• The Partner Agencies:

• Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP)

• Center for Accessible Technology (CforAT)

• Center for Independent Living (CIL)

• Computer Technologies Program (CTP)

• Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)

• Through the Looking Glass (TLG)

• World Institute on Disability (WID)

In 1971, a group of people with disabilities began to meet to create an organization founded on the belief that people with disabilities were the best experts on people with disabilities, and that comprehensive programs which provided a wide variety of services could enable people to become integrated as fully as possible into their community.

CIL incorporated in 1972, and began disseminating the goals, philosophies and objectives of the Independent Living Movement. Curb-cuts in Berkeley became the litmus test for social change and advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities and became the icon for a host of other access issues in public places, work and public transportation. The CIL model is the basis for Title VII of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Independent Living Program (ILP) legislation with California's AB-204, and for hundreds of Independent Living Centers throughout the U.S. and the world.

CIL has four offices: Berkeley, Downtown Oakland, Fruitvale, and East Oakland. Services include recruitment and referral of personal assistants, peer counseling, support groups, independent living skills instruction, advocacy, reader referral, sign language interpretation, employment services, financial benefits counseling, housing counseling, and youth services. In 2007, CIL celebrates its 35th anniversary as a leader in the Independent Living Movement.

Jan Garrett is the Executive Director at CIL. Her first job after college was with an independent living center in Norman, Oklahoma. Jan earned a law degree from the University of Oklahoma, and worked in the field of law for several years, before returning to work in the independent living movement. Associate Director Gerald Baptiste is a nationally recognized community and independent living leader, with a background in the area of services to people with visual impairments.

Contact
2539 Telegraph Ave. Berkeley CA 94704
510-841-4776 FAX: 510-841-6168 TTY: 510-848-3101
email: info@cilberkeley.org
Website: www.cilberkeley.org