JACIL Connections for December 2017
Article 1:
Associate Director Larry Whewell retires from JACIL
by Roger Deem
One of our longest-tenured staff members will step down on December 22,
2017, as Associate Director Larry Whewell completes his service to JACIL and
retires.
Larry began working with JACIL in 2001 as an intern while working
towards a Social Work Degree at MacMurray College. After completing his internship, he came on
as a member of the staff, working part time until he graduated.
He served as an independent living advocate as a mainstay working with
consumers involved with our Older Blind Grant.
He gradually branched into other areas of responsibility including
disability awareness and community outreach.
In 2007 Larry joined the management team as an associate director
supervising several staff members and programs.
He also became the gatekeeper for those contacting JACIL in need of
services.
“I have really enjoyed working at JACIL and am very proud of all we
have done as an agency to affect attitudinal barriers for people with
disabilities,” Larry said. “Though there
is still much work to be done, we have made great strides in educating the
public in our four-county service area, especially through our disability
awareness education programs in the schools.”
The biggest challenge Larry encountered during his years at JACIL was
the Illinois State budget crisis in the past three years.
“We had a tough time keeping JACIL afloat,” Larry said. “When our funding from the state dried up we
were forced to take drastic steps to keep going, including layoffs and furlough
days. But we have tremendous staff
members who gave us their best efforts and we succeeded to meeting the
challenges.”
Larry is looking forward to retirement where he is anticipating a
little time to relax and rest and spending a lot of quality time with his wife,
Barb, also a past advocate for JACIL.
Larry and Barb are also active with the Jacksonville Lions Club where
he currently serves as second vice president.
He anticipates increased involvement in the club’s mission to support
efforts for people who are blind or have low vision.
“JACIL will continue to be a vital agency in central Illinois helping
people with disabilities to live independently in the community,” Larry
said. “I am so proud to have had this
opportunity to share in that mission.”
Article 2:
Principles of Independent Living
Note from Larry Whewell:
I will miss JACIL after my retirement, but I will be back to volunteer
from time to time.
As I was cleaning out some things in my desk, I ran into these major
principles of Independent Living. I have
written numerous articles for JACIL' Connections Newsletter over the years and
I thought I would end with this article.
I just felt it was appropriate for you to review and live by in the
future.
Credit to the Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois for
making this list.
Civil Rights - There must be no discrimination on the basis of
disability.
Consumerism - A consumer or customer is the best authority when
purchasing a service or product and his or her wishes must be respected.
Equal access - All community activities must be fully accessible to all
people with disabilities.
Community-based services - All programs and services that are
community-based must be physically located in a non-institutional setting in
their community and be responsive to the needs identified by people with
disabilities in that community.
De-medicalization - Individuals with disabilities are not always
"sick" and may not require help from certified medical professionals
for daily living.
Self-help - People learn and grow from discussing their needs, concerns
and issues with people who have had similar experiences
Advocacy - Systemic community-wide change activities are needed to
ensure that people with disabilities benefit from all that society has to
offer.
Cross-disability - Programs and services must stress the full equality
and participation of all persons with disabilities regardless of type or extent
of disability.
Barrier-removal - Architectural, communication and attitudinal barriers
must be removed to ensure that people are able to fully participate in their
communities.
Consumer control - The organizations best suited to support and assist
individuals with disabilities are governed, managed, staffed and operated by
individuals with disabilities.
Community-based living - No person should be institutionalized on the
basis of a disability.
Peer support - The individuals best suited to support, assist, and
guide people with disabilities are other people with disabilities.
Confidentiality - All people have a right to receive assistance without
sacrificing their privacy.
Article 3:
New JACIL website links
Two new links have been added to the Helpful Links section of our
JACIL internet website.
One links to information on the Dept. of Justice ADA Complaint form.
Effective March 15, 2015, email complaints are no longer accepted by the
DOJ. Complaints will be accepted by U.S.
mail , fax and the new online complaint form.
If a complaint is filed on-line, a reference number will be assigned to
it and will be used whenever there is an inquiry regarding the complaint.
The National Deaf/Blind Equipment Distribution is a program that
provides free assistive equipment/devices to those with hearing and vision
loss. A link for that has been added to
this section as well.
Visit our website at jacil.org any time for information on JACIL’s many
services.
Article 4:
Action Club Members at Speak Up and Speak Out Summit
by Cyndy Benton
On November 1, a panel of five members from bothof the Action Clubs
JACIL co-sponsors were presenters at a statewide conference for people with
developmental disabilities called the
Speak Up and Speak Out Summit.
The session was entitled “Action Clubs Can Make A Difference” and was
presented by three members from the People First Aktion Club in Jacksonville
and two members from the Friends Helping Friends Action Club in
Beardstown.
The break out session provided those who attended with information on
how to organize and operate an action club in a way that promotes member
involvement and demonstrates through club actions that people with disabilities
can make a difference in their community, state and country.
The presentation emphasized how a club can operate in a way that allows
Club member participation in the decision-making process and in helping provide
and organize club activities.
The speakers also reviewed the clubs' overall mission and the five
major areas they focus on that impact the lives of members, and other people
with disabilities and their communities.
The areas covered included Advocacy, Community Services, Peer Mentoring,
Education and Training, and Fun Day Activities.
The Speak Up and Speak Out Summit is provided by ARC of Illinois and
funded by the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities. Approximately 300 people attended this year's
summit with about 35 attending the breakout session presented by Ralph, Connie and
Judy from the People First Aktion Club and Sarah and Raji from Friends Helping
Friends.
