June 30, 2021; 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. Eastern
People with disabilities experience homelessness at alarming rates. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reports that among adults using shelters, 49% report having a disability. Of course, not all unhoused people use shelters and many disabilities go undisclosed, so the actual rates are likely significantly higher. The rate of disability is also much higher within certain groups, like unhoused veterans. Centers for Independent Living (CILs) must support people experiencing homelessness if they want to reach all of the people with disabilities in their community. Virtually every CIL has served someone experiencing or at risk of homelessness, but join us on June 30th to hear from two CILs who have made concerted efforts to meet unhoused consumers where they are and provide housing and other IL supports.
This is a critical conversation and our panelists have excellent real-world resources and solutions to share. Don’t miss it!
Registration Fee: This event is free-of-charge.
Target Audience: Staff and board members of Centers for Independent Living.
What You Will Learn:
- Creative approaches that educate communities to advocate against barriers for securing safe, accessible housing
- Outreach strategies that inform and foster an atmosphere for collaboration among providers, governmental entities, the business community, and other stakeholders about available homeless prevention resources and services inclusive of consumers who are black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and who are multiply marginalized
- Funding streams for homelessness prevention activities, including leveraging COVID-19 funding to support consumers without places to live
Meet Your Panelists
Georgina Alvarez joined Central Coast Center for Independent Living (CCCIL) in 2007 as the Community Work Incentives Coordinator (CWIC). As a CWIC, Georgina provided benefits counseling to consumers who were on Social Security benefits. After two years of employment, she was promoted to Special Projects Coordinator (SPC) and in 2014 became the Associate Director. As the SPC she assisted with overseeing and bringing services for consumers with a traumatic brain injury and as Associate Director developed CCCIL’s Rapid Rehousing Programs. Also as Associate Director, Georgina has been able to secure funding to maintain and expand CCCIL’s housing services. Prior to joining CCCIL, she worked as a Teacher Assistance at Mini-Corps Migrant Program and completed an internship with the District Attorney’s Office, Domestic Violence Advocate Unit, Monterey County. She graduated from California State University, Monterey Bay with a Bachelors of Arts, in Collaborative Health and Human Services, Social Work Concentration. Georgina currently lives in Greenfield, CA with her husband and two children.
Robbie Roppolo (He / Him) is the Independent Living Program Director at the Atlantis Community. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in the 1900s and learned to fish before he could walk. He moved to Denver in 1996 and started working with the Disability Community on a part time basis shortly thereafter. He joined the Atlantis Community in 2016. Robbie is passionate about fighting for the rights of people with disabilities, unhoused people, dismantling White Supremacy, as well as crushing the Patriarchy. The thing that motivates Robbie the most is disrupting the Medical Model and supporting people with disabilities to achieve their independence so they can live their best lives in a setting of their choice. Robbie has been a roadie with The Wayfaring Band since 2013 and has traveled across 11 states as well as Paris and Portugal. In his spare time, Robbie serves on the Building Bridges Board of Directors. He also volunteers at the All Sacred Tattoo Studio, and the Transformative Freedom Fund’s annual fundraiser. Robbie also enjoys fishing, rafting, camping, cooking, and is an amateur Rock Hound.
Presented by the IL-NET: The IL-NET National Training and Technical Assistance (T&TA) Center for Independent Living is operated by ILRU (Independent Living Research Utilization). The IL-NET T&TA Center provides training and technical assistance to centers for independent living and statewide independent living councils. The IL-NET is supported by grant numbers 90ILTA0002 and 90ISTA0002 from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Administration for Community Living policy.
