Independent Living In The 90s

By Nathalie O'Neil

Founded in 1985, The Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres is a group of ten Independent Living Centres (ILCs) from across Canada who are all committed to the basic principles of the Independent Living Movement: integration and full participation, consumer control, community-based, cross-disability and non-profit. “Disability Pride,” “Independent Living” and “Empowerment” were the themes dominating discussions held in Calgary last September during CAILC’S “A Vision for Independent Living in the 90s Conference.”

According to Michael Winter, Director of the Berkley Centre for Independent Living and President of the National Council on Independent Living in the United States, “disability pride” is a concept that’s time has come. People with disabilities can be proud of themselves and of what they have accomplished. Pride in their differences can be instilled through the independent living and empowerment concepts which shape the Independent Living Movement. This is one thing that CAILC wants to pursue during the 90s

Among the issues considered most important at the Conference were the principles of cross-disability and consumer control. Sandra Carpenter, Manager of the Centre for Disability and Work with the Ontario Ministry of Labour, remarked that “if cross-disability is the ‘heart’, then consumer-control is the ‘soul’ of the IL Movement.” Sandra joined John Lord, Co-ordinator of the Centre for Researcher and Education in Human Services and Tanis Doe, a consumer involved with the Coalition of Provincial Organizations of the Handicapped (COPOH) and the Canadian Association of the Deaf, in giving consumers plenty of recommendations as to increasing consumer control within the Movement and linking with other disability groups to become more representative.

Conference participants agreed that they wanted the IL Movement to become much more inclusive by reaching out to such other under represented group as: women, Natives, visible minorities, youth and children, seniors, people with AIDS, gays and lesbians. Increased ties with these groups would help Centres build more effective bridges with their communities and would allow sharing of their model for development.

The presentations on Individual Advocacy by guest speakers Irene Feika, former Chairperson of COPOH; Yvonne Peters, National Co-ordinator of the Canadian Disability Rights Council; and Allan Simpson, Executive Director of the Winnipeg Independent Living Resource Centre, although presenting different perspectives, all pointed to advocacy as being the “cornerstone” of the IL Movement. Speakers and participants debated different forms of advocacy, such as: individual, collective, political and legal. Everyone was interested in hearing about how to acquire and/or improve the process of empowerment through advocacy. Consumers asked that ILCs be more involved in training, skills development and support for individual personal growth.

Other guest speakers, including: Gerben Dejong, well-known American IL theorist who introduced the Movement in Canada; Michael Winter, mentioned earlier; Pat Israel, Chairperson of the DisAbled Women’s Network; and Alfred Neufeldt, Professor at the University of Calgary, also helped make the Conference the success it was. Their insight as to how they see ILCs evolving during this decade was useful to all.

Participants learned from workshops on IL core programs organized and presented by staff from Centres. Lillian Pastina, from the World Institute on Disability in California, and John Lord led groups on the Peer Support Program. Staff and board members of CAILC were involved in workshops on community approach to development as well as on the issue of literacy and disability. From the feedback CAILC received, many people went home with a lot of new ideas for their programs.

The hearings held by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Rights and the Status of Disabled Persons were a point of much interest. Everyone enjoyed observing a Committee “in action” and spending an entire morning on the Independent Living Movement.

Many issues, hopes and concerns were raised during the Conference. As Sandra Carpenter said, the IL Movement enables people with disabilities to re-define themselves. Through debate and discussions, that is exactly what we did.

The discussions that took place during the conference did not, however, settle the future of the IL Movement. Much is left to be done, but with the feedback and recommendations from speakers and participants, CAILC received a clear message of where to go from here. The themes of “disability pride,” “independent living” and “empowerment” are here to stay; it is up to us to spread them.