Departments

Our family of agencies began with the Independent Living Center 28 years ago. During the past few years, the Independent Living Center has continued serving participants in need of services to help maintain their independence. Since, services have expanded and evolved in order to meet our goal of full partnership for people with disabilities in our community. The Independent Living Center has a proud record of service to our consumers, our community and to our staff. It is our continuous goal through our work to Empower, Educate, and Inform to create Equality for all.

The Independent Living Center (ILC) provides various services such as Peer Counseling, Advocacy, Benefits and Advisement, Information & Referral, and Independent Living Skills. We accomplish our mission by concentrating on empowering the consumer in three areas of concentration: IL Services, Developmental Disability Programming, and Transitional Services.

OAHIIO is a federally recognized program which has successfully assisted hundreds of Native Americans with disabilities in the Western New York region. The staff has a proud reputation for culturally sensitive, professional and ethical conduct, enabling OAHIIO to develop working relationships with health agencies and leaders within the WNY Iroquois Native Territories.

This relationship of Nation's leadership systems, the uniqueness of the staff, the OAHIIO Council, including members of the Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Mohawk, Seneca and Tuscarora Nations, makes OAHIIO part of local Native American communities. In part, success of OAHIIO can be attributed to the fact that services and programs are conducted from mobile offices to provide maximum coverage to American Indians with disabilities who live on the region's three reservations, in area cities and rural communities.

A portable communication system including a toll free telephone number, access to the internet and cell phone linkage between staff, provides consumers and staff immediate access to each other, while ensuring complete confidentiality.

Mental Health Peer Connection

Mental Health Peer Connection is a peer driven advocacy organization, dedicated to facilitating self-directed growth, wellness, and choice, through genuine peer mentoring. Our staff provides peer services in the areas of, Life Coaching, Work Support and Benefits Advisement. Peers are people who are in recovery from Mental Illness and/or chemical addiction who can relate to the individuals they are servings.

The services provided are for people diagnosed with a mental illness, who are 18 years or older, living or transitioning from an institution, and residing in Erie County.

Independent Living of Niagara County (ILNC) We now offer our programs in several areas of concern: individual services, programs for consumers with developmental disabilities, mental health services, support services and community services.

As a person withy a disability, Control is a key factor for getting what you want out of life. Having the ability to respond to opportunities while exercising the flexibility to change according to any given situation is imperative to succeeding in your goals.

Working with Personal Care Aides, this flexibility is diminished by the need to work with schedulers and nurses creating a schedule that is very difficult to change and may actually limit independence and freedom of choice.

That's where Taking Control comes in. This program will allow you to become the supervisor of your own personal assistant services. You can hire who you like (subject to some restrictions), train them in the areas important to you, and supervise their work on a daily basis. Tasks are not as limited as they are in a traditional-care aide plan. If a personal assistant does not work well for you, you can replace them.

Western New York Independent Living, Inc. has a transportation department with a variety of options to get our consumers where they desire to be.

The Client Assistance Program (CAP) provides support and advocacy for individuals with disabilities who are seeking vocational rehabilitation services from VESID (Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities) or CBVH (Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped).

CAP offers information and assistance with gaining access to appropriate rehabilitation services in New York State. Advocates from the Client Assistance Program provide aid and strategies for negotiating with VESID, CBVH, ILC's, and related service systems. CAP is committed to promoting consumer access to quality services and supports.

The Western New York Client Assistance Program (WNY CAP) is a free service and serves consumers residing in: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, and Wyoming counties. As part of a statewide network of advocates, the CAP program is administered by the New York State Commission on Quality of Care (NYSCQC), and operates independent of VESID or CBVH.