ACCESS QUARTERLY WINTER 2017
SILENT NIGHT
CIL’s Annual Deaf Holiday Social returns with a winter wonderland!
Also In This Issue Building Foundations to Freedom Stroll ‘n’ Roll Entrepreneurial Spirit CIL In the Community Aspire to Hire
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Building Foundations to Freedom
Entrepreneurial Spirit CIL’s 2017 High School High Tech class is learning about entrepreneurship with the help of CenterState Bank.
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Project SEARCH CIL’s Project SEARCH ended its premiere year with a 100% success rate As the second year begins, we explore what Project SEARCH is and why it is so successful.
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Upcoming Events
Teresa lived alone in her home, but her home was becoming a danger to her independence.
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Silent Night December 14, 2017 RAMPAGE Spring, 2018 Stroll ‘n’ Roll March 10, 2018 Celebrating Independence June 23, 2018
Stroll ‘n’ Roll Stroll ‘n’ Roll was delayed, but why?
Silent Night Every child should be able to experience the fun and excitement of the holidays. But what if their disability makes them unable to participate?
In the Community After the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma, CIL makes efforts to help the disability community recover.
Aspire to Hire How CIL staff helped Faruqee overcome his obstacles and find employment.
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“I liked how CIL helped us get a better understanding how banks work by allowing us to follow them around while they explained what their responsibilities are.” -Rashelle, 10th Grade High School High Tech
Board of Directors Chair Mellissa Slover-Athey Centerstate Bank
Vice Chair Maxine Moul Orlando Health
Past Chair Kim Byerly Darden Restaurants
Secretary Cheryl Stone Retired Microbiologist
Members Hector Del Valle, MSW AIP Southern Regional Coordinator
Alexis Kubart Pearson Online Learning Services
Dr. Maxine Ruddock Comprehensive Psychological & Assessment Services
Ronika Carter Watson LLP
Steve Beres Regions Bank
Tamara Mackroy Comprehensive Health Services
Ha Tran Crummer School of Business
MISSION “CIL, in partnership with the community, promotes inclusion of people with disabilities by eliminating architectural, communication and attitudinal barriers. CIL provides education, resources, and training to enhance self-determination through informed choice.”
Director’s Voice
This past year, Center for Independent Living in Central Florida, Inc. (CIL) continued its legacy of leadership in empowering people with disabilities in our community. Foundations to Freedom remains our most requested program. David Weekly Homes selected us as a partner, provided the funding and manpower to build 6 ramps. Additionally, we are very excited to say that we received $375,000 through State of Florida Elder Affairs to provide those all-important home modifications and adaptive equipment. Youth transition is growing and this year’s Project SEARCH resulted in a 100% employment placement rate. In addition, 20 students participated in our Leadership Camp where they gained real-world work experiences and career exploration skills and High School High Tech completed its 3rd year. We increased job coaching in our Aspire to Hire program which resulted in an increase in employment placements. We analyzed our information and referral services and realized that individuals’ needs could not be met with just a phone call, so we have expanded it into case management to ensure the clients receive all of the services they truly need. The halls of CIL were alive with visitors from literally all around the world. In March a select group of up and coming leaders from China came to share ideas and learn how nonprofits in the US serving people with disabilities function. Leadership Winter Park visited CIL as part of their program and we resumed our regularly scheduled agency tours. All of this could not have been possible without the support of our donors, volunteers, sponsors, funders, advocates, staff, and Board who all share in our mission of breaking down the barriers to opportunity and inclusion for people with disabilities. Thank you for believing in us. Elizabeth Howe Executive Director
www.cilorlando.org | ACCESS QUARTERLY
