The hurricane season will be here SOON on June 1 st ! This spring, our Emergency Preparedness Program has been incredibly busy ensuring individuals with disabilities in the communities we serve are fully informed and prepared.

Kevin Towles, CIL Consumer Specialist, represented the CIL at several events during the past couple of months: presenting at the 37 th Annual Governor’s Hurricane Conference in West Palm Beach, participating in three hurricane expos at Stone Creek in Ocala, The Villages and at the Fairgrounds in Lake County, and participating in a table top hurricane drill in Citrus County and a cyber-attack drill in Hernando County. CIL staff member Terri Poucher joined Kevin in Stone Creek, and CIL staff Andrea Melvin and Ken Sanders joined him at The Villages. During the Governor’s Hurricane Conference, Kevin spoke about the CIL’s role in assisting before, during and after an emergency, as well as what can be done to fill the gap between emergency personal and CIL’s throughout Florida. During the hurricane expos, CIL staff spoke about CIL services, and how we can assist and prepare people with disabilities in emergency situations. During the annual drills, the purpose was to make sure all of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) personnel and partners are up-to-date about procedures and how to work together during an emergency.

Thank you so much to our Emergency Preparedness Team and all that you do for people with disabilities in our local and surrounding communities!

ID: The first pic is Kevin at the Governor’s Hurricane Conference (GHC) being silly, posing in front of a lightening storm backdrop.

The second pic is from the GHC. Pictured from left to right are Tammy Skinner with disAbility Solutions, Ciawanda McDonald (sitting), CEO, disAbility Solutions, Chris Littlewood, Center for Public Safety, Beth Meyer, Executive Director FILC, and Kevin Towles, Consumer Specialist, CILNCF.

The third pic is from the Stone Creek Hurricane Expo and shows Kevin (left) and Terri (right) sitting at the CIL table with brochures and giveaways. The CIL standing banner is to their left.

The fourth pic shows all participants sitting at tables in a large room at the Emergency Operations Center, Citrus County Table Top Hurricane Drill.

Service comes in many forms. Today we express our gratitude to our fallen heroes. Thank you to the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

The 2023 hurricane season is almost here, so be sure to get prepared and save some money too while you gather supplies! There will be not one, but two 14-day disaster preparedness sales tax holidays in Florida in this year! The first is coming up, running May 27 th through June 9 th , and the second will be from August 26 th through September 8 th . The second tax-free holiday is new this year and comes right before the busiest period of hurricane season.

Some examples of tax-free items include: flashlights and lanterns costing $40 or less; reusable ice costing $20 or less; radios costing $50 or less; tarps and ground anchors or tie down kits costing $100 or less; coolers and portable power banks costing $60 or less; batteries and fuel tanks costing $50 or less; smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and carbon monoxide detectors costing $70 or less; and generators costing $3,000 or less.

The holiday also includes a number of items related to the safe evacuation of household pets. Common household consumable items that may helpful with disaster cleanup are also included. For example, laundry detergent, toilet paper and paper towels, soap, sunscreen, and various household cleaning products, with a sales price of $30 or less.

For more details, please click on the link below:
https://news.yahoo.com/disaster-preparedness-sales-tax-holiday-115543221.html

ID: Graphic includes the information shared above, along with a photo of emergency supplies next to a clipboard with an emergency preparation checklist

Are you ready for hurricane season? Please join us for some fun and a virtual presentation about how to prepare before and after a disaster, with a chance to win a $20 gift card! All are welcome and interpreters will be provided.

The event is hosted by the CIL and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Centers (Ocala, Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Pensacola and Ft. Myers), and will take place on Thursday, June 1st from 1pm to 3pm Eastern (12pm Central), with guest speaker, Jenny Locy, BA Marketing and Training Director. Please check out her bio below!

Jenny obtained her Associate of Arts from the St. Petersburg College in Clearwater, FL, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Florida in Tampa. Jenny has become one of the first two Deaf persons in the state of Florida to become a FEMA CERT Instructor. She holds her PADI Rescue Diving certification as well as Emergency First Response/First Aid and CPR. She collaborates with Florida CERT Programs and Emergency Operation Centers, providing access to disaster preparation and relief for individuals who are Deaf and hard-of-hearing. Jenny is also a constant advocate to major media companies to keep sign language interpreters on camera during and after press releases.

To join the webinar, please click on the link below: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89752926824?pwd=ZS91OEFSZGtQZnFtSENzVnVBNU5LQT09

Or go to: https://zoom.us/join

Please contact Colleen Metcalf, CIL Consumer Specialist in our Ocala office, at VP: 352-414-1833 with any questions about the event. We hope to see you there!

For technical difficulties or to practice Zoom, please contact Monique Roussell at VP: 904-508-0077 or e-mail at mroussell@ciljacksonville.org

ID: Graphic has a background image of an emergency service worker during a disaster, with a blue overlay over the image. “Are you prepared?” is written in white with a purple background. Underneath reads “How to prepare for disasters: Before and after webinar”. The date and time of the event is written in white with a green background. “Interpreter Provided” is written in white directly underneath with sign language hands on both sides of the text.

We have had so much to be grateful for this Spring season! See what we’ve been up to and join our email list to stay updated: https://conta.cc/3pJq5sB

Thanks to the incredible support from our donors, we raised $8,700 to help farmers with disabilities through The Amazing Give 2023 campaign!

