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West Limerick Independent LivingWest Limerick Independent Living is a not for profit company established in 1997 by a small group of people, many of whom have a disability. Its main aim was to ensure that people with disabilities achieved independent living and full participation in society. The company is working to develop high quality Personal Support Service for people with disabilities in the Mid West region of Ireland. Independent Living in IrelandThe first Irish Centre for Independent Living (CIL), CIL Carmichael House, was established in 1992 by and for people with disabilities. Its main aim was to ensure that people with disabilities achieved independent living and full participation in society. A grassroots organisation, it offered an advocacy and a campaigning representation role for people with disabilities. It strived to bring about a social model of service delivery, with policy decisions that would include input from those whose lives were actually affected rather than solely from the non-disabled professionals working in the disability industry. CIL Carmichael House also assumed an action-research role in relation to Independent Living (IL)internationally. It did this by monitoring IL developments, and pursuing 'action' (or change) and 'research' (or understanding) simultaneously, thereby learning from experience and incorporating information from best international practices into an Irish context. The History of Independent LivingThe Independent Living philosophy originated from the very first Center for Independent Living (CIL) established in Berkeley, California in 1972. That CIL was developed by a group of people with disabilities, to support the development of a new perspective on disability - one that gave empowerment and civil rights to people with disabilities. It supported and encouraged them to leave residential care and live independently in the community. Up to this point people with disabilities were generally passive, dependent, living solely in institutions or in the family home. They were part of a 'medical model' - which viewed a person with a disability as a patient, to be rehabilitated or cured, or at least helped adapt in order to fit in with society. Services for people with disabilities were designed by people with no personal experience of the issues, merely their perceptions of what was needed. The Social Model of DisabilityThe Independent Living (IL) philosophy however promoted a 'social model' of disability - with the premise that people with disabilities have a right to actively participate in, and contribute to society as equals and without dependence on family, institutions or charity. The social model recognises that people with disabilities are prevented from achieving their full potential by the attitude of society, as well as environmental obstacles such as restrictions in their access to public transport, entertainment and public places, and in education and employment. The focus is not on rehabilitating the individual with a disability therefore, but on rehabilitating society and the environment, in order to make it accessible and create inclusion for the person with a disability as a consumer rather than as a patient. It is recognised that the real experts, when it comes to designing services, are those with the closest possible experiences of the issues - people with disabilities themselves. The Philosophy of Independent LivingThe philosophy of Independent Living is that of living like everyone else - having control of one's own life, having opportunities to make decisions that affect one's life and being able to pursue activities of one's own choosing, regardless of disability. It means 'the right of all persons regardless of age, type or extent of disability to: live in the community, as opposed to living in an institution; have the same range of choices as everyone else; participate in the social, economic and political life of their communities; have a family; live as responsible respected members of their communities with all the duties and privileges that this entails, and; unfold their potential.' (Adolf Ratzka, Disability Activist 2002) This means challenging the person living with a disability to define their basic needs and empowering them to think differently, moving from a traditional passive dependent status to one that actively engages them in making decisions directly affecting their daily lives. It also means challenging community and state to provide the same range of choices to a person with a disability as to everyone else, in areas such as housing, transport, education and employment. Independent Living therefore is not just concerned with the routine physical tasks of day-to-day life, but is more about a way of life and a state of mind. It is about self-actualisation; taking control of ones own life; exercising choices; taking responsibility while also allowing for the dignity of risk and the freedom to fail. It is also a social and political movement that is changing the way services are provided and the role people with disabilities play in society. |
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