@Amy Ballinger serves as the Community Engagement Manager at Independence, Inc., to support the social connection needs of people with disabilities in Lawrence, KS.
Tell us about the work that your organization does. What is your mission and what population(s) do you serve?
Independence, Inc., is a Center for Independent Living (CIL) that serves people with disabilities through five core services (Advocacy, Transition, Information and Referral, Peer Support, and Independent Living Skills Training), as well as many other services like Accessible Transportation, our Accessible Housing Program, an Equipment Loan Bank, Employment and Youth Transition services. We serve all ages of people with any type of disability, including physical, mental, learning, developmental, temporary, or age-related. Our mission is to: "maximize the independence of people with disabilities through advocacy, peer support, training, transportation, and community education." As a CIL, we accomplish this through supporting people with various disabilities as they work towards their goals to live in the environments of their choice, as independently as possible.
Please tell us about the goals of the program you are involved with and how you support social connection?
The primary goal of my work as both Community Engagement Manager and Social Support and Resource Specialist is to ensure that people with disabilities in our communities have full access (physical, technical, systems access etc.) to their communities and activities that will help them thrive and live as fully, actively, and independently as they choose. Social connection is a critical component of living a full, vibrant, and healthy life. To meet this goal, the work I do is aimed at encouraging and supporting the social connection of our consumers through things like information and referral, Peer Groups, offering personal and community advocacy by providing input and guidance on open space plans, a new Community Action Plan that supports initiatives to respond to and adapt to Climate Change in our area, accessible community/recreation features like theaters, event space, outdoor spaces including docks, pathways, picnic tables, etc.- all aimed at ensuring people of all abilities can fully engage with and enjoy all aspects of their community. Through our website, social media, newsletters, and listservs, I widely share health/wellness and social engagement opportunities and events, whether ongoing or one-time occurrences. I also invest time and training in statewide emergency management initiatives for older adults and people with disabilities, to help prepare the most vulnerable in our communities to safely navigate weather-related or other types of emergencies.
Share one of your top achievements or a success story.
Transition (or deinstitutionalization) is a core service of every CIL. Through transition services, we assist consumers who choose to do so with making the move from an institutional setting back to independent living in the community where they can enjoy a much greater level of social interaction and participation.
During Covid, one of our consumers who was on the Intellectual and Developmental Disability (IDD) waiver desired to transition from an institution into a group home specifically for those with IDD. Working with Aetna Managed Care, one of our staff was able to successfully assist this person with support services and the acquisition of necessary home goods and supplies. One item this consumer requested was a bicycle to help keep him in shape and offer a safe and reliable means of transportation throughout the community, allowing him to get to the activities and events of his choice. With the help of CARES Act funding, a bicycle was made possible during this important transition and the consumer now lives with greater dignity, socialization, and independence in the community!
Why is promoting social connectedness important to the community/population you serve? Why and when did you start incorporating social connectedness into your programming?
People with disabilities are among the most segregated and isolated and underserved members of society. Because of social, physical, attitudinal, systemic barriers, they often don't have the means, support, information, and assets needed to live independently and enjoy the same rights, experiences, housing, employment, and relationship opportunities as the non-disabled population. This is not due to inability but rather the myriad of both visible and unseen barriers that exist throughout communities.
While already at greater health and financial risk than that of their non-disabled counterparts, the risk of isolation is often one of the most detrimental outcomes of these barriers to independent living. Promoting social connectedness is not only important but vital to the well-being of all people, and especially the aging and disabled populations, who are at much greater risk of lack of access. Social connectedness is as essential as food, water, shelter, and medical care to the human body and psyche. If that is removed, the likelihood of living and thriving independently diminishes greatly.
By design and by the leading of the great disability advocates of the 1960s and 1970s, CILs have always incorporated social engagement as a critical part of the Independent Living Movement.
Any exciting projects coming up?
As I continue to work through social connectedness initiatives, with funding awarded through a federal grant aimed at increasing the public health workforce, I have established a Long-Covid/Chronic Illness Peer Group open to anyone across Kansas. Several staff members from other CILs are involved in assisting with the group, and it has been growing and thriving since the onset. This peer group has been instrumental in connecting people with peers who have become isolated due to health conditions and lack of family support, and participants continue to report how this group is changing their lives and equipping them to gain a sense of connectedness, the ability to meaningfully interact with and relate to others, and to come out of the isolation that chronic illness has imposed.
Do you have tips for others looking to increase social connection and engagement programming or a key resource you can share?
My advice would be to think outside of the box! Every community is unique in its needs, social construct, landscapes, and operations and looking at every angle and every resource available is critical to developing social engagement programs, networks, and resources.
Make sure that any project or program that you consider is accessible to people with all types of disabilities. The only way to do this is to include the disabled community at the ground level of brainstorming, researching, planning, and executing. Invite them to the table!
The other piece of advice I would give is to make sure you're not reinventing the wheel. Always look at what's already available and can be utilized or improved upon before spending time and resources on developing something new. Also take note of your current local practices and landscapes. Are community members still isolated because of Covid? Do people prefer online connections or in person? What creative ways can you think of to bring people together? What places, organizations, or community resources haven't yet been tapped into?
Do you have any recommended reading for others interested in this topic?
This research and information by the National Library of Medicine is an important place to start for anyone considering how to engage older people and those with disabilities to help improve health outcomes and general wellbeing. It speaks to the why and how that can be fundamental in creating engagement opportunities.
This article from the National Institute on Aging gives great information on how to keep community members engaged.
How can others connect with your work? Do you have a project website?
Check out our CIL’s website, particularly our Peer Support page. Look through our annual reports, newsletters, Transportation, Accessible Housing Program and other programs and resources that speak to the work we do.