Information About Independent Living Centers
What is the Independent Living Philosophy?
The entire focus of the Independent Living Movement is the realization that freedom to make choices and the ability to live in the community is a basic civil right that should be extended to all people, regardless of disability. With this framework, Independent Living Center staff work with and for the consumer to promote his or her independence in the community.
This differs from many social service agencies which play a caretaker or protector role to "vulnerable populations." ILCs believe that the freedom to make choices, including mistakes, empowers people to further their involvement in their life and community.
Persons with disabilities are not clients whom professionals advise what is best for them. Instead, they are consumers of services, consumers who make informed decisions on the goals they want to achieve and ILCs give them the tools to help them achieve those goals. It's consumer control rather than a social service. Though a simple statement, this philosophy defines a focus that greater society often finds difficult to accept.
What is an Independent Living Center (ILC)?
There are 29 Independent Living Centers (ILCs) in the State of California. ILC’s are 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations run and controlled by persons with disabilities. They are non-residential, community-based centers where people with disabilities can receive assistance with a variety of daily living issues and learn the skills they need to take control of their lives from people who have had similar experiences living with a disability. CALIF’s center serves people with all types of disabilities including people with mental illness.
Typically, centers work with local and regional governments to improve infrastructure, raise awareness about disability issues and lobby for legislation that promotes equal opportunities and prohibits segregation and discrimination.
History of the Independent Living Movement
The birth of the independent living movement has been attributed to a group of students at U.C. Berkeley with disabilities. In 1962, Ed Roberts, the first severely disabled student was admitted to U.C. Berkeley. By 1969, the number of students with severe disabilities had increased to 12. The UC hospital surroundings were familiar to the new tenants, who had spent countless days and nights in custodial institutions.
A sense of unity and self confidence developed as the residents lived in close, continuing contact with each other. As they became more aware of the degree to which control over their lives had been taken over by medical and rehabilitation professionals, the students drew on their own experience to develop a philosophy of independent living. The students believed that they didn’t need to change to become integrated, but rather the environment and the attitudes toward persons with disabilities needed to change. The core of these students moved on to start the Center for Independent Living (CIL) in Berkeley.
Since the founding of CIL in Berkeley, 28 other Independent Living Centers (ILC) have taken shape across California and many more in the United States, bringing this philosophy to their consumer base.