We are officially in the Fall and Halloween season, and our Ocala office is getting ready to celebrate with these fun and festive decorations around the office!  Have a great weekend everyone and stay warm! 

ID:  Two images with pictures of Ocala staff and Halloween decorations. 

The first image contains five pictures, top left is a wooden sign of a purple witch’s hat, with orange belt around the base, and yellow buckle.  Spider webs are at the top and on the bottom left brim, with a spider hanging down from the tip of the hat.  Below the hat, there is a sign pointing to the right that says, “Happy Halloween” and “In”.  Top right is Andrea’s face in the middle of a spider graphic.  Bottom left is Colleen’s face in a bat graphic and she is upside down hanging from a tree branch; in the middle it says, “Boo!” and at the bottom it says, “Have a scary Halloween!”  Bottom middle is Lauren’s face in a wicked witch of the west graphic, and bottom right is Amanda’s face in a ghost graphic.

The second image contains four pictures, top left is a picture of Kevin’s face in a Frankenstein graphic, top right is a picture of Lucinda’s face in a purple cat graphic with a witch hat, bottom left is a picture of Brandon’s face in a skeleton graphic, and bottom right is a picture of various Halloween trick or treat buckets and decorations on a table.

The Independence and Opportunity Network of Gainesville (ION) is having their next Bingo Night for young adults with disabilities this Friday, October 21^st from 7pm – 9pm, at the Center for Independent Living, 222 SW 36^th Terrace, Gainesville, FL!  Cost is $5 at the door and includes pizza, drinks, dessert, prizes and karaoke!

Special thanks to the event volunteers:  HEROES from UF and additional CIL volunteers. We couldn’t do this without all of you!

Please note, there will not be an online option this month, however, ION is exploring this option for future events.

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 in the bottom left corner and numbered bingo balls in the remaining corners. The ION logo is centered up top, the CIL logo is to the upper right, the HEROES logo is towards the bottom left, and a small Karaoke Party graphic with microphone is in the middle towards the bottom.

With cold and flu season coming around, now’s a good time to protect yourself and our community by vaccinating against COVID-19!

Come out to our accessible vaccine clinic this Monday, October 17the from 10am to 2pm at the Marion Senior Center to get your (free!) vaccine/booster shot and be entered into our raffle. There will be three winners selected for a $50 gift card. The clinic is wheelchair accessible, and ASL interpreters will be provided on-site. Other accommodations will be provided as needed.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

ID: Pale pink background with a half circle that is orange. At the top of the graphic is the title, “Accessible COVID-19 Vaccines”.  Below the title to the right, is clip art of a man in a wheelchair holding hands next to a woman who is walking by his side. Below the title to the left, is the Marion Senior Services logo, and a list of details about the event:  primary vaccines and booster shots, the clinic is accessible with wheelchair entrances, ASL translators, and transportation provided as needed. Below that is the date of the event, and it says, “Call (352) 378-7474 with any questions or accommodation requests.” At the very bottom, from left to right is the Disability Rights Florida logo, CIL logo, Interpreting hands symbol, and the location, Marion Senior Center, 1101 SW 20th Court, Ocala, FL 34471.

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)