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Building Foundations to Freedom Teresa Henderson had no running water in her home. She relied on a walker and wheelchair to get around. There was a ramp to allow her to get in and out of her home but the ramp was in such disrepair that she had fallen several times. Her doctor informed her that While working with Teresa to identify the home modifications needed, it was discovered that she was not the legal owner of the property. Unfortunately, approval of the property owner was required in order to continue with any home modifications. However, the legal homeowner had long since died. The property was inherited by the original owner’s son. Sadly, soon after, he passed away, leaving Teresa alone with the home. She paid the taxes and resided in the home for 7 years. This legally should have qualified her for transfer of the deed. However, no formal documentation was ever completed. CIL case managers stepped in and worked with Teresa to complete the process in order for her to secure ownership. However, until the deed transfer was finalized, CIL was unable to do any work on the home. It took several months but Teresa finally became the rightful owner of the property and CIL was able to begin working to make her home safe and accessible. In just a single morning, CIL staff, with the help of volunteers from NuView’s Chair the Love Foundation demolished Teresa’s broken-down ramp and replace it with a new ramp and walkway, making it safe for her to safely get out of her home and reach the street in her walker or wheelchair, eliminating the danger of her falling. CIL’s Foundations to Freedom program helps hundreds of people like Teresa each year. In the last year CIL has provided the modifications and tools necessary for over 400 people to remain in their homes. Some people are in need of ramps and significant home modifications, while others only need help changing light bulbs or cleaning their homes. From projects small to large, Foundations to Freedom’s goal is to keep people with disabilities independently living in their homes. CIL’s accessibility team works with clients to assess their accessibility needs and determine how those needs can best be met.. 4
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Sometimes an individual requires work outside of CIL’s range of services. In cases like this CIL will help connect that person with appropriate resources in the community, while following through to ensure they receive the outcomes they want. “Each client who contacts CIL first speaks with one of our case managers to identify all of the client’s needs and determine how they can be met.” says Charlotte Merritt, Operations Director for the Center for Independent Living in Central Florida. “If they require accessibility services that CIL provides such as a home modifications or assistive equipment, they are contacted by a member of the accessibility department to schedule an evaluation. Otherwise we would identify resources and refer them to an organization that best matches their needs.” At any given time, there are roughly 200 people on CIL’s wait list for accessibility services. As funding and equipment becomes available CIL staff work to meet the needs of those on the list. In this year, CIL hopes to reduce the size of our list in order to more immediately meet the needs of our community. CIL’s Foundations to Freedom team can be reached by phone at 407-623-1070 or online at www.cilorlando.org.
www.cilorlando.org | ACCESS QUARTERLY
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Entrepreneurial Spirit Welcome back to another educational and fun filled High School High Tech 2017 -2018! We are very proud to have successfully begun another year working with our students.The year started with a total enrollment of fifteen students. This year’s theme is Entrepreneurship. Our students will have the opportunity to learn how to develop their own small business starting with developing a product and a business plan, designing branding, and bringing the product to market.Thanks to your continued support, our students will have the resources neccessary to ensure they are successful in this venture, While they develop their entrepreneurial skills we will continue to provide the students with fun and educational activities, aimed at introducing students to opportunities in Science,Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). These include off site trips, lessons, guest speakers, and classroom instruction. In addition, this quarter included our Disability Employment Awareness Month Event (DEAM) that took place at the CenterState Bank Operations Center in Winter Haven on October 25th. Students and chaperones had the opportunity to meet with CenterState Bank staff and tour the different departments while at the same time doing a little trick or treating. Bank staff had fun giveaways to hand out to the students while they learned. Our High School High Tech Students would like to give a very special and heartfelt “Thank You” to Ms. Melissa Slover-Athey (HSHT BAC Member) for all of her time and dedication in the planning process for this year’s Disability Employment Awareness Month(DEAM) event.We would also like to thank the staff of the Operations Center for welcoming us to their job site and providing the tour and job shadowing experiences. Before embarking on their job shadowing assignments, the students enjoyed lunch generously provided by Chick-fil-A. Without the support of so many companies, we would not be able to provide the students with such a valuable program.
