Changing LIVES…Changing GEORGIA

STEVE ELSEY

Independent living means many things to many people, but to Steven Elsey it means living on his own and being in control of his own life. “I much prefer to be in my own home and be included in a community, rather than be excluded from a community.”

Though he’s mobility and hearing impaired, Steve traveled the world and lived on his own for years before a recent stroke slowed his pace. After spending time with a family member and in a personal care home, Steve decided he really wanted to live on his own again. Walton Options for Independent Living, a Center for Independent Living that serves residents of Augusta and surrounding areas, helped Steve create a brighter future for himself.

“WOIL helped me put a plan together that outlined my goals. They also helped me with life skills, like paying bills and home management,” says Steve, who collects Coca-Cola memorabilia. “Now that I’m in my own place, I can decorate it the way I want. More important, though, is that I have a renewed sense of self-worth.”

Did you know that there is only one qualified sign language interpreter in Georgia for every 500 deaf residents, only one certified Braille instructor for every 835 blind students and the unemployment rate of people with disabilities is more than 70 percent? That’s why SILC of Georgia exists — to level the playing field for people with disabilities. In the first three years of operation, our leading goals were —

expanding and helping to build the statewide independent living network;
advocating for statewide, community-based support services;
developing SILC of Georgia into a fully-functional autonomous body.

Currently, the state of Georgia has numerous regions that are not adequately served by Centers for Independent Living. However, SILC of Georgia actively encourages the development of additional agencies to help disabled residents of these regions. We do this by —

holding informational meetings and forums on the independent living philosophy and independent living programs;
offering training opportunities to peer supporters and employees of Centers for Independent Living;
providing grants to grassroots community organizations that are interested in learning about the independent living philosophy or in developing a center for independent living.

Because SILC of Georgia believes that barriers create disabilities, we advocate removing barriers to independent living and providing people with disabilities the means and the education to recognize and overcome barriers in their communities.

Finally, we pursue the development of SILC of Georgia’s autonomous structure. As a nonprofit organization, we seek a large and diverse base of support — a resource from which we can draw board members, volunteers, educators, community representatives and others to help develop outreach activities, network with other disability organizations and achieve goals.

The beneficiaries of our goals are the many Georgia residents with disabilities. These people have mobility impairments — caused by spinal cord injuries, amputation, disease and so on — as well as visual or hearing impairments, mental retardation, mental illness, traumatic brain injury and others. All of these people deserve the same opportunities to pursue the activities they choose, to live, work and play in places that are accessible and to enjoy the freedom of independent living. Centers for Independent Living help make these opportunities available to the people who need them.

J’LISA KING

Photo of J'Lisa coming down her wheelchair ramp with a puppy on her lap.

If you ask J’lisa King if she needs help, she’ll tell you she’s a big girl and can do it herself. She’s seven and uses a wheelchair to confidently navigate throughout her home and in the community.

Full of energy like her two puppies, J’lisa demands equal attention and equal access. And her peer supporter, Tami Youman of Disability Connections, has helped make sure that she gets it.

“J’lisa doesn’t like to ask for help every time she goes outside,”says her mother, Tonya King. “The railed wheelchair ramp built for us by Disability Connections has been a big boost to her self-esteem. Now she can get into and out of the house on her own.” Disability Connections is a Center for Independent Living that serves Georgia residents— like J’lisa—in the Middle Georgia area.

“We’re very thankful that J’lisa has this opportunity to be even more independent,”says her mother.

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