Our Emergency Preparedness Expos in Marion County and Alachua County were a huge success, empowering people with disabilities to prepare for emergencies. Thank you to all donors, vendors, and speakers who made it possible!

Our in-person Independent Living Skills (ILS) program is back! Participants enjoyed activities like mindfulness, cooking, and virtual field trips. We also welcomed a guest speaker who leads exercises for health and flexibility.

Stay connected with us on social media and our website for updates to see how your support makes a difference in empowering individuals with disabilities.

Last week, the CIL provided a fantastic Lunch and Learn for staff, as part of our monthly health and wellness activities we are conducting throughout the year! 

We had a wonderful guest speaker, David Campos, teach us all about cyber security.  David has worked in the IT field for the last 8 years, and has an interest in security research, where he figures out ways to stay safe online and also helps others learn how to stay safe.  This is an extremely important topic, as so much of our personal information is out on the web, and we need resources to protect ourselves. 

David joined us through Zoom and presented about general security, online safety tips, password management and encouraging staff to enable two-factor authentication (2FA).  He also provided an interactive phishing quiz that was a great way to practice identifying suspicious emails or links.  CIL staff thought it was a great presentation and felt empowered gaining this new knowledge and information!

ID:  Graphic includes two pictures.  The top picture is of staff sitting in the Gainesville CIL activity room listening to the presentation.  The bottom picture is three staff members sitting in the Ocala CIL activity room listening to the presentation.  Pictures are separated with a light blue border.  

This past April continued to be busy for the CIL!  Last month, CIL staff Claudia Avendano represented the CIL and FAAST Program at the Vitality and Wellness Fair at The Village at Gainesville.  The event was part of their Vitality Program, which is specially designed for their residents, and highlights a thoughtful emphasis on overall wellness.  Claudia was able to provide information about assistive technology devices that can assist with health and wellness, as well as various services at the CIL.  She had a great day speaking with residents and community members, and spreading the word about all we do for people with disabilities here in Gainesville!    

ID:  Picture of Claudia at her display table during the event with other vendor tables and participants in the background.  The table is covered with the FAAST tablecloth, brochures, informational flyers and FAAST AT devices.

You’re Invited! Eat, drink and give at BENTO Archer, 3841 SW Archer Road TOMORROW on Thursday, May 11th , 2023! The fundraiser will take place ALL DAY, so you have time to stop by for lunch or dinner to help us raise funds for our High School High Tech (HSHT) program that serves youth with disabilities. Bento will give back 20% of fundraiser sales when you mention the Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida at checkout or use code Independent when you order online. We hope to see you there!

We’re sending a big THANK YOU to all of our amazing Marion and Alachua County Emergency Preparedness Expo donors and vendors!!

Thank you also to our wonderful venue hosts, One Health Center for Marion County and Santa Fe College for Alachua County! We couldn’t have offered these events without all of your support and we are so very grateful. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of people with disabilities in the Marion and Alachua County communities!

MARION COUNTY EXPO DONORS:
Herr’s Chips
Sam’s Club
Jimmy Johns
Subway
Dunkin Donuts
United Healthcare Community Plan
Developmental Service Trainers

ALACHUA COUNTY EXPO DONORS:
Publix
Dunkin Donuts
Sam’s Club

MARION COUNTY EXPO VENDORS:

Disability Rights Florida; Agency for Persons with Disabilities; Ocala Police Department; Marion County Sheriff’s Office; FAAST; American Red Cross; Marion Senior Services; Ocala Electric Utility; Aetna; Human Potential Healthcare; Heart of Florida Health Center; Developmental Service Trainers (DST); Cano Health Ocala; Ocala Fire Rescue; Select Laboratories of Marion County; Champion for Champions,

Inc; Alzheimer’s Association; Florida Department of Health Marion; Home Care, Recharged; SERVPRO of Ocala; Hands Up Communication; U.S. Congresswoman Kat Cammack; Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida; One Health Center

ALACHUA COUNTY EXPO VENDORS:

Disability Rights Florida; FAAST; Regional Transit System (RTS); Alachua County Emergency Management; Santa Fe College; Disabilities Resource Center; Community Hospice and Palliative Care; Alachua County Supervisor of Elections; SERVPRO of East Gainesville; Elder Options; American Red Cross; Clay Electric Cooperative; North Florida/South Georgia VA Hospital; Gainesville Fire Rescue; MV Transportation, Inc; UF Health

Last month, CIL Staff Kevin Towles and Claudia Avendano represented the CIL at the Dixie County Fly-In Cruise-In Business Expo at the Cross City Airport.  This is a huge community event and air show with displays of classic cars, cruisers and unique aircraft, that drew in over 500 people this year.  Kevin and Claudia gave out tons of information about the CIL and our services and did a great job getting the word out to Dixie County residents about the wonderful work we do!

ID:  Image includes three pictures.  Top left is Claudia (standing on the left) and Kevin (sitting on the right) at the CIL information table covered with a royal blue tablecloth and CIL brochures.  The standing CIL banner is in the background to the right behind Kevin.  Bottom left are two airplanes performing aerobatics demonstrations.  On the entire right side of the image are Kevin (left) and Claudia (right) standing with a CIL Event sign in between them.  With her right hand, Claudia is holding the flag pole of a light blue and very tall Dixie County Chamber of Commerce flag that also stands in between them.