The CILNCF offices will be closed next Friday, March 10^th for a staff training day.  We will resume our normal business hours on Monday, March 13^th.  If you have any questions, please call us at 352-378-7474. 

There is only one week left until the 6th Annual Emergency Preparedness Expo for People with Disabilities. We hope to see you there!

Theme: How to protect yourself/families for any type of emergency

Tuesday, March 7th, 2023, 8:45 am – 1:00 pm

One Health Center 1714 SW 17th Ave. Ocala, FL 34471

For questions or assistance with registration, please call Kevin Towles at 352-368-3788.

The month of February is dedicated to honoring the long history of Black Americans and their many contributions to society. This month, we wanted to highlight the stories of Black heroes whose vision, commitment and activism helped advance progress for people with disabilities. As we reflect on the past, we remember the incredible advocates who are too often left out of the retelling of history.

ID: There are 5 graphics, each colored black, green, yellow, and red with the following text about each unsung hero of Black History Month:

Johnnie Lacy: A Voice for Black Women with Disabilities
Johnnie Lacy helped found the Center for Independent Living at Berkeley and became the Director of the Community Resources for Independent Living (CRIL) in its early days from 1981 to 1994. During her time at CRIL, she engaged the community in groundbreaking and essential conversations about identity and the challenges that come with being a Black woman with a disability.

Brad Lomax & Chuck Jackson: Uniting the Civil Rights Community
The “504 Sit In” has been widely written about, but the involvement of two Black disability activists, Brad Lomax and Chuck Jackson, has been largely overlooked. These two members of the Black Panther Party, Brad Lomax, and his assistant, Chuck Jackson, participated in the sit in. Lomax was an Oakland resident with multiple sclerosis which required him to use a wheelchair. Together, Lomax and Jackson worked with their community to cook and deliver hot meals to disability rights advocates during the 28-day protest.

Bessie Blount: Transforming what is Possible through Assistive Technology
Blount believed that it was important for people with disabilities to be able to feed themselves in order to have independence and increase their self-esteem. To do this, Blount came up with a device that consisted of a tube that transported individual bites of food to the patient’s mouth. Blount’s innovation was one of the earliest forms of assistive technology for individuals with disabilities and she paved the way for many more advancements in the field.

These Black advocates, inventors, and activists — Johnnie Lacy, Brad Lomax, Chuck Jackson, and Bessie Blount — each contributed something unique to the disability movement and have helped our communities get to where we are today. It’s hard to imagine a world without their significant contributions.

Our health is everything!  Last week, our CORE Program team got together (those who could) for a relaxing and fun health and wellness social activity.  This is one of several wellness events the CIL is providing throughout the year for our amazing staff, so they can recharge and enjoy themselves by not talking about work!  The CORE team enjoyed a painting activity as well as pizza for lunch and had a wonderful time following the how-to video and supporting each other’s efforts.  Stay tuned for more CIL team wellness updates coming soon!

Another Bingo Night is almost here!

The Independence and Opportunity Network of Gainesville (ION) is having their next Bingo Night for young adults with disabilities this Friday, February 17th from 7 pm – 9 pm, at the Center for Independent Living, 222 SW 36th Terrace, Gainesville, FL! The cost is $5 at the door and includes pizza, drinks, dessert, prizes, and karaoke! Please let us know in advance if you would like to attend virtually via zoom. We hope to see you there!

Special thanks to HEROES from UF and additional CIL volunteers for dedicating their time to this fun event. We couldn’t do this without all of you!

Please note that next month is tentatively set for March 24th, but stay tuned for more updates!

To RSVP or for more information, please contact Trish Thoburn at iongainesville@gmail.com or call at 352-339-6278, and feel free to share with other young adults who might be interested.

ID: Bingo flyer that includes all of the information listed above, with a colorful border containing bingo cards and numbered bingo balls on the sides. The ION logo is centered up top, the CIL logo is to the upper left, and the HEROES logo is to the upper right.

Happy Valentine’s Day from our hearts to yours! We love our consumers, staff, donors, volunteers, and community partners, and are so grateful for all of the love you have shown the CIL throughout the years. Sending you all much love and appreciation! XOXO, CILNCF.

Kevin and Sada attended the fourth annual Disability Resource Expo on February 4th. Wow, what an event!! There had been a three-year break since the last Disability Resource Expo, but you never would’ve guessed it by the phenomenal turnout. The community was so excited to be back and so were we! It was an honor for the Center for Independent Living to be represented alongside over 80 other community organizations. It was a perfect opportunity to network and to connect with consumers, new and old. We can’t wait to be back!

Kevin and Sada attended the Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony and Open House for the Bradford Community Partners Health & Wellness Resource Hub towards the end of last month. The kickoff went perfectly, and it was amazing to see all of the hard work that went into planning this collaboration project come to fruition. CILNCF will be represented at the Resource Hub on the third Thursday of each month from 10:00 AM-2:00 PM. The Resource Hub will be housed in the Bradford County Faith Community Center until the new location is ready. We hope to see you there!

Please join us this February for both in-person and online classes at the CIL! We are still offering one online class per week for those of you who prefer that option.

Independence Hacks (ILS) classes will be on Tuesdays in Ocala, Wednesdays on Zoom, and Thursdays in Gainesville. All classes will be from 10:30am – 12pm.

Youth Leadership and Social Group classes are still on Tuesdays from 3:30-5pm. So far, they will continue to be conducted online until further notice.

For every online class, the meeting username is 352-378-7474 and the password is cilclass

Please be sure to share this with anyone who would like to participate, and contact Terri Poucher at 352-378-7474 or tpoucher@cilncf.org with any questions. We look forward to seeing you soon!

THEME: How to protect yourself/families for any type of emergency

DATE:
Tuesday, March 7th, 2023, 8:45am – 1:00pm

LOCATION:
One Health Center
1714 SW 17th Avenue
Ocala, FL 34471

For questions or assistance with registration, please call 352-368-3788.

To register, please go to: https://www.cilncf.org/emergency-preparedness/