Presented by Debbie Rozear, Supervisor of Core & Housing Services, and Al-Nisha McFadden, Veteran Community Support Coordinator, of the Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living (LVCIL) to the council at its 17 May 2023 meeting, LVCIL is one result of a movement (later known as the Independent Living Movement) in the 1960’s and 70’s to increase accessibility and fair treatment of people with disabilities and to provide direct services and support to these to allow them independent lives. LVCIL is one of 400 centers located in the United States today. It is also a member organization of LVMAC.
And it has particular relevance to military veterans, for about 19% of them have some form of disability as a result of service alone, although only a third of these (about 6.5%) might have what is considered severe overall disability. And one in 4 U.S. adults (this includes veterans regardless of source of disability) – 61 million Americans – have a disability that impacts major life activities, according to a report in CDC’s reporting (2016 data).
The two speakers talked about the center’s efforts to assist those transitioning to nursing homes, workshops, employment assistance, housing assistance, work with TechOWL, PA Assistive Technology Loans and phone program, peer support, among other items of service useful to disabled military veterans and their families. The center once again has an employee dedicated towards helping veterans, Ms. McFadden. She is meant to be the first source for inquiries. There is no charge for their services.
Their briefing slides below provide more details and how to contact:
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As of 17 May 2023