This is a bittersweet moment, as we announce Don Barnes’s retirement after over twelve years at the CIL! Although we are sad to see Don leave us, we are so happy for him and looking back at his time here with a smile. Don has always been the sunshine on a cloudy day for the CIL staff and we all feel so lucky to have shared some time with him, whether it’s been years or just a few months.

Don’s hard work and dedication at the CIL has inspired all of us and his constant positive energy lights up the room. He puts his heart into everything he does, and we will miss him dearly.

Don said of his time here that the CIL is “an easy place to work and a hard place to leave”. He has found ease in helping people over the past twelve years and is sad to be leaving the CIL consumers and his fellow CIL staff, whom he now considers his family, but is excited to start this new chapter of his life.

His accomplishments at the CIL will not be easily forgotten and our staff and consumers will always be grateful for everything he has done.

Enjoy your retirement Don and know that we will all miss you!

The CIL is hosting our 3^rd Annual Marion County Emergency Preparedness Expo at the Ed Croskey Recreation Center on March 11th, 2020 in Ocala! Come out to learn more about how you can stay prepared for any emergency event that might happen in our community. We will be discussing things like emergency shelter locations, contacts and how to create disaster preparedness supply kits. Refreshments will be provided and ASL interpreters will be available.

Special guest speakers will include Guardian Angels, the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, EOC, TV20 News Chief Meteorologist Bill Quinlan and Rocky Ramirez from Regions Bank.

Join us for this informative and free event to learn how you can prepare for our community’s emergency situations! 

To register, please go to to the following links:

English: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/emergency-preparedness-expo-for-people-with-disabilities-tickets-73469115101

Spanish: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/exposicion-de-preparacion-para-emergencias-para-pe-tickets-80938971643

Join us at the CIL on December 17th for the Youth Social Group Holiday Party from 6 – 8pm.

Don’t miss out on all the fun activities like karaoke, dancing and delicious food!

We hope to see you all there!

The CIL is hosting an Art Showcase on December 14th from 2 – 4pm!

Anyone can submit their artwork for a chance to win a prize, but be sure to submit your work by December 13th!

Please join us to view and buy your favorite art pieces! There will be paintings, drawings, ceramics, sculptures, photography and so much more!

We appreciate your continual support and look forward to seeing everyone come out for this event!

The CIL of North Central Florida is entering Sunstate Federal Credit Union’s contest to win $1,000! With the most votes by liking our comments on Instagram and Facebook, the CIL will win!

Here’s how you can help us win…

1. Log in to your Instagram and Facebook accounts.
2. Search for Sunstate Federal Credit Union’s account.
3. Under their most recent #GivingTuesday post, find the comment that nominates “The Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida”.
4. Hit that like button so we can win!

Thanks for your support in spreading the word to our community partners!

The CIL is hosting a forum at our Gainesville office on Thursday, November 21st from 5:00pm to 6:00pm about ABLE United, a wonderful financial savings program for people with disabilities.

The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act allows individuals with disabilities to save money tax-free for a wide variety of future expenses, including transportation, housing and education, while maintaining benefits, such as SSI and Medicaid.

Please see attached link for more information. We hope to see you there!

October is Disability Employment Awareness Month and to celebrate, we’re highlighting successes from our Employment Program!

Jeremie, who is Deaf and uses American Sign Language to communicate, was interested in pursing full-time work. He was referred to CIL and started working with Lauren, our wonderful Employment Consultant in our Ocala office. Lauren soon discovered that Jeremie is self-taught in most facets of home improvements, construction, renovation, and modification of structures. Through skill identification, regular meetings to job search, and unwavering support from Lauren, Jeremie was placed with a local furniture manufacturing and assembly plant. His employer has blessed him with fair earnings, benefits after a length of time, and a flexible work schedule to allow appropriate work/life balance.

Thanks to our Employment Program, Jeremie is enjoying full-time, meaningful work and is contributing productively to his local community!

Starting October 11th, 2019, the Center will be offering iCivics Youth Interactive Games every other Friday, to engage young people aged 14-30ish in meaningful civic learning. Check out the flyer below to learn more!

The Disability Community Planning Group Webinar will take place on September 23, 2019, 2:00 PM EDT. It’s a very timely topic, as Hurricane season is upon us. Please register by clicking on the following link:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6339487578436089868

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar

**CART or Live captioning will be available. For the CART link, please go to:  https://providingcart.1capapp.com/event/FDHP at the time of the webinar. Also, attached is information about CART for those of you who may not be familiar with it. CART is live captioning provided by a certified CART captioner- to access, click on the streamtext link above, 5-10 min before the event and have this window opened alongside the GoToWebinar window. The size, font and background of the CART live text can be adjusted- please see attached instructions.

The DCPG is a statewide advisory group that provides feedback and direction to the Florida Disability and Health Program. Membership in the Planning Group ranges from public health leaders, policy makers and disability advocates to persons with disabilities and leaders in healthcare.

**Details about the webinar

Title: Disability & Natural Disasters: Preparing for the worst and not just hoping for the best.

Description: The health, safety, and independence of people with disabilities are at a greater risk during and after natural disasters. This webinar will discuss actions being taken to address these issues and will:

1)     Describe factors that compromise the health, safety, and independence of people with disabilities.

2)     Outline common access and functional needs for people with disabilities.

3)     Detail current strategies to improve access and functional needs of people with disabilities during and after disasters.

Presenter: Dr. Tony Delisle is the Executive Director for the Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida (CILNCF). Dr. Delisle has a strong track record in leveraging collaborations between the community of people with disabilities and emergency management professionals, local and state agencies, and community based organizations to improve preparedness, response, and recovery from natural disasters.

The CIL Summer Youth Program was held from June 3rd to August 8th and it was a HUGE success! Youth with disabilities aged 14-24 years had the opportunity to participate in various fun, hands-on, educational and work-related activities, as well as develop their social skills.

Activities over the summer included fieldtrips to the SFC Teaching Zoo and Planetarium, guest speakers from NAMI, Fit for All Human Foosball at GHF, computer skills classes, youth peer mentor groups, ILS classes, Afro-Brazilian music classes, bingo, cards, arts and crafts and a scavenger hunt.

The social parties were awesome as well! They included a Brazilian June Festival, Karaoke Party, Mexican Party, and to close the program, youth participated in a Talent Show where they were able to show off their unique and individual talents, such as singing, dancing, drawing and reciting poetry!

Our High School High Tech (HSHT) Program had a great summer too! During the summer, our HSHT students participated in 52 career experiences that included paid summer internships, part-time employment, job shadowing and volunteering! Students gained invaluable job-related skills, including those soft skills so many employers seek in their employees and applicants.

HSHT had a very successful 2018-2019 school year as well. 100% of all participating seniors graduated from high school and 85% of our graduates transitioned into post-secondary education and/or employment!

Congratulations to all of our CIL and HSHT youth and all you have accomplished so far!