The month of February is dedicated to honoring the long history of Black Americans and their many contributions to society. This month, we wanted to highlight the stories of Black heroes whose vision, commitment and activism helped advance progress for people with disabilities. As we reflect on the past, we remember the incredible advocates who are too often left out of the retelling of history.

ID: There are 5 graphics, each colored black, green, yellow, and red with the following text about each unsung hero of Black History Month:

Johnnie Lacy: A Voice for Black Women with Disabilities
Johnnie Lacy helped found the Center for Independent Living at Berkeley and became the Director of the Community Resources for Independent Living (CRIL) in its early days from 1981 to 1994. During her time at CRIL, she engaged the community in groundbreaking and essential conversations about identity and the challenges that come with being a Black woman with a disability.

Brad Lomax & Chuck Jackson: Uniting the Civil Rights Community
The “504 Sit In” has been widely written about, but the involvement of two Black disability activists, Brad Lomax and Chuck Jackson, has been largely overlooked. These two members of the Black Panther Party, Brad Lomax, and his assistant, Chuck Jackson, participated in the sit in. Lomax was an Oakland resident with multiple sclerosis which required him to use a wheelchair. Together, Lomax and Jackson worked with their community to cook and deliver hot meals to disability rights advocates during the 28-day protest.

Bessie Blount: Transforming what is Possible through Assistive Technology
Blount believed that it was important for people with disabilities to be able to feed themselves in order to have independence and increase their self-esteem. To do this, Blount came up with a device that consisted of a tube that transported individual bites of food to the patient’s mouth. Blount’s innovation was one of the earliest forms of assistive technology for individuals with disabilities and she paved the way for many more advancements in the field.

These Black advocates, inventors, and activists — Johnnie Lacy, Brad Lomax, Chuck Jackson, and Bessie Blount — each contributed something unique to the disability movement and have helped our communities get to where we are today. It’s hard to imagine a world without their significant contributions.

Please join us this February for both in-person and online classes at the CIL! 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!

THEME: How to protect yourself/families for any type of emergency

DATE:
Tuesday, March 7th, 2023, 8:45am – 1:00pm

LOCATION:
One Health Center
1714 SW 17th Avenue
Ocala, FL 34471

For questions or assistance with registration, please call 352-368-3788.

To register, please go to: https://www.cilncf.org/emergency-preparedness/

Earlier this month, Project Looking Ahead students at Hernando High School, participated in a fun, teamwork building activity. The objective was to work as a group to build the tallest free-standing structure possible using only dry spaghetti and marshmallows. The activity not only helped students build their structures, but also helped them build essential communication and leadership skills. The winning team was composed of Ethan, Omar, Richard, and Alex.

ID: There are total of 5 photos. Each are of students sitting and standing around a circular wooden table, participating in team building activities described in the caption.

Although the holiday season has passed, we wanted to still send some holiday cheer in January!  After three years of virtual events, our High School High Tech (HSHT) students were finally able to celebrate their Annual Holiday Party in person this year!  In mid-December, students from all of our HSHT counties in Alachua, Levy, Marion and Putnam were able to come to the CIL and celebrate the holidays together.  Everyone enjoyed yummy snacks, door prizes and fun holiday games that included, Face the Cookie, Holiday Pictionary and Holiday Reverse Charades.  They also had a special surprise guest crash the party…Santa!   All of the students had a great time and were grateful celebrating the holidays in the CIL activity room after such a long time.

ID: There are a total of 8 photos of the HSHT students celebrating their Annual Holiday party in the Activity Room at CIL Gainesville. The photos show everyone playing games, eating delicious snacks, and having a great time together.

Last month, during our Staff Appreciation Luncheon, we were finally able to honor staff members in person, who achieved specific work anniversary milestones of 5, 10, 15, 20 and even 25 years! This past year, we had seven staff members to celebrate and they are all listed below.

Colleen Metcalf, Consumer Specialist – 25 years, wow!!!!
Steve Grant, Office Receptionist (Retired) – 20 years!!!
Kathy Elkins, Sign Language Interpreting Program Manager – 20 years!!!
Amy Feutz, Associate Director – 20 years!!!
Terri Poucher, ILS Coordinator – 15 years!!
Lucinda Haile, Ocala Office Receptionist – 15 years!!
Kevin Towles, Consumer Specialist – 10 years!

You all have made such a huge difference in the lives of people with disabilities throughout the years, and we are so grateful to have you on our CIL Team! Thank you so much for your dedicated service, commitment and all that you do for the CIL, our community and our consumers!

ID: There are 6 images. Each image is a Poloraid graphic with a picture of each of the staff mentioned receiving their award from their supervisor. The photo of Terry does not include Tony, her supervisor. There is not a photo of Steve Grant because he retired a few months earlier. The background color for each image is a different color of the CIL logo: purple, blue, green, turquoise. The name of the staff member and their supervisor is written on each image.

All of us here at the CIL would like to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. and honor his legacy through continued commitment to service for our community. Let us join together to reflect on MLK’s life, memory, and ability to spread love and kindness to all. Let us recommit to building a better, fairer, and more equitable world.

In collaboration with Caption Call AND Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology, The Center for Independent Living presents Mobility Express Presentation.

This presentation will cover information and equipment that helps accommodate for communicating with the Deaf & Hard of Hearing 

Friday, January 27, at 10:00 AM via Zoom
Meeting ID: 352-378-7474
Passcode: cilclass

For questions, contact Brandon Palermo: 
The Center for Independent Living
2760 SE 17th Street, Suite 300 Ocala, FL 34471
(352) 368-3788 ext. 1012
BPalermo@cilncf.org

Our Wheelchair Ramp Building Program continues to make a difference in our consumer’s lives! Debbie was in dire need of a ramp, as she was in jeopardy of having to go into a nursing home due to her disability. But thanks to our new program for modular ramps, we were able to secure a ramp for Debbie this past month, and ensure that she is able to continue living independently in her own home. Debbie is thrilled and still can’t believe she has a new ramp! She now has access to the community and is able to go to important doctor appointments and therapy, without needing assistance from neighbors or relatives to help her go up and down stairs in her wheelchair. Debbie said the best part of her morning is now sitting on the front deck of her ramp, enjoying a hot cup of coffee, the fresh clean air and sunshine. She is forever grateful for this blessing and for the Center for Independent Living!

Special thanks to our CORE Services Director, Mark Brisbane, for continuing to make this happen for our consumers with disabilities in need of a ramp and better access to their community!

Our Director Tony at the Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida shares a message of deep gratitude and wishes for a happy, healthy, and independent 2023! Our staff work with so much heart and dedication to empower people with disabilities to live independently. We’re absolutely thrilled for what this year will bring.