It’s a common cliché to say “time flies, but the truth is……IT DOES! I feel I blinked twice and 2023 was ending. It has been nice having the world find it’s “new normal” as the public health emergency lifted, and people learned how to live with the viruses that still maintain existence. A lot of my time this past year was spent advocating in Ohio for increased funding for Centers for Independent Living and for direct care workers in crisis. Advocating is a marathon, not a sprint, and I will continue to battle alongside my fellow colleagues and professional partners who also have a passion to improve the quality of life for those in disability community.
SIL staff were busy this past year also:
- Proudly servicing 118 individuals with the PCA (Personal Care Assistant) Program-serving the entire state of Ohio
- Answering over 1400 requests for information and/or referrals
- Distributing over 12,000 Covid-19 test kits.
- Increasing community education by 23% through workshops, trainings, and hosted conferences
- SIL had a 95% satisfaction rating amongst closed consumers that were surveyed.
- SIL donated 175 pieces of durable medical equipment.
- SIL conducted 650 Long-term Supports & Services questionnaires to individuals
This year will bring additional milestones as SIL will find a new location to call home (Spring 2024) and this month I will celebrate 10 years with SIL! Myself, and staff, will also prepare for another CARF survey. Besides continuing to serve Ohioans living with disabilities and expanding and improving current programming, 2024 will be busy in all the most positive ways.
For all those reading this newsletter, I want to personally thank you for being involved with SIL as it continues to grow and move forward, enhancing the lives and helping create greater independence for persons with disabilities. For anyone that wants to get more involved, or hasn’t been involved in a while, I encourage visits to our website for the most up-to-date information on programming and news.
Together we can make it another great (leap) year and remember WE ARE IN IT WITH YOU!
Shannon Monyak