Advocacy

One of the core services of Independent Living Resources is advocacy.

Advocacy

ILR assists people with disabilities in obtaining necessary support services and/ supports, or resources in the community. If you are experiencing a barrier to accessing supports or services in the community please contact us.

Advocacy Committee

Community and systems advocacy work to implement local and state policy changes making facilities and services accessible to people with disabilities.

ILR convenes a monthly Advocacy Committee to explore community systems advocacy needs on a regular basis. Our team is made up of ILR staff and board members, as well as community partners and consumers.

Many members serve in ILR Community Advocacy Liaison roles to public councils in the areas of affordable/accessible housing, public health, transportation, and domestic violence. The Advocacy Committee examines advocacy issues and recommends actions to the ILR Board of Directors.

The Advocacy Committee meets on the first Monday of each month, from 1:30-3:00pm at ILR. All are welcome to attend and submit issues for the committee to consider. People are welcome to bring any issues they feel are important to the attention of our Advocacy team by contacting us.

The following profiles are good examples of ILR Systems Advocacy projects over the past few years.

Individual Advocacy

ILR assists people with disabilities in obtaining necessary support services and/or benefits in the community. Pro-active efforts to promote system wide changes that make it easier for all people with disabilities to live more independently are also on-going.

1.  www.AccessRecreation.org  For almost 20 years, ILR has convened various expressions of a coalition committed to improving public access to parks and recreation venues in our region.  The Access Recreation Coalition has received a variety of grants over time.  One of the first awards helped to develop the Access Recreation website to profile regional parks with narrative, photographic, and video descriptions of more than 30 public parks in the Greater Portland Area.  Building on that success, the Access Recreation Project currently provides consulting through ILR for the National Fish & Wildlife Services to educate wildlife refuge staff about accessibility.

2.  Housing:  Finding affordable, accessible housing is one of life’s greatest challenges for people with disabilities.  ILR is committed to being part of the leadership for change in housing across Metro Portland.  ILR works to develop individual housing resources for consumers who often wait for years for public housing, while also securing housing advisory council seats to help guide landmark affordable housing voter-approved bond measures in recent years.

3.  The ODOT – AOCIL Federal Settlement Agreement (2018 – 2033)  Five years ago, ILR working with The Association of Oregon Centers for Independent Living negotiated a landmark 15-year settlement whereby the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) agreed to remediate and/or install more than 27,000 non-compliant pedestrian curb cuts within ODOT’s jurisdiction.  Monitoring continues today at the 5-year review and a successful project will likely invest more than $100 million in improved mobility access for people with disabilities.

ILR also convenes a monthly Advocacy Team to explore community systems advocacy needs on a regular basis.  Our team is made up of ILR staff and board members, as well as community partners and consumers.  Many serve in ILR Systems Advocacy Liaison roles to public councils in the areas of affordable/accessible housing, public health, transportation, and domestic violence.

Disabled people sitting at a table

Man pushing another man in a wheelchair