When a year comes to an end, we typically look back, give thanks, and reflect on the future. So, to keep in the traditional mood, I will take this time with you to look at the underlying philosophy that is behind what I have fondly referred to as “Independent Living.”
Let’s start with the United Nations (UN). Right after World War II, most countries agreed that the old League of Nations was not really an effective body to promote world peace and within weeks of the passing of U.S. President Franklin Delano Rosevelt in early April 1945, Committees were formed to draft the UN Charter. His widow, Elenore Roosevelt, was given the task of co-chairing (what they thought was a minor task) a task force to develop its Human Rights agenda. This task force produced the UN’s Declaration of Human Rights which codified the rights of all people to live, work, and participate in the world without persecution, domination, and cruelty. That is, to be free to enjoy what we all have in common as people around the world.
Initially considered to be a minor concern when it started, it became a major issue as it developed its agenda, which impacts much of what the United Nations does today around the world.
However, I’m not trying to push the UN’s issues but to then follow this train of thought to Civil Rights. We all know the struggles within our country for the ability of many of our brothers and sisters to gain and have their rights recognized, especially throughout the 50s and 60s. Even today, our neighbors and fellow citizens are still working for full and equal partnership in our country, particularly people who are given pushback just because of their physical differences. With that said, the United States developed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to codify regulations and resources in an attempt to reduce and someday hope to eliminate our Country’s low moments, that prevent everyone from enjoying equal and equitable freedom to what our country has to offer to its people.
Furthermore, I want to focus on Independent Living, a piece of the greater Disability Rights movement. We can point to: the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (providing baseline rehabilitation for people with disabilities, or PWD, setting up the foundation for disability rights enforcement, research, and service for the United States); The Air Carriers Act, allowing PWDs the right to fly without barriers, the Fair Housing Act permitting PWDs the right to live in our country’s housing without disability discrimination, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, providing the road map for PWDs to have equal access to employment, public facilities, transportation, communications, and local governments.
So, where does Independent Living come in? It’s one of the vehicles within the Rehabilitation Act where the state sets up a plan for how the state will provide and support services, programs, and issues that lead to full community participation for PWDs. In New York, this entity is called the New York State Independent Living Council.
Throughout the state are more than 40 Independent Living Centers that carry out that plan’s objectives and goals: providing Individual Advocacy, community and system change activity, teaching independent living skills, and providing peer counseling to and for people with and families of PWDs. Providing information to the community of other federal, state, and local programs and services for PWDs, and most importantly, assisting people with disabilities to not have to go to institutional care (or leave institutional care), resulting not only in a better quality of life for the person with a disability by living with their friends and families in the community, but drastically reducing the cost to the various levels of government who frequently pick up the institutional care costs.
Just last year, the three Independent Living Centers in upper New York, Buffalo, Batavia, and Niagara Falls, collectively, after you subtract out their budgets and community support of $255,000 per person, net the state and local governments over $63 million if all who have benefited from the centers stay out of the institution for just 1 year. This doesn’t even count the savings or the return on our investment of the other 5,000 people who come to the centers asking for assistance in finding work, learning how to navigate the community, and assistance on independent living issues to remain functioning, full, and equal members of our society.
The United States has a long and proud history of trying to do the right thing. To make all our people, regardless of their status of birth, equal partners in making America better.
As we go into the New Year, I wish you all a wonderful season of reflection and thanks and ask that you all join me and those who work at your local Independent Living Center to keep America tops on the rights for its people to live in their neighborhoods, work in our community, and engage in society as fully empowered, and equal partners.