Greetings | The Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida welcomes you! If you have any questions about the center or the services we provide, please contact us at 352-378-7474. Our number again, is 3, 5, 2, 3, 7, 8, 7, 4, 7, 4.
Happy Valentine’s day from all of us here at the CIL!
Image Description: Background is a pastel pink with dark pink border lines. In the upper left corner is an envelope with hearts bursting out and a box with heart balloons attached to is. In the upper right corner is the CIL logo. In the center are the words “Happy Valentine’s Day” in black, bolded text. Beneath this text is a paragraph, reading: “We adore our consumers, staff, volunteers, donors, and community partners! Thank you so much for contributing to our mission and purpose. You hold a special place in our hearts.” At the bottom is a signature line in pink bolded text, reading: “XOXO, CILNCF”.
Our very own Sada Ahmed, CIL Community Specialist, will be hosting an informational virtual program on the history and services we provide to our community. All adults 19 years and up are welcome. Come join Sada via zoom on Thursday, February 17th at 12:00 p.m! Click the link below to learn more about this event!
Image description: Light green background with pale flower outlines and blue and brown butterflies on the left and right borders. The CIL logo is at the top of the image and the Community Partners Present logo is in the top right corner. Underneath it, a block of text reads, “Learn about the history and the services that the Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida provides to our community!”. In the center of the image, there is a gilded dark green box with the date of the event: Thursday, February 17th from 12 pm-1 pm. The Alachua County Library District logo is in the bottom left corner of the image.
The Center for Independent Living of North Central FL is hosting the 5th Annual Emergency Preparedness Expo for People with Disabilities. The theme this year is What Happens Next After the Storm. This FREE event will include a variety of vendors and speakers to help prepare people with disabilities in our community for any type of emergency.
ASL interpreters will be provided and other accommodations can be arranged. In order to look out for everyone’s safety and health at this time, masks are highly encouraged. For more information about this event, please contact Kevin Towles at ktowles@cilncf.org or 352-368-3788.
Image description: Light blue background with a blue, light green, and teal banner at the bottom. The CIL logo and Ready Set Safe logo are at the top of the image and the title of the flyer underneath it reads: 5th Annual Emergency Preparedness Expo for People with Disabilities. The next line reads: Theme: What Happens Next After the Storm. Under that, the words “free event” are centered and there is blue, fuchsia, green, and teal confetti on either side. On the next line coming out of the left side of the flyer, there is a green banner with an arrow pointing to a picture of a face mask and the words “Masks Highly Encouraged”. The location and time of the event that’s mentioned in the caption above is written inside the green banner. Underneath it in fuchsia colored lettering, centered on the flyer, is the contact information and the website mentioned in the caption above. In this order, the Ocala Recreation and Parks, APD Cares, Developmental Service Trainers, Marion County seal, and Marion County Police Department logos are at the bottom of the page.
The Florida Association of Centers for Independent Living (FACIL) is still accepting applications for the James Patrick Memorial Work Incentive Personal Assistant Services program (JPPAS)! The JPPAS program provides monthly stipends to qualified Floridians with disabilities who require personal assistance services for daily living.
Michael has been using JPPAS for over two years! Read Michael’s comment below about how JPPAS has changed his life:
“I have been a member of the JPPAS Community for more than two years. It has been a life-changing benefit for me and many others living with a disability. For years people with disabilities were looked at as a community that can contribute little to society as an employee, an employer or as a consumer. Much like myself, people who live with a disability want the opportunity to contribute to society in the workforce and every other aspect of what makes life worth living.
The JPPAS program Is the main reason that this is possible for a great number of people living in the state of Florida. The assistance provided allows me to live at home with my wife, work at a job that I enjoy and lead a productive life full of happiness and purpose.
Florida has so much to offer people who live with a disability. Our state is an attractive destination for a community of employed workers and consumers which makes Florida a paradise for reasons that go beyond beaches and the sunshine. Quality of life is a necessity for every human being. For thousands of Floridians, this would not be possible without the assistance of The JPPAS program.”
Image description: dark blue background featuring two pictures of Michael side by side. The picture on the left is Michael smiling in his wheelchair with a computer on his lap. The picture on the right is angled behind Michael so you can see his laptop screen while he works outside in his backyard. The FACIL logo is in the bottom right corner of the image. There are blue semicircles and small pink dots spread around borders of the image.
Show the CIL a little love and join us for our weekly online classes! Youth Leadership & Social Group will be on Tuesdays from 3:30-5:00PM and Independence Hacks will be on Wednesdays from 10:30AM – 12:00PM. The meeting sign-in will be the same for each class and is 352-378-7474 and the password is cilclass. Please share this with anyone who may wish to participate. We hope to see you there!
Image description: Pink background with CIL logo in the top left corner. Red hearts are sprinkled throughout the image. The text in the graphic includes everything in the caption above. “February Online Calendar” is written in big lettering across the top of the image and “Tuesday” and “Wednesday” are written underneath it inside of a red heart. The class titles and meeting times are next to their corresponding weekday and the meeting ID and password is written at the bottom of the image.
