By Ernie Williamson
The Bulletin
Settled into its new offices, the Brazoria County Center for Independent Living has plans to better inform the disabled community of its programs.
The new Angleton offices at 700 North Front Street, Suite A, will allow the center to grow and better serve Brazoria and Matagorda counties.
The center hopes to do this through education, outreach, and advocacy programs.
“We don’t advertise so the only way we can get the word out is word of mouth,” says K.J. Rabe, an independent living core services coordinator at BCCIL.
BCCIL sees its mission as “promoting the full inclusion, equal opportunity, and participation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of community life.”
The federally-funded non-profit believes people with disabilities “have the right to make choices affecting their lives, a right to take risks, a right to fail and a right to succeed.”
BCCIL already serves 200 active customers by providing peer support and informational and referral services along with training in skills needed for independent living.
According to Rabe, housing and utilities bills are the most common challenges facing a person with a disability.
In addition to making referrals on where to get help, BCCIL now has a residential transition program designed to help residents of nursing and group homes return to their community to live independently.
Another program, IL Services , provides medical equipment such as handrails, prosthetics, hearing aids and wheelchairs to help make living independently easier. A person with a disability may also qualify for a vehicle or a home modification.
Inflation can be a problem for everyone, but particularly for the disabled.
Rabe, who himself is disabled, says rising prices for groceries and utilities hit the disabled community hard because many live on fixed incomes.
BCCIL works with BakerRipley, a non-profit corporation in Houston, to provide assistance on utility bills.
For more information on BCCIL’s programs, call (979) 849-7060 or go to its website HCIL.cc.
(Contact Ernie at williamsonernie@gmail.com. Or, send letters in care of The Bulletin, P.O. Box 2426, Angleton, TX. 77516).