Summer is winding down and everyone is already back to school!  Join us online for our weekly classes in September, which is Deaf Awareness Month and the CIL will be celebrating! 

In-person classes will hopefully resume this month, and we will keep you informed as updates occur.  In the meantime, online classes remain the same, with our Youth Leadership and Social Group on Tuesdays from 3:30-5pm and our Independence Hacks (ILS) on Wednesdays from 10:30 – 12pm.  For every 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!

Image Description: Entire background is blue and orange paint strokes running from left to right, starting with blue and alternating colors all the way to the bottom. The CIL logo is at the top center and below the logo is a bright orange heading that reads, “September Online Calendar”.  Underneath to the left are green alligators with “Tuesdays” and “Wednesdays” inside, with blue text for Tuesday and bright orange text for Wednesday.  The class titles and meeting times are to the right, next to their corresponding weekday, and the meeting ID and password is written in dark orange text at the bottom of the image.   

This month, we wanted to highlight AgrAbility, our brand-new program that assists farmers with disabilities!

The Florida AgrAbility Program (FAP) is a brand-new collaboration between the University of Florida (UF) and the CIL!  The FAP is receiving funding from a USDA’s AgrAbility grant, and is the first AgrAbility award for the state of Florida. 

The CIL has a central role in the FAP serving farmers with all types of disabilities, to ensure they secure and sustain meaningful work in agriculture through:

• Offering worksite and home-based assessments.
• Providing Assistive Technologies.
• Modifying equipment and work sites.
• Restructuring farm tasks.
• Identifying resources and services that can aid their independence.
• Assisting with inclusion in their communities through offering social opportunities that are essential for a high quality of life.

We are honored by this opportunity to give back to Florida’s farmers and reach more people with disabilities who live throughout our rural communities! 

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

Image Description: Woodworker using a red clamp to secure a piece of wood to a workbench, wearing an orange hat, dark blue long-sleeved jacket and beige gloves. Piles of wood are in the background to the left, as well as a blue aluminum wood-beamed ceiling.

Our CIL Team is so excited to be participating in this giving campaign for the 3^rd year in a row! All funds raised through Give4Marion will benefit our Marion County consumers. Join us from Tuesday, September 20^th at 10am to Wednesday, September 21^st at 7pm! Please visit give4marion.org for more information about how you can make a difference!  More information to come! 

Image Description: Give4Marion graphic with white background and three circle shapes. The first circle is large sized with a green border at the top left, with an image inside of a person collecting a plastic water bottle in a forest. The second circle is smaller sized and to the right of the large circle with a blue border and image inside of a person’s face looking at a sunset and forming their hands into a heart shape. The third circle is medium sized, to the bottom left with a red border and image inside of two people carrying a container with gardening supplies. The Give4Marion logo is towards the bottom right and below that is green lettering that reads, Join Our Day of Giving. Below that is smaller blue lettering that reads, Support us and give back September 20-21, 2022, 10am – 7pm. At the very bottom there is white lettering that reads, For more information go to Give4Marion.org, inside a dark blue background that runs from left to right.

Our Wheelchair Ramp Building Program is moving in an upwards spiral with another ramp being built for a consumer in need! 

Our latest recipient, Frederic, is 14 years old and was accidentally shot, resulting in him needing to use a wheelchair due to quadriplegia.  He was no longer able to fully access his own home, so Mark Brisbane, CIL Core Services Director, worked diligently with the family and was able to secure a new, modular wheelchair ramp in just over a week!

Having a ramp not only allows Frederic the necessary access to his own home, but also provides him access to the community, and being able to attend vital physical therapy sessions and follow-up medical appointments.  His mother Amber said it was a miracle to receive a ramp so quickly from the CIL!

Thank you so much Mark for making such a huge difference in Frederic’s life!  If you know of anyone in need of a wheelchair ramp, please e-mail Mark at mbrisbane@cilncf.org or call 352-378-7474.  

Image includes four pictures; the top two are before pictures of Frederic’s mobile home, showing old stairs with rotting wood and a missing rail on the left side, leading up to the front door, with debris surrounding the front yard of the home. The bottom two are after pictures, showing the newly built modular ramp without stairs or debris in the front yard.

The JP-PAS Program continues to change lives by providing monthly stipends to qualified Floridians with disabilities who are employed and require personal assistance services for daily living.  Please read JP-PAS recipient Mark’s testimonial below about how the JP-PAS Program empowered him to live a more independent life.

