Eve & Jeanine
(Independent Living, Inc.)
Sullivan 180 Presents…
TAKE FIVE!
March 02, 2021
For this week’s Take Five! we spoke with Independent Living, Inc., which provides services and advocacy to individuals with disabilities. Their offices are located in Newburgh, Middletown, Rockland, and locally in Monticello. Tune in to hear about the many services provided to young and old, individuals and families.
Sullivan 180 Presents…
TAKE FIVE!
March 02, 2021
For this week’s Take Five! we spoke with Independent Living, Inc., which provides services and advocacy to individuals with disabilities. Their offices are located in Newburgh, Middletown, Rockland, and locally in Monticello. Tune in to hear about the many services provided to young and old, individuals and families.
Eve & Jeanine
(Independent Living, Inc.)
Transcript of Interview with Independent Living, Inc.
March 01, 2021
Meaghan Mullally-Gorr:
Hi, I’m Meaghan Mullally-Gorr. Welcome to Sullivan 180 Presents Take Five!. Our guests today are Eve and Jeanine joining us from Independent Living. Hello ladies, how are you today? Thanks so much for joining me. So my first question is, can you please introduce yourselves one at a time and let us know what your title is?
Independent Living:
So I’m Jeanine Lewis, I’m the Peer Bridger and Diversion team leader. And I’m Eve Slate. I’m the Monticello program site manager here.
Meaghan Mullally-Gorr:
Great. Can you guys tell us a little bit about independent living and the services that are offered to the community?
Independent Living:
Yes, absolutely. So independent Living Inc was founded in 1987 by our CEO, Doug Hubby, and is a consumer directed cross disability advocacy and service organization dedicated to enhance the quality of life for individuals with disabilities, but independent skills specialist position also known as the ILSS provides a set core core services geared towards promoting self-help equal access, peer role modeling, empowerment to individuals of all ages. This includes problem solving skills, advocacy teaching of the skills needed to live independently in one’s own community. The ILSS also helps people become self-sufficient in areas such as housing, transportation, employment, benefit advisement, and self-advocacy. The ILSS works with individuals, organizations, state, and national networks to provide full inclusion of people with disabilities and to improve existing laws. The ILSS all offers employment readiness services to support individuals efforts to reenter and enter the workforce. In December of 2014, we obtained funding from the office of mental health for our peer specialists who provide person centered peer support from a lived mental health experience to others with mental health and or co-occurring disabilities. Our peer specialists are certified through New York state and he focused on preventing hospitalizations and transitioning individuals back into the community, which helps reduce the need for more intensive and costly services and reduces the recidivism rate.
Meaghan Mullally-Gorr:
So you guys have a lot going on with Independent Living. How does one know if they are eligible for services with independent living?
Independent Living:
Well, since we are grant funded through access VR which is state ed money, some of the requirements are that a person disclosed that they are a Sullivan County residentand they’re willing to identify with having some type of disability. To note, we do not deny services if people don’t feel comfortable upon our intake. The OMH funded positions require that individuals will identify with having some type of mental health condition and or substance abuse disorder. We do not ask for proof of disability and a person does not need to receive social security disability to obtain services. We’re not mandated and we’re free of charge to the community, but we do need them to disclose that they do have some type of disability. There’s so much stigma about having a disability that sometimes people may not realize it. They may not realize that high blood pressure is a disability. They may not realize a learning disability. They might not realize that you can say, hey, I’m having trouble reading this and I need some help, but it’s not necessarily considered a disability it’s considered under our funding purposes.
Meaghan Mullally-Gorr:
That is very valuable information. Okay, great. How has Independent Living day to day operation and services changed during COVID?
Independent Living:
Well, we are continuing to assist people to meet their needs as always advocating for people as much as possible with what they need and providing additional phone support. We are limiting face-to-face in person meetings since COVID, we’re not able to transport individuals at this time. We do meet individuals in the community, but on a very limited basis. We have established a strong ability to use other video platforms to communicate and are always available by phone. We are still looking at the hospital and mobile mental health, and we provide face-to-face service there. We also have resumed providing the access VR orientation meetings through Zoom. We continue to attempt to learn any and all possible ways to outreach our community, to support our individuals and the community.
Meaghan Mullally-Gorr:
Great. How can anyone who’s looking for assistance, get in touch with each of you
Independent Living:
That’s at 794- 3322 and ask for Eve or Jeanine. We also have a receptionist that would be able to complete an intake over the phone with that person.
Meaghan Mullally-Gorr:
Okay, great. And then how can people stay up to date on information about independent living? Do you have any social media accounts or website?
Independent Living:
We have a Facebook page and we have a web page, myindependentliving.org, but you can always feel free to call the office because we’re open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. And we’re happy to answer any questions that somebody has.
Meaghan Mullally-Gorr:
Great. Is there anything else that you guys would like to add?
Independent Living:
We want to clarify one more thing, about our intake process. We do ask a lot of questions that help identify areas of concern. So for example, someone might call because they maybe need help finding housing, but in discussing, they also need assistance applying for food stamps and in discovering that the reason why they haven’t is because maybe they couldn’t read the application. So that’s why we also do ask a lot of questions. Secondly, these questions assist with some statistical information so that we can continue to receive funding to assist our community.
Meaghan Mullally-Gorr:
So you use the information coming in those demographics for grants, right?
