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Involves our staff working with persons with disabilities to obtain necessary support services from other agencies in the community.
Involves our staff, board members and volunteers working to make changes in the community which make it easier for all persons with disabilities to live more independently.
At Access To Independence consumers are empowered through learning of advocacy methods and encouraged to take directing roles in advocating for their own issues as well as the issues of others. We train consumers how to contact public officials and present their issues in writing, over the telephone, and by appointment. We keep consumers up-to-date about their civil rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Fair Housing laws, and other legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability. We keep consumers up to date with the latest news, amendments, and legislation concerning people with disabilities on the state and national level. To encourage and facilitate self advocacy, we maintain addresses and phone numbers of state and federal public officials and educational materials for effective letter writing, phone calls, and other communication. A primary objective of Access to Independence is to facilitate the relationships between our membership and the local, state, and federal representatives to better enable our members to voice their concerns regarding issues that impact individuals with disabilities in Cortland County. In addition, we are building and maintaining relationships with businesses and centers of interest within Cortland County to increase their awareness of the issues and concerns of the disabled community.
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