“I just want to say that the JP-PAS program has been instrumental for me to live a normal life despite managing a disability and to be a productive member of society. You guys have been an answer to prayer! Thank you!”

If you or anyone you know would benefit from this amazing program or if you would like to learn more, please visit http://www.floridacils.org/pca-services-program!

Image description: Orange and blue background with orange at the top left corner, fading into blue that covers the top right to the bottom left, fading into orange at the bottom right corner. The top of the image reads: “The JP-PAS Personal Attendant Services and Employment Assistance Program” in large dark blue lettering. In the bottom center of the graphic, there is an illustration of a person in a wheelchair working at a computer on a desk in an office. 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.

Things are moving at a “FAAST” pace here at the CIL!  Last month, CIL team members Claudia, FAAST Assistive Technologies Specialist and Eric, Consumer Specialist, drove all the way to Palatka to pick-up a generously donated hospital bed from a local family.  Additionally, Claudia and Eric traveled to Ocala on a separate day, to deliver another donated hospital bed to Mr. Nathaniel, a FAAST consumer living with dementia, who needed assistance. 

SPECIAL THANKS to Claudia and Eric for going above and beyond to ensure our consumers receive this much needed donated AT equipment!

Please contact us if you know someone who might benefit from any Assistive Technology and/or Durable Medical Equipment, or if you would like to donate!

Image includes three pictures, the first (top left) is a picture of (from left to right), Eric and Ms. Cheatara (Mr. Nathaniel’s daughter) standing behind the donated hospital bed in a room in their home.  The second (top right) is a picture of Mr. Nathaniel sitting in his wheelchair at his front door, with his daughter standing to his right, ensuring he is secure in his wheelchair.  The third (bottom) is a picture of (from left to right) three family members who donated the hospital bed at their home in Palatka and Eric.  All of them are standing outside with a house in the background, behind a U-Haul trailer containing the donated bed.   

Towards the end of last month, the CIL provided our last food delivery at the ARC in Spring Hill, as our Sunshine Health Community Connections grant winds down.  CIL staff member Kevin Towles has been consistently delivering food and essential resources to the ARC in response to the pandemic, and they have been so appreciative of this added service.  Everything came together during the last day, and even the ARC board members were on site to wish everyone well. 

Image is a group picture of members of the ARC holding up a colorful polka-dotted sign, with white background that says, “Thank you CIL” in black lettering.

We wanted to share another great success story from our Employment Program!

David came to the CIL with the intent to gain some on the job experience as an auto mechanic and to hopefully follow that with employment in the same field. After visiting a number of auto shops in the area, CIL Employment Consultant Amanda, was able to find one particular shop with an owner who was eager to take David on and help him get the training he desired. In the month since he started his on the job training, he has been having a lot of fun getting hands-on experience with auto repair and maintenance, and his employer has really appreciated David’s enthusiasm to help out wherever he can at the shop.

Great job Amanda for providing David with this valuable on the job training opportunity, that helps prepare him for future employment opportunities!

Image is a picture of David and his supervisor looking into the hood of a truck, with his supervisor teaching him about the various parts of the engine.

CIL Team members Sada and Claudia had a wonderful time celebrating the end of summer at the Union County Health Fair, held at the Union County Public Library!  The community was so enthusiastic for this event, that there was a line wrapping around the building, and the event did not disappoint!  They had a humongous water slide, a variety of water games and activities, and even a fire truck spraying a gigantic arch of water to keep the kiddos cool.  It was a great opportunity to connect with community members of all ages and to educate them on what the CIL is all about.  We can’t wait for our next trip to Union County!

Image is a picture of Sada and Claudia (from left to right) tabling at the event standing behind the CIL table, smiling and wearing sunglasses and their CIL t-shirts. 

Our Wheelchair Ramp Building Program recently completed another modular ramp for a consumer in need.  Joe lives with multiple disabilities, including nerve damage, which eventually made it very difficult to walk.  He ended up needing to use a power wheelchair and was in desperate need of a solid and reliable wheelchair ramp for him to safely enter and exit his home.  The Center for Independent Living started working with Joe, and was able to provide him with a well-built modular ramp through our Wheelchair Ramp Building Program!  Thanks so much to our CORE Services Director Mark Brisbane, for all of your hard work and making these much-needed ramp builds possible!

Image includes four pictures; the top two are before pictures of Joe’s home, showing an old, rubber ramp with stairs leading up to the front door, and the bottom two are after pictures, showing the newly built modular ramp without stairs.