Today we wanted to highlight the awesome efforts of CIL’s throughout the state working together in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.  Three Florida CIL’s were completely damaged by flood waters and needed immediate assistance for their consumers, who were severely affected by the storm. 

Kevin Towles, CIL Consumer Specialist, received a call at the beginning of last week that the CIL in Daytona Beach, disAbility Solutions for IL, needed assistance after taking on waste high water at their facility.  Through Operation BBQ, Kevin picked up food at Sonny’s BBQ in DeLand, FL, and delivered lunch and dinner in the parking lot of the CIL in Daytona Beach throughout the day.

Operation BBQ aids communities and first responders affected by natural disasters by providing one hot meal that matters during times of need.  This program, with a network of volunteers and equipment across the country, can mobilize immediately following natural disasters and be serving hot meals within 24-48 hours of the disaster.

The Sonny’s BBQ in DeLand donated over 200 meals that day to disAbility Solutions for IL’s consumers with disabilities, which is amazing!  Thank you so much Kevin for your immediate response to help a fellow CIL in need! 

ID:  Three pictures within the image; the picture on the left is of Kevin (far right) with three Sonny’s staff members standing in front of Kevin’s open car trunk that is filled with bags of food.  The top right is of Kevin passing out food to a consumer at the CIL in Daytona Beach, with his open trunk behind them, and the bottom right is also of Kevin passing out food to a consumer.

We hope you are having a relaxing weekend!  At the end of last month, the FAAST Program hosted Michael Mcquilkin with CaptionCall for a vendor presentation here at the CIL in Gainesville! 

If your phone calls are difficult to hear, CaptionCall can help by letting you hear and read what someone is saying on the device.  And the best part?  There is NO cost for people with hearing loss who need captions to use the phone effectively! 

Everyone who attended enjoyed the presentation and also learned more about the FAAST Program from CIL Assistive Technologies Specialist, Claudia Avendano. 

To learn more about CaptionCall and all it has to offer people with disabilities, please reach out to Michael at 352-409-7987 or by e-mail: mmcquilkin@captioncall.com

Image Description:  Picture of Michael (left) and Claudia (right) the CIL activity room.  They are standing to the sides of a long table in between them that displays the CaptionCall device and flyer information.

Our Employment Program continues to make a difference each and every day for our consumers!  Please enjoy a recent success story below and have a wonderful Homecoming weekend!  

Teresa had dreamed of working at Santa Fe College. She came to the CIL with passion and determination to achieve this compelling goal.  Ammal, CIL Employment Consultant, assisted Teresa with her On-the-Job-Training (OJT) at Santa Fe College as an Office Assistant.  Teresa worked hard to prove herself to the management leaders and staff, and Ammal continued to follow up carefully with the supervisors at Santa Fe College to ensure that Teresa was doing well and continuing to work hard.

After 90 days of the OJT, Teresa successfully completed it and earned a job offer from Santa Fe College to work as a permanent Office Assistant!  She is truly enjoying this opportunity, and recently received a raise to $14 per hour!  The CIL also helped Teresa purchase some clothes for work, thanks to generous donations from The Amazing Give.  Teresa was thrilled and thankful for all the help and support she received through the CIL, where her dream came true.

ID:  Image consists of two pictures.  The one to the left is Teresa sitting at her desk in her office at Santa Fe College, and the one to the right is Teresa (sitting to the left) with Ammal (standing to the right) in front of her computer, in her office.

This month, we wanted to highlight our ADA Paratransit Program!

The CIL has a strong record of advocacy in the area of accessible public transportation, which is often a huge challenge for our consumers with disabilities.  In support of consumers need for better access, we are contracted with area public transportation systems to provide support services for riders with disabilities wanting to utilize fixed route and paratransit services.  We provide screening, eligibility determination and travel training services in Alachua and Marion Counties.

This year, we are gearing up to do over 1,000 eligibility interviews for ADA Paratransit Eligibility Certification.  Starting in January 2022, we were able to successfully transition from paper to digital intake and document management.  This in turn, has helped us expedite the turnaround time of certifications for our consumers.  Our Paratransit Team has worked tirelessly to conduct ADA eligibility interviews and process all the documents required to complete the certification. 

We want to give shout outs to our newest team members, Cammeron (ADA Paratransit Specialist), as well as Destini and J’Mari (Front Desk/ADA Paratransit Support).  Additionally, Sada (Community Outreach Specialist), Terri (ILS Coordinator) and Mark (Five Core Services Director), have also given us a tremendous amount of support this year.  We want to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who has helped the ADA Paratransit Team here at the CIL!

If you know of anyone who might benefit from this program, please contact us at 352-378-7474 or cilncf.org@gmail.com.

