Connecting with a CIL

Centers for Independent Living (CIL) are community based, cross-disability, non-profit organizations that are designed and operated by people with disabilities. As a CIL, DAC NEW (formerly known as INDEx) provides services and supports that are consumer driven and are determined by consumer choice.

How do you know if you are struggling and need an Independent Living Advocate? Here is a series of questions to ask yourself:

>What does independent living mean to you?

>In your ideal world, what supports would you have?

>What do you want your home to be like?

>What do you want your life to be like?

>Do you feel you have control over your own life?

>What methods do you use to help you remember and complete tasks?

>Are you allowed to make choices as much as you need and want?

>Do you decide where to live, what to eat, where to work, what to do for fun, where and when to get medical care, when to go to bed, and who to be friends with?

>What do you do, or what ways work for you to navigate barriers or problems successfully? This could include accommodations, adaptions, and other systems or supports?

>What do you avoid because of problems?

>What is something that seems easy for everybody else, but not for you?

>What is something you want to change about your life?

>Do other people make choices for you that you would prefer they not?

>Do you feel heard by the people you live with?

>Do you have an aide or support person? Do you need help you are not getting?

>If you want changes, what have you already tried?

>Are there items in your home you are unable to access? (faucets, doorknobs, stairs, appliances)?

>Is your neighborhood accessible to you?

>How stressed out do you feel right now?

>Is there something that could ease that stress?

>Do you feel safe at home, both with the people you are with and the home environment?

>Will your home continue to feel safe for the next 6 months? A year?

>Are there things you touch, see, hear, taste, smell, or feel on a regular basis that are difficult for your?

>Have doctors ever dismissed your questions or concerns? What has been dismissed?

>Have you encountered bias in medical care?

>Have you experienced discrimination in the workplace due to a disability?

>Have you ever been denied accommodations in a school setting?

Independent Living Advocates can help with these apects of lifeboth in terms of knowledge and choice as well as in terms of implemeting them. If you have more questions or would like to request services, Please call 509-606-4639 or email at infosp@dacnw.org