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Independent Living News & Policy from the National Council on Independent Living

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5 for 5: Independent Living Budget Increase Campaign Launch

January 30, 2023 By

February 13, 2023; 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. Eastern

Register online

Join NCIL as we launch our new advocacy campaign, 5 for 5! We are asking Congress for $500 million to support Independent Living Services. Join us to hear more about this effort and how you can help!

Agenda

  • Welcome
  • The importance of Centers for Independent Living to our community  
  • Current IL funding and appropriations process
  • How you can help!

Registration Fee: This event is free-of-charge and open to the public.

Visit our in-progress website: 5for5campaign.com or reach out to jessica@ncil.org for more information.

5 for 5 Logo: Fund Centers for Independent Living - 500 Million; 5 Core Services
5 for 5 Logo: Fund Centers for Independent Living – 500 Million; 5 Core Services
Filed Under: Independent Living & The Rehabilitation Act, Uncategorized

NCIL 2023 Annual Conference: Call for Proposals

December 19, 2022 By
2023 Annual Conference on Independent Living Logo: Indivisible. Graphic features intersecting threads.

July 24-27 (Grand Hyatt, Washington, DC)

NCIL is excited to announce our 2023 Annual Conference on Independent Living! The theme of this year’s conference is Indivisible. Our movement is Indivisible. We must advocate together for disability justice, unite with our allies, and fight against ableism and prejudice of all types.

NCIL’s Annual Conference is designed to provide peer support, organizing, advocacy, and learning opportunities. It is the largest Independent Living event of the year. NCIL regularly hosts over 1,000 people, including grassroots advocates, CIL and SILC leadership, members of Congress, government officials, and representatives from other organizations that work for justice and equity for people with disabilities.

This year’s conference will take place onsite in Washington, DC and will be archived and available online for those who cannot join us onsite. NCIL will host 25 workshops. Of those, twenty are reserved for in-person presentations. Five are reserved for presenters who will join us virtually. Those workshops will be streamed live at the Hyatt during the in-person conference.

[Read more…]
Filed Under: Uncategorized

NCIL Welcomes Jessica Podesva as Director of Advocacy and Public Policy

August 1, 2022 By

We are pleased to announce that Jessica Podesva has joined NCIL staff in the position of Director of Advocacy and Public Policy. Prior to this role, Jessica worked at the Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL) as a Senior Community Organizer working primarily on healthcare and transportation issues, including improving Massachusetts’s non-emergency medical transportation program and working with the state’s Medicaid agency to shorten the timelines for wheelchair repairs.

Prior to working at BCIL, Jessica worked as an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Greater Boston Legal Services, where she provided advocacy to ensure that people with disabilities had access to integrated and respectful healthcare in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Jessica has a Juris Doctor degree from New England Law Boston and a B.A. in Communications from SUNY Plattsburgh.

Image: Jessica, a white woman with long brown hair and glasses, is standing in the Boston Common, smiling.
Jessica, a white woman with long brown hair and glasses, is standing in the Boston Common, smiling.
Filed Under: Uncategorized

You’re Invited: White House Briefing for Americans with Disabilities

May 10, 2022 By

Source: White House

You are invited to a briefing for Americans with disabilities on Thursday, May 12 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern hosted by the White House Office of Public Engagement.

All are welcome! Please share with your email and social media networks.

ASL and CART will be provided.

Register for the call: https://pitc.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_2kVivXBcQ6a_YCso7MkdwQ

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Care Rationing Forum: Tuesday, November 16

November 12, 2021 By
With blue and brown colors, a graphic shows a line of coughing people entering a hospital, with a masked health care provider holding a clipboard with a question mark on it. Graphic text is available in this article.

Please join us for a Care Rationing Forum. We’ll discuss the impact of COVID care rationing on older people, disabled people, and people of color, and brainstorm how disability advocates around the country can take action.

Tuesday, November 16

  • 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. EST
  • 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. CST
  • 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. MST
  • 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. PST

Sign up at https://bit.ly/CareRationingForum.

Speakers:

  • Reyma McCoy McDeid, National Council on Independent Living
  • Mel Leviton, Idaho State Independent Living Council;
  • Silvia Yee, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF)

Event will include live captioning, ASL and Spanish interpretation. Please make a note of other needed languages or accommodations on the registration form.

This event is part of the Disability Organizers Forum, a project of the National Disability Leadership Alliance. Co-sponsored by Senior & Disability Action.

#DontRationOurCare #NoBodyIsDisposable #EndAbleism #EndAgeism

Please share widely.

Filed Under: Healthcare & Community Living, Uncategorized

NCIL Policy Briefing Archive Now Available!

July 16, 2021 By

On Wednesday, July 14, 2021; NCIL held its 16th Annual Policy Briefing.

At this briefing, the Chairs of key NCIL Legislative & Advocacy (L&A) Subcommittees discussed NCIL’s legislative priorities and Advocacy Priorities Guide. They also provided talking points to prepare conference attendees for their virtual Hill meetings on Thursday, July 22.

Archive

Materials

Briefing Presentation

Advocacy Priorities Guide (Summer 2021)

Filed Under: Uncategorized

2021 NCIL Advocacy Priorities Guide Now Available!

July 10, 2021 By

NCIL’s 2021 Advocacy Priorities Guide is now available.

