Disability Resource Center
CAL Philosophy
IL Philosophy l Commitment to Diversity l Email Privacy Policy
Independent Living Philosophy
Mission
The Center for Accessible Living is an innovative leader in empowering all people to achieve their goal of independent living while involving the entire community.
Independent Living Philosophy
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.
What is Independent Living? Essentially, it is living just like everyone else--having opportunities to make decisions that affect one's life, able to pursue activities of one's own choosing--limited only in the same ways that one's neighbors who do not have disabilities are limited. 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, just as people without disabilities do.
There are many different types of organizations which serve people with disabilities. These organizations provide valuable services and are important links in the network of services that help people with disabilities maintain independent lifestyles. What makes independent living centers very different from these other organizations is that centers have substantial involvement of people with disabilities making policy decisions and delivering services. Why this emphasis on control by people with disabilities? The basic idea behind independent living is that the ones who know best what services people with disabilities need in order to live independently are people with disabilities themselves. It is a shift from the medical model to the independent living model. This theory locates the real problems or 'deficiencies' in society, not the individual with a disability. The answers are to be found in changing society, not people with disabilities.
(Taken from An Orientation To Independent Living Centers, published by ILRU Research and Training Center on Independent Living at TIRR, Houston, Texas.)
Consumer Control
Consumers (individuals with disabilities) control all aspects of the Center including decision making, service delivery, management, administration and establishment of policy and direction. The Board of Directors, which establishes policy and direction for the Center, is composed of members from the local community, the majority of which are consumers. A majority of the management level staff are consumers. All of the peer counselors, a majority of the direct service staff and the majority of the overall staff members are consumers. There is a wide diversity of types of disabilities of Board and staff members including sensory, physical and cognitive categories. The Center maintains working relationships with, and staff are members of numerous consumer advocacy groups and organizations on the local, state and national levels. This provides an opportunity to receive additional input and feedback from consumers on the grassroots level. To the greatest extent possible, the Center attempts to recruit and utilize volunteers, support staff and instructors who are individuals with disabilities.
Our Commitment to Diversity
Diversity
We define diversity as the characteristics that make one individual different from another. Diversity not only reflects the world in which we live but also creates a dynamic work setting that fosters creativity, excellence, and ultimately, better service for our customers.
The Center for Accessible Living strives to ensure that all employees are appreciated, evaluated objectively and equitably, and offered equal opportunities to grow and advance in their careers. We believe that the workplace should enable each individual to contribute to the business, and that our policies and practices should facilitate these contributions. Differing points of view, different frames of reference, and a broad range of life experiences bring synergy to the workplace.
We value and are committed to maintaining a workforce that reflects the diversity of our consumers. We realize that commitment to inclusion is a strategic imperative in today's marketplace. Our commitment to diversity extends beyond our organization, into the community we serve and is reflected in the services we provide.
Finally, we realize that while we have made progress in the area of diversity, we have significantly more to accomplish, and are dedicated to building on our progress and our commitment as an organization to diversity.
Email and Marketing Privacy Policy
We have created this privacy policy to demonstrate our firm commitment to your privacy and the protection of your information.
Why did you receive a mailing from us?
Our email marketing is permission based. If you received a mailing from us, our records indicate that (a) you have expressly shared this address for the purpose of receiving information in the future ("opt-in"), or (b) you have registered or otherwise have an existing relationship with us. We respect your time and attention by controlling the frequency of our mailings.
If you believe you have received unwanted, unsolicited email sent via this system or purporting to be sent via this system, please notify the Center for Accessible Living, Inc.
How can you stop receiving email from us?
Each email sent contains an easy, automated way for you to cease receiving email from us, or to change your expressed interests. If you wish to do this, simply follow the Unsubscribe or Update Profile links at the end of any email.
Sharing, Privacy and Usage
We use appropriate security measures to protect against the loss, misuse and alteration of data used by our system. We will never share, sell, or rent individual personal information with anyone for their promotional use without your advance permission or unless ordered by a court of law. Information submitted to us is only available to employees managing this information for purposes of contacting you or sending you emails based on your request for information, and to contracted service providers for purposes of providing services relating to our communications with you.
Looking to stay connected with new resources in the disability community?
Connect With CAL:
Check out our social networking groups through the CAL Facebook group. The CAL Blog has disability news, resources, and advocacy updates, too.
You can subscribe to our timely and pertinent CAL News & Notes emails, new electronic quarterly newsletter, and other CAL email list.
You can follow our Associate Director on Twitter for current disability topics and visit even more disability resource hyperlinks on the bookmarking site Delicious, adding hyperlinks almost every day.
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