The 2017-2018 High School High Tech Program is made possible in part by a grant from the George Jenkins Fund Part of the GiveWell Community Foundation
www.cilorlando.org | ACCESS QUARTERLY
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In 1996, while working as the Director of the Emergency Department at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Erin Riehle was frustrated with trying to find employees for entry level jobs that involved restocking supplies.While working to identify a solution to eliminating the high turnover rates, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital had adopted a major diversity initiative, taking a policy statement from the American College of Healthcare executives, which reads, “Healthcare organizations must lead their communities in increasing employment opportunities for qualified persons with disabilities and advocate on behalf of their employment to other organizations.” Erin wondered if people with disabilities could fill the jobs she had. Not knowing anyone with a disability she turned to Great Oaks Career Campuses and the Hamilton County Board of Developmental Disability Services to find out if her idea was possible.Together with these organizations the idea of filling a handful of jobs in Cincinnati Children’s Emergency Department evolved into a comprehensive program model called Project SEARCH. In Project SEARCH the sole definition of a successful outcome is “competitive employment in an integrated setting for each Project SEARCH intern,” which means that Project SEARCH graduates must be employed alongside employees without disabilities, have a year-round position, work at least 16 hours per week, and be making at least minimum wage. 8
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Project SEARCH is a business-led program. Students learn relevant, marketable skills while immersed in the business and those businesses are active partners, participating without subsidies. Our partner Lakeland Regional Health in Lakeland hosts CIL’s Project SEARCH students on site and works with CIL staff, Polk County Public Schools, Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council. The first few weeks, CIL’s Project SEARCH, students participate in employee orientation at Lakeland Regional Health.They undergo skills assessments and familiarize themselves with hospital functions and environments. During the assessment, the students also develop a career plan that guides them through the internship selection process. After the orientation process is complete the regular education schedule begins. As part of their education, students work on employability and functional skills for approximately one hour of their day. Classroom activities are designed around these focus areas: team building, getting around the workplace, workplace safety, technology, social skills, communication, presentation skills, interviewing skills, money management, health and wellness, job search skills, and keeping a job. Through a series of three targeted internships the students acquire competitive, marketable and transferable skills to enable them to apply for a related position. Students also build communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills which is important to their overall development as a beginning worker. These are unpaid student work experiences-analogous to the clinical rotations that are part of every medical school or business internship program. Potential student worksites are identified through a continuous collaborative process involving the teacher, job coaches and business liaison. These internship rotations begin a few weeks after the start of the program. Students are required to interact with their supervisors via telephone and written communications to arrange a job interview to secure each rotation. A department mentor is identified at each site. The mentor interacts with the instructor, job coaches, and the student as a consistent source of guidance and feedback. Students spend approximately five hours each day at the internships including a thirty minute lunch. Working from a task list, they acquire the core skills necessary to be hired in an entry-level position at the host business site or in the community. Job coaches and department staff collaborate to provide support for students. The Project SEARCH staff delivers the training and develops job accommodations and standard work procedures. Once the students master the core skills, additional skills are layered on to improve their marketability. All with the goal of ensuring successful, long-term employment. www.cilorlando.org | ACCESS QUARTERLY
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Stroll ‘n’ Roll
has been rescheduled!
Stroll ‘n’ Roll is CIL’s annual fundraiser walk that brings together people with and without disabilities. Originally scheduled for October 21, 2017, suddenly the date changed to March 10, 2018. What gives!? After Hurricane Irma hit Florida, Crane’s Roost and CIL staff met at the park to assess the damage. The lower level of the park, which included the main walking course, had been mostly submerged under the lake and there was no way to be sure that the water level would drop in time for the walk. There was little choice but to reschedule the walk in order to avoid having the walk potentially become a swimming event. The good news is that there is now even more time to recruit, fundraise, and work to make sure that this Stroll ‘n’ Roll is the best one yet! We are extremely excited to be hosting our event at Crane’s Roost Park. We have always prided ourselves on Stroll ‘n’ Roll being an all-accessible and inclusive event for anyone wishing to participate and we are happy to say that with 4 ramps and limited barriers, Crane’s Roost is one of the most accessible sites to host our walk. We look forward to seeing you at Stroll ‘n’ Roll on March 10th, 2018 at Crane’s Roost Park! 10
ACCESS QUARTERLY | WINTER EDITION
Join the walk for inclusion!
