Message from the Board President

Services for Independent Living, (SIL), is built on a belief and a dream.  We believe that persons with disabilities are capable of living a whole and productive life, and we dream of a time when they can live independently and participate fully in their community.  Every day the SIL staff and volunteers work to make the dream come true and the belief proved right.

SIL is a part of the Independent Living Movement, a movement that emphasizes peer leadership.  There is a saying, “Nothing about us without us.”  A majority of our Board of Directors is persons with disabilities.  We believe that persons who live with a disability are in the best position to speak forcefully about the needs of the disabilities community and understand what services will promote independent living among the consumers of those services.

We support a strong advocacy role for SIL, because we know that the public must continuously hear the story of the needs and the strengths of persons with disabilities, lest they forget.

We understand there are barriers that must be faced and overcome if a person with a disability is to live independently, and we believe that others with a disability can offer knowledge and support drawn from real life experience, so we encourage participation in our peer support groups.

I have been blind my entire life.  I understand the difficulty and the importance of creating a life of dignity and respect.  As President of the Board of Directors of SIL, I can affirm the commitment of SIL to promote such a quality of life for every person with a disability.  We believe that persons with disabilities must develop the skills to manage their own lives and speak for themselves, if they are to live with dignity and respect, and we are committed to assist the consumers of our services to learn those skills.  I believe that we who are a part of the SIL community have a responsibility to model independence for our consumers and for the larger community.  Our standards must be high, and we must be accountable to the disabilities community and to the public.  Only in this way can we play our part in justifying our belief in persons with disabilities and in making the dream come true.

Sincerely,

Homer Page
Board President