Who can use our services

People with disabilities, physicians who have consumers with disabilities, organizations, businesses interested in making their programs and services more accessible, housing complexes and transportation providers who need to provide accessibility, anyone in the community wishing to learn about disability resources or volunteer/donate.

Independent Living Skills - WRILC guides consumers through the instruction of independent living skills. We provide the opportunity for a consumer to become more independent in daily life by individual and group independent living skills instructions such as personal care, coping, financial management, social skills, and household management.

Includes classes on how to hire and manage personal assistants or manage a personal household and budget, plus ways to access public transportation systems or deal with discriminatory behaviors. One-on-one and group supports are also available to help people get the skills necessary for independent lifestyles.

Advocacy Services

We provide three kinds of advocacy services to our consumers and to the population of persons with disabilities as a whole:

self-advocacy - working with consumers to obtain necessary services from other agencies or to address discriminatory practices;
community advocacy - staff, board members and volunteers actively pursuing changes in the community that will make independent living attainable for all consumers; and
systems advocacy - motivating changes and reforms in state and national regulations, laws and systems.

Peer Support
Staff members with like disabilities who are living independently are always available to talk with and provide support for consumers. Problem solving in areas such as learning to use community services more effectively, adjusting to a newly acquired disability, or a change in living accommodation are only a few topics that can be discussed. Individual and group support through role models encourages consumers to seek ways to enhance their quality of life and to contribute to their communities.

We encourage people with disabilities empowering people with disabilities.

WRILC works with and teaches people with disabilities how to advocate for themselves. When a person with a disability needs that support, we will assist in any way we can. We advocate with local, state, and federal legislatures in order to ensure that appropriate services are obtained or provided and that peoples’ rights in the community are not being violated.

Information and Referral

We link people with the most up-to-date disability resource information and ADA (Americans with Disability Act) guidelines to assist them, a family member, or a friend. We are dedicated to establishing a strong network in the community to ensure we are able to provide accurate information to consumers.

Youth Transition

Youth 18 - 24 who are out of school and in need of transition services to the working world or secondary education. We also serve high school students with IEP's, teaching them pre-employment skills in the classroom or on a one-on-one basis.

Transitioning
At WRILC, we assist people with disabilities to live in their community in a setting they prefer. Whether it’s a transition from a nursing facility or youth transition into the community (workforce, housing, benefits, higher education), WRILC can assist to make the transition a successful process, with direction from the consumer.