Independent Living:
And if anybody has any questions and needs help if they’re not sure if they have a disability, they can always call the office.
Meaghan Mullally-Gorr:
Okay, great. Well, thank you both for joining me for today’s take five and thanks for all of the wonderful work that you and all of your team do in Sullivan County and the surrounding counties.
Independent Living:
Thank you so much for considering us. Thank you for having us.
Transcript of Interview with Independent Living, Inc.
March 01, 2021
Meaghan Mullally-Gorr:
Hi, I’m Meaghan Mullally-Gorr. Welcome to Sullivan 180 Presents Take Five!. Our guests today are Eve and Jeanine joining us from Independent Living. Hello ladies, how are you today? Thanks so much for joining me. So my first question is, can you please introduce yourselves one at a time and let us know what your title is?
Independent Living:
So I’m Jeanine Lewis, I’m the Peer Bridger and Diversion team leader. And I’m Eve Slate. I’m the Monticello program site manager here.
Meaghan Mullally-Gorr:
Great. Can you guys tell us a little bit about independent living and the services that are offered to the community?
Independent Living:
Yes, absolutely. So independent Living Inc was founded in 1987 by our CEO, Doug Hubby, and is a consumer directed cross disability advocacy and service organization dedicated to enhance the quality of life for individuals with disabilities, but independent skills specialist position also known as the ILSS provides a set core core services geared towards promoting self-help equal access, peer role modeling, empowerment to individuals of all ages. This includes problem solving skills, advocacy teaching of the skills needed to live independently in one’s own community. The ILSS also helps people become self-sufficient in areas such as housing, transportation, employment, benefit advisement, and self-advocacy. The ILSS works with individuals, organizations, state, and national networks to provide full inclusion of people with disabilities and to improve existing laws. The ILSS all offers employment readiness services to support individuals efforts to reenter and enter the workforce. In December of 2014, we obtained funding from the office of mental health for our peer specialists who provide person centered peer support from a lived mental health experience to others with mental health and or co-occurring disabilities. Our peer specialists are certified through New York state and he focused on preventing hospitalizations and transitioning individuals back into the community, which helps reduce the need for more intensive and costly services and reduces the recidivism rate.
Meaghan Mullally-Gorr:
So you guys have a lot going on with Independent Living. How does one know if they are eligible for services with independent living?
Independent Living:
Well, since we are grant funded through access VR which is state ed money, some of the requirements are that a person disclosed that they are a Sullivan County residentand they’re willing to identify with having some type of disability. To note, we do not deny services if people don’t feel comfortable upon our intake. The OMH funded positions require that individuals will identify with having some type of mental health condition and or substance abuse disorder. We do not ask for proof of disability and a person does not need to receive social security disability to obtain services. We’re not mandated and we’re free of charge to the community, but we do need them to disclose that they do have some type of disability. There’s so much stigma about having a disability that sometimes people may not realize it. They may not realize that high blood pressure is a disability. They may not realize a learning disability. They might not realize that you can say, hey, I’m having trouble reading this and I need some help, but it’s not necessarily considered a disability it’s considered under our funding purposes.
Meaghan Mullally-Gorr:
That is very valuable information. Okay, great. How has Independent Living day to day operation and services changed during COVID?
Independent Living:
Well, we are continuing to assist people to meet their needs as always advocating for people as much as possible with what they need and providing additional phone support. We are limiting face-to-face in person meetings since COVID, we’re not able to transport individuals at this time. We do meet individuals in the community, but on a very limited basis. We have established a strong ability to use other video platforms to communicate and are always available by phone. We are still looking at the hospital and mobile mental health, and we provide face-to-face service there. We also have resumed providing the access VR orientation meetings through Zoom. We continue to attempt to learn any and all possible ways to outreach our community, to support our individuals and the community.
Meaghan Mullally-Gorr:
Great. How can anyone who’s looking for assistance, get in touch with each of you
Independent Living:
That’s at 794- 3322 and ask for Eve or Jeanine. We also have a receptionist that would be able to complete an intake over the phone with that person.
Meaghan Mullally-Gorr:
Okay, great. And then how can people stay up to date on information about independent living? Do you have any social media accounts or website?
Independent Living:
We have a Facebook page and we have a web page, myindependentliving.org, but you can always feel free to call the office because we’re open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. And we’re happy to answer any questions that somebody has.
Meaghan Mullally-Gorr:
Great. Is there anything else that you guys would like to add?
Independent Living:
We want to clarify one more thing, about our intake process. We do ask a lot of questions that help identify areas of concern. So for example, someone might call because they maybe need help finding housing, but in discussing, they also need assistance applying for food stamps and in discovering that the reason why they haven’t is because maybe they couldn’t read the application. So that’s why we also do ask a lot of questions. Secondly, these questions assist with some statistical information so that we can continue to receive funding to assist our community.
Meaghan Mullally-Gorr:
So you use the information coming in those demographics for grants, right?
Independent Living:
And if anybody has any questions and needs help if they’re not sure if they have a disability, they can always call the office.
Meaghan Mullally-Gorr:
Okay, great. Well, thank you both for joining me for today’s take five and thanks for all of the wonderful work that you and all of your team do in Sullivan County and the surrounding counties.
Independent Living:
Thank you so much for considering us. Thank you for having us.
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