The Independent Living Movement

The Independent Living Movement

• Differs from traditional service providing organizations by emphasizing peer support, self-direction, and community integration by and for people with disabilities
• Independent living is founded on the right of people with disabilities to 1) Live with dignity in their chosen community. 2) Participate in all aspects of their life 3) Control and make decisions about their own lives

The Independent Living Movement

• Origin; United States 1970s
• Introduced to Canada in 1979
• encouraged disable persons to achieve self direction in order to attain independent living
• struggle to achieve human rights legislation for people with disabilities

Origins of the Independent Living Movement

• Origins traced back to Cowell Residence Program at University of California, Berkeley.
• Students with disabilities resided at the Cowell Hospital on campus
• Group of students noticed how dependent they are and decided take back control inspiring ILM and disabiltiy rights movement

1981; Legitimize The Independent Living Movement

1) The United Nations declaration of the international year of Disabled Persons

2) The Canadians Government's release of Obstacles (report concerning disability)

3) The personal commitment of one of its founding members; Henry Enns

- All helped provide legitimacy to the social oppression approach to disability, promoting ILM to various levels of governments, academics and organizations

- By 1985 Independent Living Resource Centres were operating in Waterloo, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Calgary, and Toronto.

- by 2015 a total of 25 Independent Living Centres were operating accross Canada

Empowering Persons With Disabilities

• In order to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities requires skill development and removal of environmental, social and economic barriers
• Creation of more Independent Living Resource Centres; non profit and responsive to people with all types of disabilities (mobility, sensory, cognitive, emotional, psychiatric etc)
• Studies on the effects of the ILRCs found that they succeed within learning skills, accessing information, receiving support, while also increasing the disable persons confidence and self-esteem

The Independent Living Movement

By: Manjot Sandhu