Independence Empowerment Center

I was introduced before I even arrived and have been received very warmly. I feel thoroughly welcomed and quite at home already! Thank you.

Independence Empowerment Center did have a spell where they were short-staffed, but it is with great admiration that I say those who were (and are) on staff did a fantastic job in running the Center and continuing to offer our important services. They each did far more than they expected to do when they took their jobs, so, many thanks go out to Louisa Hurley, Roberta McEachern, Connie Sampson and Gretchen Fox.

With their loads somewhat lightened, I believe the Center will be able to take on a few more things. It is important to note, however, that as we incorporate new things, we must always keep in mind the roots of the Independent Living Movement. Central to the movement’s philosophy are two things: the goal of helping people with disabilities reach their own independent living goals, and the idea of consumer control or — “Nothing about us without us.”

Living independently — this can happen in so many different ways, and can be facilitated in so many different ways, including through the use of advocacy. There are times when we might be denied our rights because of the attitudinal barriers placed in front of us by others. How do we then advocate for ourselves? Our Center can help. Putting our heads together, we should be able to come up with approaches that are within the range of basic common sense all the way through to truly innovative, to tackly those attitudinal barriers.

We are also here to help with information and referral, as discussed by Connie Sampson, later in this newsletter, or through technology, as Gretchen discusses or through the process of acquiring approval for having a personal assistant come to our home, which is the primary job of Roberta.

And, we can also help, just be providing a listening ear. Many times, we have no role models for living with a disability. Unlike skin color or height or other such traits, our disabilities often come to us without benefit of having them demonstrated to us by family members. At IEC, you can come and chat with others with disabilities in ways that say there is a shared understanding.

Please know we are here for you, and in saying that, I hope you will join us in making Independence Empowerment Center a place for all with disabilities.

From Winter 2006 Newsletter

by Mary D. Lopez, Ph.D., Executive Director