Image Description: Three pictures of the Paratransit Team. To the left is Terri, top right is Sada and bottom right are Alex (left) and Cammeron (right).

We just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to everyone again for their donations and support during our Give4Marion Event!  Two of our Ocala CIL Team members, Kevin and Brandon, were able to attend the wrap-up party and they had a blast celebrating with their fellow Marion County non-profit community members!

Here are a few words from Kevin about the event: “It was an honor for Brandon and I to go to the aftermath of Give 4 Marion. We met a lot of people in the non-profit area and sponsors. I can tell you some records were broken last night. We reached our donation goal, and there was more total giving at the end of the night. Great job everyone in Ocala and Gainesville for getting the word out.”

Here are the final outcomes and results for all of the participating non-profits during Give4Marion 2022:  $771,075 Raised, 2,537 Donors and 3,714 Gifts…wow!  Thank you again for supporting Give4Marion and we look forward to raising even more for our consumers with disabilities next year!

Image is a selfie of Brandon (left) and Kevin (right) at the event, sitting in red auditorium chairs during the presentations.

Are you an employed Florida resident with a disability who depends on personal care assistance to help with your daily activities?  If so, you may be eligible for the James Patrick Memorial Work Incentive Personal Assistant Services (JP-PAS) Program!  This program provides monthly stipends to qualified Floridians with disabilities who are employed and require personal assistance services to attain and maintain competitive and integrated employment.

The Florida Association of Centers for Independent Living (FACIL) is always accepting applications for JP-PAS, so if you would like to learn more about eligibility, or know someone who would benefit from this amazing program, please visit http://www.floridacils.org/pca-services-program.

We hope everyone is doing ok after the storm.  Please reach out if assistance is needed, and we hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Image description: Starry sky background with darker blue at the top, fading into lighter blues towards the middle and bottom. At the very bottom is a black border consisting of tree tops in the distance. The top of the image reads: “The JP-PAS Personal Attendant Services and Employment Assistance Program” in large white lettering. In the bottom center of the graphic, there is a picture of a person in a wheelchair, working at a computer on a table in an office, and they are looking at the screen. The FACIL logo is in the center of the graphic on the left side and the JP-PAS logo is in the center on the right side. In between them is the program’s website, written in the above paragraph.

Hurricane Ian is fast approaching, and we hope everyone is staying safe and has their emergency action plans in place and ready to go!  We wanted to let everyone know that the CILNCF will be closed Wednesday, September 28^th through Friday, September 30^th.  However, our team will continue to work remotely and provide CIL services throughout the storm.  We will re-open our doors on Monday, October 3^rd. 

Please check out our Hurricane Preparedness page on our website for any resources you need, as well as information about shelters throughout Alachua County.

Stay safe and please reach out to us if needed by calling 352-378-7474 or emailing cilncf.org@gmail.com

CILNCF Hurricane Preparedness Page:  https://www.cilncf.org/emergency-preparedness/

Alachua County Shelters:  https://alachuacountyready.com/incidents/hurricaneian/shelters

Special Needs Shelter:  Alachua County has now opens a Special Needs Shelter (msn.com)

The fall season is officially here, and we are so excited that in-person classes are BACK at the CIL, so please join us this October!  Please note 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!

Image Description: Orange background with the CIL logo at the top left and to the right of the logo is a black text heading that reads, “October Calendar”.  Underneath to the left are orange pumpkins with “Tuesdays”, “Wednesdays” and “Thursdays” inside, with black text.  The class titles and meeting times are to the right in black text, next to their corresponding weekday, and the meeting ID and password is written in black text at the bottom of the image.   

Our High School High Tech (HSHT) students are learning how to reduce their stress and practice positivity during challenging situations.  At a recent workshop, they learned how to utilize positive words of affirmation within their daily routines.  Thanks to a wonderful donation, students were also able to receive a cool stress ball of their choice!

ID: Picture of the HSHT workshop at Williston High School, with (from left to right) a Levy County HSHT student, Program Coordinator Drew Dees and another Levy County HSHT student.  They are all holding up various stress balls.

Woohoo that’s a wrap!  #Give4Marion has come to an end, and thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor during the last few minutes, we were able to reach our goal of $1,000!!  We are SO THANKFUL for our donors and to those of you who helped spread the word over the last two days!  Your support helps us make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities and our Employment Program.  On behalf of the CIL staff and consumers, thank you so much!!

https://www.give4marion.org/organizations/center-for-independent-living-of-north-central-florida

ID:  Background consists of a lake, with a grass path and surrounding fence in the foreground, and a weeping willow tree and branches covering the top part of the image.  “Thank You” is at the top right in white text, in blue rectangular shapes.  “For supporting our giving day” is in green text below, and the Give4Marion logo is beneath that.