployment and many other issues.

IL Centres are places where accessibility and accommodation, safe and confidential self exploration, co-operation and creativity make a very big difference for thousands of individuals with disabilities and their families each year.

Independent Living Canada, our national office, can be found on the Internet at www.ilcanada.ca. Our regional centre, in Kingston, can be found at www.ilckingston.com or 613-542-8353.

This article is provided by Independent Living Centre Kingston. It is intended to support self-awareness and community change. It is not intended as professional advice and is not meant to replace services by medical, legal or other practitioners. For more information, call 613-542-8353 or visit www.ilckingston.com.