Today we’d like to highlight all of our amazing staff members who received their staff awards at our Annual Staff Appreciation Luncheon last month: Brandon Palermo, our Consumer Specialist, and Ken Sanders, our Sign Language Interpreter, reached their 5 year anniversaries. Paratransit coordinator, Michael Culley, and Sign Language Interpreter, Riley Tuck, reached their 10 year anniversaries. Andrea Melvin, our Satellite Office Manager, has been with us for 20 years and Colette Gromoll, Business Manager, celebrated her 25 year anniversary!
The CIL has been so fortunate to have you all on our team. Every day you make a huge difference in the lives of people with disabilities and their loved ones, and we could not be more grateful. Thank you so much for your kind hearts, dedication, and commitment to this community and all of our consumers!
Image description: Light blue background with the words “Congrats to our amazing staff!” written in big black letters across the middle of the image followed by the CIL logo. There are 3 small pictures at the top of the graphic of our staff in the following order: Brandon (5 years) Ken (5 years) and Michael (10 years). At the bottom of the graphic, there are 3 more pictures of our staff in this order: Riley (10 years) Andrea (20 years) and Colette (25 years). There are small light blue, dark blue, and white stars sprinkled around the top left and bottom right corners of the graphic.
On the 17th of January, Andrea Melvin from the Ocala office conducted a soft skills workshop on Teamwork with “Project Looking Ahead” students at Hernando High School. The students worked in groups to build the tallest structure possible using only dry spaghetti and marshmallows. Everyone worked together and had a lot of fun! Team 3 made the tallest structure and they each received some sweet treats as a prize!
Image description: light beige background with yellow stripes around the bottom left and top right corners. Gray dots are sprinkled around the right and left borders of the image. There are two pictures at the top half of the image and one picture at the bottom half of the students sitting around a circular table and building structures using marshmallows and dry spaghetti. The top two images from left to right are of Team 1 and Team 2 and the bottom image is of Team 3. “Team 3 congratulations!” is written across the top of the image. The CIL logo is in the bottom right corner of the graphic.
The Florida Association of Centers for Independent Living (FACIL) is accepting applications for the James Patrick Memorial Work Incentive Personal Assistant Services program (JPPAS). The JPPAS program provides monthly stipends to qualified Floridians with disabilities who require personal assistance services for daily living. Read Jimmy Smith’s comment below about how JPPAS has helped him!
“I have been called a success story by many. Not only because I survived a near death experience over 31 years ago; but I also overcame many adversities of life. God has blessed me with a full time position which allows me the opportunity to help others with disabilities. I attribute much of my success to the JPPAS Program which affords me the opportunity to live independently, through the employment of an assistant to support me in daily activities. Because of the JPPAS Program I am able to support my family with dignity, respect and financially.”
Image features a light blue background with the JPPAS logo in the top left corner and the FACIL logo in the bottom right corner. There are two pictures of Jimmy Smith seated in front of a table with a banner titled “Disabled Services, City of Jacksonville”. There are dark blue stars scattered around the graphic.
The CILNCF turned 40 on October 22nd of last year! In celebration of this milestone, the CIL will be highlighting one program every month this year. Read all about this month’s program highlight below!
The Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology (FAAST) is the state of Florida’s assistive technology program. Assistive technology activities provided by the FAAST program will include device loans, device demonstrations, device reutilization, device training, information and assistance, and a statewide financing program for Floridians who have disabilities and their supporters.
We are excited to get this program up and running and we’ll keep you all informed about it! If you would like to learn more about FAAST, visit their website by using this link: https://faast.org/
Image features a light blue background with green, teal, fuchsia, and blue confetti at the top. “CIL 40th year celebration” is written in a semicircle shape in a bright fuchsia shade across the middle of the image. Below it, “Thank you for helping us fulfill our mission to empower people with disabilities to achieve their goals for independence!” is written inside a smaller green half-oval shape. Below it, “January CIL program spotlight” is written above the FAAST logo. The CIL logo is found in the bottom right corner of the image and there are teal stars sprinkled randomly throughout the graphic.
The CIL is still working hard through the pandemic to help our consumers find affordable housing during these difficult times. One of our consumers received a housing voucher last year which enabled her to transition from an abuse shelter and sleeping in her car with her children, into a safe and affordable home earlier this month! The Gainesville Housing Authority’s mainstream voucher program, and the help she received from the Center for Independent Living, has completely turned her and her family’s life around for the better. Special thanks go out to our own Consumer Specialist Mark Brisbane, the Gainesville Housing Authority and Eric Davis with GRACE Marketplace for partnering together and making this happen for our consumer and her family!
Image description: blue watercolor background featuring 4 pictures. The top left is a uhaul in front of a blue house, the top right is an empty living room with a grey floor and white walls, the bottom left is a photo of Eric Davis from GRACE with the new owner of the house, and the bottom right is a kitchen with brown cabinets and a white stovetop and oven. In the top center of the graphic, the words “Thank you” are featured. The GRACE and CIL logos are in the top right corner of the graphic and the Gainesville Housing Authority logo can be found in the top left corner.