The People First Aktion Club's co-sponsors are JACIL and the Kiwanis
Club of Jacksonville and Friends Helping Friends co-sponsors are JACIL and
Washington Place Group Home in Beardstown.
Article 5:
JACIL to close for holidays
The JACIL offices will be closed for the end-of-year holiday period.
JACIL will close at noon on Friday, December 22, and will not reopen
until January 2, 2018. No one will be in
the office during this period.
Article 6:
Come celebrate the holidays with JACIL!
JACIL invites everyone to join us for our annual celebration of the
holiday season.
On Thursday, December 21, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., we eagerly invite you
to attend JACIL’s annual Holiday Open House Party at our 15 Permac headquarters
in Jacksonville.
All of our JACIL friends and supporters are invited to attend as we
celebrate the holiday season.
A variety of games and activities are being planned for the
gathering. Holiday refreshments will be
provided by the JACIL staff.
If you plan to attend, please register in advance by Wednesday,
December 20.
There is no charge to attend this event. A sign language interpreter will also be
available.
For more information or to register for the event, please call the
JACIL office at (217) 245-8371.
Article 7:
People First Aktion Club sponsors Holiday Warming Tree
by Cyndy Benton
The People First Aktion Club will again have a “Warming Tree” put up in
JACIL’s front office through the holiday season.
The purpose of this “Warming Tree” is to gather new hats, gloves,
mittens, socks and scarves for children of all ages.
The clothing items donated for this project will be used to decorate
the tree until after the holiday season when the People First Club members will
take all the items from the tree and donate them to the School District 117
Foundation.
The foundation will distribute the donated apparel to children in need who attend one of the
schools within the district.
Members of the People First Aktion Club are asking citizens in our
region to please help them with this project by bringing one or more outerwear
items to JACIL for placement on the tree.
All items brought to JACIL for this project will remain on the tree
throughout the holiday season and will be donated to children in the
Jacksonville area in the hope that no child will have to face the severe winter
weather conditions without appropriate protection against the elements.
The People First Aktion Club is co-sponsored by JACIL and the Kiwanis
Club of Jacksonville. The club greatly
appreciates the tremendous support it received from the community with this
service project and its members wish all our supporters a very happy holiday
season.
Article 8:
Who Hears a Hoot?
by Susan Nolls
If you could hear what I hear, you would say "Huh?" just like
I do.
For a fancy term, I have a sloping moderate to severe bilateral
sensorineural hearing loss. Huh?
It took some 35 years for me to learn what that meant. I was already quite familiar with the
numerous events that are depicted by this particular loss. What I learned was WHY all the
misunderstandings came out the way they did.
So many times people have asked me, "Did you hear that?" What?
I didn't even know which direction to look. Then it was, "Shush. Listen." Still nothing. "Pay
attention!" I started to become
allergic to people who wanted me to listen to nothing.
I hate talking after dark in a dark or dim room. I can't read lips in that kind of light. I developed a few noncommittal grunts to
encourage people in their speaking so that eventually I could catch up with
what they were talking about, never mind the details. I guess they thought that I heard them. Boy, were some of them so wrong but I can't
tell them that because then I "wasn't listening". Of course I tried harder but it always seemed
to be my fault for not trying hard enough.
Social development requires verbal interactions with people. Some people are difficult to understand
because of an accent, talking with things in their mouth, chin resting on a
hand or simply mumbling. I did not learn
to say "Excuse me I am having trouble understanding what you are saying.
Could you . . . " because I believed I was doing the wrong thing.
I have now learned to take care of myself when it comes to
conversations. If I don't care, you will
hear my noncommittal grunts. Pay
attention to my eyes not my voice.
Next month: Tips for
Understanding.
DECember Calendar of Events
Tue 5 Knollwood
20/20 Support Group - 9:30
Wed 6 Friends
Helping Friends Action Club - 3:45 to 4:45 p.m.
Thu 7 Making
Computers Fun with Dan Thompson - 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.
Wed 13 Retirement Reception for Larry Whewell - 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Thu 14 VisAbility Support Group - 10:30 a.m. to Noon
Tue 19 Cass County Vision Support Group - 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.
Wed 20 Visions Support Group in Havana - 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Wed 20 People First Aktion Club - 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Thu 21 Consumer Holiday Party - 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Fri 22 JACIL office closes at noon.
25 Christmas Day to January 2, 2018 - JACIL office closed.
“JACIL
Connections” is published by the Jacksonville Area Center for Independent
Living. JACIL is organized to serve
people with disabilities in Morgan, Scott, Cass and Mason Counties. JACIL is committed to serving persons with
disabilities to gain control and direction of their lives in the home,
workplace and community. JACIL’s goal is
to stimulate and promote a growing sense of personal dignity through
individualized services designed to provide the tools necessary for maximum
independence and community participation.
We invite your comments and suggestions.
JACIL is a Prairieland United Way Agency and a proud member of the
Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Jacksonville Area Center for Independent Living
15 Permac Road, Jacksonville, IL 62650
Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 8
a.m. to 5 p.m.
217-245-8371 Voice/TTY l 217-245-1872 Fax l
888-317-3287 Toll Free
217-408-0567 Deaf Advocate’s Toll Free Videophone Line
E-mail: info@jacil.org l
Website: www.jacil.org
JACIL - Mason County Office
220 West Main Street, Havana, IL 62644
Office Hours: Tuesdays 12:30 to
4:30 & Thursdays 8:00 a.m. to noon
309-543-6680 Voice/TTY, 309-543-6711 Fax, 877-759-2187 Toll Free
E-mail: jacil@casscomm.com