Urge your state Legislator to support S.7264 and A.10440!
This Action Alert is part of an ongoing campaign to establish an Independent Living Center (ILC) in Ontario County. The Center for Disability Rights serves 109 people in Ontario, Wayne, and Yates Counties, but due to a lack of state funding, the services that we provide are limited to Consumer Directed Personal Attendant Services (CDPAS). ILC’s offer an array of services to help people with disabilities remain independent in their community.
We have also started a post card campaign. We designed some post cards, which are being distributed widely. The plan is to have them signed by people who support the establishment of an Independent Living Center in Ontario County. These post cards will hand delivered to state legislators so that they know that there is wide support for this. On the first day that the post cards were made available, over 300 people signed and returned them to us!
Action Alert:
Establish an Independent Living Center in Ontario County!
There is an unmet need for Independent Living services for residents of Ontario, Wayne, and Yates Counties. According to the U.S. Census, there are 27,669 people with disabilities in Ontario County, 26,206 in Wayne County, and 7,495 in Yates County. These counties are primarily in rural areas, which means that there is a lack of accessible public transportation, and affordable, accessible, integrated housing. In addition, none of these counties have an Independent Living Center. Independent Living Centers provide a range of services that help people with disabilities remain independent within their communities.
Center Disability Rights (CDR) hopes to provide an array of services from its Geneva office, including Independent Living Services, Home and Community Based Waiver Services, Service Coordination for persons with developmental disabilities, and our unique support services for people transitioning from nursing facilities back to community living and people avoiding nursing facility placement. State IL funding can support the core Independent Living Center services and provide seed funding for CDR to expand its other services in Ontario, Wayne and Yates Counties.
Assembly member Brian Kolb and Senator Michael Nozzolio have sponsored bills that would establish an Independent Living Center in Ontario County. Please urge your state Legislator to support, co-sponsor and pass A.10440 and S.7264 before the end of the legislative session in June so that people with disabilities in Ontario, Wayne and Yates Counties can get the full range of services and supports they need to remain in the community. Contact your state Legislator today!