Core Pillars of Service

The Peer Support Pillar is designed to provide opportunities for people with disabilities to share their knowledge and lived experiences. We recognize a peer as an individual who has had a similar or common experience and is willing to share the lessons they’ve learned. Peer Support also encourages individuals to develop leadership skills, and gives assistance to individuals in exercising their rights and responsibilities. Peer Support encompasses Member Centres to rely on the lived and shared experiences of persons with disabilities to be involved with program and service development.

Principles:

• Integral to the IL Philosophy and should present in all programs and services.
• Develops a peer environment where individuals gain skills and self-confidence.
• Encourages people with disabilities to share their thoughts, concerns and hopes with each other, promoting exchanges and discussion between individuals who have lived the experience.
• Promotes integration and participation in the larger community and encourage people to face new and possibly challenging situations.

Information is the key to having choices, making decisions, and learning to take risks. The Information and Networking Pillar promotes the IL philosophy to consumers, their families, friends, support networks, community and governments by providing clear, accurate and up to date information that meets individual needs. This process is interactive; a “two-way street” that creates positive impacts for consumers and builds ongoing relationships between IL Centres and organizations in the community through the provision of current information on cross-disability issues. The experiences of people with disabilities validate the information that is out there to further understanding.

Principles:

• A response-orientated approach is required to answer community
• Empowers the individual with information in order to make informed
• Works with an individual to reduce their isolation from the community, we can refer them to the appropriate resources to broaden their opportunities and horizons in the areas that they may

Communicating, negotiating, problem-solving and personal management are all important aspects of daily life. The IL Skills Development Pillar assists individuals to advocate on their own behalf, supports their choices, respects their decisions, and affords individuals opportunities to take risks. This pillar provides learning opportunities for dealing with barriers and discrimination so that persons with disabilities are aware of their rights and can access services and training opportunities to live and participate in society.

Principles:

• Support individuals in learning to manage, coordinate and negotiate a wide range of community
• Assists consumers to exercise their rights and to provide support to people in pursuit of their individual advocacy goals.
• Works with consumers to enhance their problem-solving
• Assist individuals in reaching their Independent Living goals by taking a pro-active, solutions-based approach to conflict and problem solving.
• To provide tools, support and resources to create lasting positive change

The Participatory Action Research model used in IL recognizes that persons with disabilities are the experts in determining what works them. Consumer validated information is key in developing programs and services that benefit everyone. Partnerships formed with community stakeholders support the realization of these goals. By working together, gaps in service can be determined and solutions can be created. Research and Community Development activities can include: conducting research and demonstration projects; disability awareness training and facility/web accessibility audits; and crime prevention initiatives. It can also encompass developing new models of IL in order to test new solutions and provide unique and responsive methods of support at the local, regional and national level.

Principles:

• Respond rapidly and effectively to the unmet needs of the
• Conduct research regarding a variety of issues that adhere to the IL philosophy and promote inclusion.
• Identify unmet needs through pilot projects; Centres can then propose alternative service
• Adhere to IL philosophy when implementing research