This document contains specific information on the national legislative and policy priorities identified biannually by the NCIL membership, including funding for the Independent Living Program, healthcare and long-term care, housing, transportation, education, and more.

Please share this document with your Center or SILC staff, board, and the Senators and Representatives who serve your districts.

Contact NCIL for further information on the issues discussed in this document.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Registration Now Open for NCIL’s 2021 Virtual Annual Conference!

June 15, 2021 By
2021 Annual Conference on Independent Living Logo - LIBERTY, INDEPENDENCE, FREEDOM, EQUITY. Presented by NCIL. Graphic features a line art drawing of three pulmeria flowers.

July 19-30, 2021

The theme of NCIL’s 2021 Annual Conference is Liberty, Independence, Freedom, and Equity (LIFE).

Liberty, Independence, Freedom, and Equity represent the pillars of the work we must do. We will fight for the liberty of people with disabilities incarcerated in institutions, including nursing homes, psychiatric institutions, intermediate care facilities, jails and prisons, and other congregate settings. We will fight for the independence and freedom of people with disabilities to lead our own lives. We will fight for equity in all that we do to achieve a more just, anti-racist, and equitable society and Independent Living Movement. This is our agenda. Join Us!

All registrations received and paid by June 29, 2021 are eligible for the Early Bird registration rates.

Early Bird Registration Rates

  • NCIL Member: $150 / person
  • Non-Member: $240 / person
  • Youth (26 and younger): $90

Regular Registration Rates

  • NCIL Member: $210 / person
  • Non-Member: $300 / person
  • Youth (26 and younger): $90

Contact eleanor@ncil.org with questions about registration.

Registration Policies

BIPOC Complimentary Registrations

NCIL is excited to offer complimentary registrations to all BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) who want to attend NCIL’s 2021 Virtual Conference on Independent Living. NCIL is offering these complimentary registrations to all BIPOC to offer reparations for past harm and exclusion, in commitment to our transition to becoming a truly equitable and just organization. BIPOC folks will receive a discount code in the registration form to waive their registration fee.

Beginning in 2022, NCIL will offer BIPOC conference grants that will be application-based. We will release more information on the grants, including how to donate or apply in early 2022.  

Youth Registration Rate

NCIL offers a reduced youth registration fee of $90 to all NCIL members that are 26 years old or younger. We hope this special rate will allow young people to afford the Conference and organizations to sponsor young people to attend.

Replacement and Cancellations

Replacement and cancellation requests must be made in writing and sent to conference@ncil.org by July 13, 2021. No refunds will be issued after that date.

Registrant Replacement: If it becomes necessary for you to send someone in your place, please contact us as soon as possible.

Cancellation: Cancellation requests received by July 13, 2021 are refundable less a $50 processing fee.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Survey: Accessible COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution to People with Disabilities

April 29, 2021 By

Now that vaccine distribution is rapidly picking up pace, the Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies wants to find where people with disabilities continue to face barriers in accessing the COVID-19 vaccine.

Please take 10 minutes to complete the Accessible COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution to People with Disabilities survey to help us strategize for equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine for and autonomy of people with disabilities.

If you need this survey in an alternative format, please contact Priya Penner at p.penner@disasterstrategies.org.

Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies Logo
Filed Under: Uncategorized

2021 NCIL Advocacy Awards

March 25, 2021 By
2021 Annual Conference on Independent Living Logo - LIBERTY, INDEPENDENCE, FREEDOM, EQUITY. Presented by NCIL. Graphic features a line art drawing of three pulmeria flowers.

Each year, NCIL recognizes individuals and / or organizations for outstanding advocacy efforts.

Eligibility: Nominees do not have to be a member of NCIL. In the event that the winner is not a member of NCIL, upon receiving the award, he or she will receive a free one-year individual NCIL membership.

You must be a NCIL member to nominate someone for an award. The deadline to nominate for a NCIL Advocacy Award is May 28, 2021.

Awards will be announced during NCIL’s 2021 Annual Conference on Independent Living.

Diana Viets Memorial Award

This year, NCIL will again be honoring individuals from the Independent Living field with various awards for their dedication to the Independent Living and disability rights movements. One of these awards is the Diana Viets Memorial Award.

Diana was an energetic young woman with a disability who dedicated her life to empowering young people with disabilities to take an active role in the Independent Living movement. Through her work at a Center for Independent Living and the NCIL Board, Diana touched the lives of many youth with disabilities. NCIL wants to acknowledge, honor, and encourage our young leaders who are promoting disability pride, spreading Independent Living philosophy, and fostering the active participation of youth with disabilities in the disability rights movement.

Eligibility: Individuals eligible for this award should be young adults whose work through Independent Living has had a positive impact on youth with disabilities.

Regional Advocacy Awards

NCIL encourages you to nominate someone in your region who you believe is deserving of an award for their advocacy efforts.

Purpose: To recognize individuals or groups / organizations within each region for outstanding systems advocacy efforts consistent with independent living goals and philosophy at a national, state, or local level.

Process: The Regional Representative will solicit written nominations from membership within their region. Regional Representatives are strongly encouraged to solicit input from the members in their region in selecting the award winner. To the greatest degree possible, the selection process should be free of actual or perceived conflicts of interest. One award winner will be selected from each region.

Filed Under: Uncategorized
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