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.

We wanted to share another success story from our Employment Program! Please read below and enjoy!

CIL consumer, Melba, has recently been referred to the CIL for employment services. She used to be a school bus driver for the School Board of Alachua County. Now, Melba is interested in pursuing customer services, but her computer skills are very limited. CIL Employment Team member Muriel, learned about Santa Fe College’s Displaced Homemaker Program, where they offer computer courses for free. Muriel referred Melba to the program, and Melba did her part and contacted them.

Melba has been taking part in the program for about a month now, and she is really enjoying the computer course and has learned a lot. She so looks forward to attending the computer class. Melba rates herself at an 8 and states that she is very comfortable using the computer now. 

Great job Muriel and to the entire Employment Team for helping our consumers with disabilities gain more confidence and motivation as they pursue meaningful employment!

Image is a picture of Melba at the CIL in the lobby. She is standing in front of CIL brochures, smiling and wearing glasses and a red, long-sleeved shirt.

Big things are happening in the world of Durable Medical Equipment (DME) and Assistive Technology (AT)! Claudia and Sada have been hard at work collecting and distributing donations across Alachua county. They have recently received a large donation in Newberry, dropped off a wheelchair in Alachua, and collected a hospital bed here in Gainesville. 

Today, the hospital bed will be made available to a community member in Ocala, and we will have a new one coming in tomorrow! The donations are coming in as “FAAST” as they are going!! If you or someone you know needs DME or AT, or you would like to donate, please contact the Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida at 352-378-7474.

Images are of three pictures, the first picture is of Mr. Velazquez sitting in a wheelchair in the doorway of his home, with the new wheelchair in a box in front of him from the Wheelchair Foundation, the second picture is of CIL staff Eric (left) and Sada (right) standing behind various DME items and in front of a red truck with a U-Haul trailer connected to the back.  They are both smiling with their mouths open and Eric’s arms are outstretched. The third picture is of Eric (left) and Claudia (right) loading the donated hospital bed into the U-Haul trailer. Claudia is standing in the trailer and smiling and Eric is outside of the trailer in the back.

This hot summer is still going strong, so get out of the blazing heat and join us online for our weekly classes in August!  In-person classes will hopefully resume sometime 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 white beach sand, with the CIL Logo in the top center.  Below the CIL logo is a blue heading that reads, “August Online Calendar”.  Underneath to the left are yellow suns and rays with “Tuesdays” and “Wednesdays” inside.  The class titles and meeting times are to the right, next to their corresponding weekday, and the meeting ID and password is written at the bottom of the image.   

We’re continuing to spread the word and let everyone know that the Florida Association of Centers for Independent Living (FACIL) is still accepting applications for the James Patrick Memorial Work Incentive Personal Assistant Services and Employment Assistance (JP-PAS) Program!

The JP-PAS Program truly changes lives by providing monthly stipends to qualified Floridians with disabilities who are employed and require personal assistance services for daily living. If you or anyone you know would benefit from this amazing program or if you would like to learn more and make a change in your life, please visit http://www.floridacils.org/pca-services-program!

Image description: Sunset background of blue at the top, fading into yellow, orange and red towards the bottom, with black hill tops at the very bottom. The top of the image reads: “The JP-PAS Personal Attendant Services and Employment Assistance Program” in large dark purple lettering. In the bottom center of the graphic, there is a stick figure illustration of a person in a wheelchair working at a computer. 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.

Get ready to give and save the date! Give4Marion is just 8 weeks away!

For the 3^rd year in a row, the CIL will be participating in #Give4Marion, an online community giving day that benefits so many local non-profit organizations in Ocala/Marion.  The event starts on Tuesday, September 20^th, 2022 at 10am until Wednesday, September 21^st at 7pm…a 33-hour giving campaign! 

All donations will directly benefit our Marion County consumers, so please visit give4marion.org for more information about how you can make a difference! 

Image Description: Give4Marion graphic with tall, green trees in the background and an individual in the foreground to the right, wearing a light blue shirt with white gloves, holding open a plastic bag, collecting plastic bottles from another individual wearing white gloves, who is not fully pictured.  The Give4Marion logo is at the top left, with Save The Date! in red lettering in the middle of the graphic.  A dark blue rectangular shape is at the bottom right, with white lettering inside that reads, Join Us and Give, Give4Marion, Give4Marion.org.