Saturday, March 10
8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Crane’s Roost Park
STROLL.CILORLANDO.ORG www.cilorlando.org | ACCESS QUARTERLY
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Every child deserves to experience the fun and excitement of the holidays. But what if you weren’t able to participate in the most festive time of the year? Conceived when the CIL Deaf Voice staff noticed that Santas and most holiday exhibits were not accessible for deaf children. In an effort to bridge that gap and create an inclusive holiday event, Silent Night was born. Held on the second Thursday in December, Silent Night is an inclusive holiday celebration for deaf children and children of deaf parents. Funded in part by Sorensen Communications, CIL is transforming its office into a Winter Wonderland for guests to enjoy. Activities will include ASL storytime, food, crafts, a hot chocolate station, and a Santa fluent in American Sign Language. The evening’s festivities will culminate with visits with Santa as well as gifts for the children. Silent Night will take place at CIL’s Winter Park office
Thursday, December 14 at
720 N Denning Drive Winter Park, FL 32789 from
6:00p.m. to 7:30p.m.
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ACCESS QUARTERLY | WINTER EDITION
CIL In the Community CIL serves seven counties in the Central Florida area: Seminole, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Hardee, Highlands, and DeSoto. After Hurricane Irma, Hardee and Highlands counties were particularly impacted, left with nearly 99% of their power grid damaged. While recovery has restored much to the lives of Floridians, people with disabilities are often overlooked and neglected when these efforts are underway. The widespread loss of power resulted in the spoiling of much of the refrigerated food supply. In an effort to balance the relief efforts for the disability community, CIL held food distributions for local residents with disabilities impacted by recent disasters. The food, donated by Second Harvest Food Bank and the Red Cross, was distributed at several sites across Central Florida, as well as to clients visiting CIL offices in Winter Park and Lakeland. Over 400 boxes of food were distributed in November to the Central Florida disability community.
www.cilorlando.org | ACCESS QUARTERLY
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Applying for a job can be tough, especially if you don’t currently have one. But job hunting with a disability adds another level of complication to finding employment. Faruqee had applied to a variety of places but none had responded to his applications. He was qualified for the customer service representative positions he had been applying for, but had been unable to find employment or even get an interview. After several frustrating months, he turned to Vocational Rehabilitation for assistance. His Vocational Rehabilitation counselor immediately took note of Faruqee’s disability: he was deaf. Because of its experience working with people that are deaf, VR immediately referred Faruqee to CIL. Faruqee met with CIL’s Aspire to Hire Employment Specialists and began to develop his goals and independent living plan.He underwent a series of job readiness trainings and worked with the staff to develop his resume ensuring it would appeal to hiring managers for the position he was trying to get. Faruqee practiced filling out job applications and the Employment team explained to him the importance of filling in applications completely, not leaving any blanks. Once he understood 14
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this, Faruqee moved on to learning about professional behavior and how to conduct himself during interviews as well as in the workplace. Now it was time to begin applying for jobs. At first, Faruqee would receive email confirmations that his application was under review, but no follow-up for interviews. As Faruqee continued to apply for positions and continued his training with CIL’s employment specialists he began to get more requests for interviews. CIL arranged for Faruqee to have interpreters present for his interviews, which allowed him to communicate with the interviewers. After several interviews and having received no offers, Faruqee expanded the type of job he was looking for and began applying for stock associate positions. He quickly
“CIL has pushed me forward, taught me how to communicate, and lifted me.” received interview requests from several companies interested in hiring him and scheduled them. After two unsuccessful interviews, Faruqee had an interview to be a stock associate at Abercrombie & Fitch. Faruqee had no problems answering any of the questions during the interview as manager explained the position to him. She told him he would be contacted with a decision within two days and thanked him for coming. Two days later, Faruqee notified the Aspire to Hire team that he had been contacted by Abercrombie & Fitch with a job offer and he had accepted. Faruqee is happy to be employed again and continues to work with his employment specialist at CIL. Over the next year of his employment, CIL’s job coaches will continue to help Faruqee develop in order to achieve his career goals. www.cilorlando.org | ACCESS QUARTERLY
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VISIT www.cilorlando.org to learn more
WINTER PARK OFFICE 720 N DENNING DRIVE WINTER PARK, FL 32789 PHONE: 407-623-1070
LAKELAND OFFICE 5125 S. LAKELAND DRIVE, SUITE 4 LAKELAND, FL 33814 PHONE: 863-413-2722
INFO@CILORLANDO.ORG