Date: July 28, 2008

Written by: Sarah G. Smith Consumer's

First name: William*

Age: 25-59 years

City or town of residence: Marblehead

Services requested and why: This consumer was living at a nursing home in Marblehead after a hospitalization of two months, rehab for 2 months, and a seven month stay at the nursing home. He has a mental health condition which has been complicated by epilepsy and some brain damage due to multiple seizures. He has battled alcoholism for at least twenty years and has maintained sobriety for the last 5 years. After his many month stay at various institutions, he wished to move back to his apartment in Lynn with his wife. He learned about the ILCNSCA from nursing home staff.

What services were provided and by whom:

• ILCNSCA skills training: To help consumer identify issues involved in moving into and staying in his apartment: access-existence of stairs and present necessity to use a wheelchair; medication and medical equipment management; personal care and skilled nursing care.
• ILCNSCA peer counseling: Provided experience-sharing to consumer to assist him in understanding the responsibility for self-care and support of his primary care-giver (his wife) once he had moved home.
• ILCNSCA independent living service coordination: kept other agencies informed of progress of move and any issues arising after consumer moved home. Those agencies were:
• Lafayette Nursing Home Social Services: Clarification of services requested from VNA
• Department of Mental Health (DMH) Case Manager: Clarification of services provided by DMH
• Nizhoni Health Systems: Medicare/Medicaid Home Health Care:

How did these services improve the consumer’s daily living: After two weeks, this consumer was able to move home to live with his wife and is now:

• Able to live in own home with wife of seventeen years
• Able to control own schedule of sleeping, eating, watching television.
• Working towards attending local AA meetings which have been greatest support in gaining and maintaining sobriety.
• Able to communicate freely with AA sponsor of many years.

*name changed to protect identity

Date: 04/09/09

Written by: Marj Nagle

Consumer’s First name: Richard*

Age: over 60

City or town of residence: Beverly

Services requested and why: This consumer is an amputee. He lived at home with his wife of 44 years until his amputation but learned he could not return after his rehabilitation. He had never lived alone before or searched for housing and sought out the support and services of ILCNSCA.

What services were provided and by whom:

• ILCNSCA Skills Training: Assisted consumer to learn and understand all of his housing options and opportunities available to him. Assisted consumer to identify and develop strategies to address issues he might encounter in terms of equipment, PCA services and or skilled nursing care.
• ILCNSCA Peer Counseling: Sharing with consumer some personal /similar experiences as a person living with a disability and some ways barriers were overcome in order to live independently.
• ILCNSCA service coordination: Worked with staff and social workers at the nursing home to ensure that consumer had all needed services, furniture, etc. in place before consumer moved to his new home.

How did these services improve the consumer’s daily living? Consumer was successful in moving his new apartment, living alone, with PCA services and is adjusting well to his new life of independence. He is able to schedule his own meals, bedtime and social activities.

*name changed to protect identity

During FY’09 we continued to provide a monthly Peer Support group. The Community Access Advocacy Team continued to address access issues. We also provided a monthly Housing Application Assistance workshop. In addition a variety of workshops were provided on: Emergency Preparedness for Persons with Disabilities: What Do I Need to Do to Prepare for a Weather or Other Emergency; a Money Smart certificate course on managing personal budgets; Repairing Your Credit provided by American Credit Counseling, as well as forums on Housing Rights and Finding Available, Affordable, and Accessible Housing in Salem from a City of Salem Community Development Block Grant.

We completed our design of a new survey instrument and procedures to provide an accessibility review of Restaurants, Retail businesses, Office businesses, and Entertainment businesses. This new accessibility agenda is titled All People Accessible Business or APAB for short. We began to use the instrument for training of volunteers in late 08 and continued in 09 to introduce this expanded accessibility survey. The pilot test was conducted at North Shore Elder Services, one of our Aging and Disability Resource Center of the Greater North Shore partners. Further testing is to occur in ’10.

ILCNSCA provided information to the general public at three Health and Wellness Fairs, held an Annual Meeting, Holiday Open House in December 2008 and a Legislative Breakfast in early May 2009. ILCNSCA has continued in its leadership role in the Aging and Disability Resource Consortium of the Greater North Shore (ADRC of GNS) to provide a single point of information and entry to long term services and supports for those who are seniors and for those with disabilities. We use a ‘no wrong door’ approach and work closely with the other leadership agencies which include the Elder Service Plan of the North Shore, and the four Aging Services Access Point agencies (Greater Lynn Senior Services, North Shore Elder Services, SeniorCare and Mystic Valley Elder Services). We started a new program as a test site for Pre-Admission Counseling under the Equal Choice Act. This program is called Long Term Care Options Program, and began in late November, 2008. This is the first new program under our ADRC of GNS and we are one of three test sites in the Commonwealth. We hope this will be expanded to all of our area during ’10, as we are only testing with two hospitals and one rehabilitation facility during the test time.

We were members of the Salem Chamber of Commerce, North Shore Chamber of Commerce, and Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce and the Mass Council of Human Services Providers, National Council of Independent Living (NCIL) and many other statewide and national social justice organizations. As the regional access point for the fully accessible web based disability resources database, the Mass Network of Information Providers (MNIP), we have assisted with refining the new Massachusetts Aging and Disability Information Locater (MADIL) portal. This web based database is a new key resource for all citizens of Massachusetts for information on services for citizens with disabilities and seniors.

Our Director of Access and Advocacy continues his appointment by the Governor to represent ILCNSCA at the Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC). Our Executive Director represents MA as well as the other five New England states on the National Council for Independent Living (NCIL) Board, re-elected as the Region 1 representative in June 09. She is also the chair of the SILC State Plan for Independent Living Committee and the NCIL ADRC Task Force.

ILCNSCA participated with the Statewide Independent Living Council in a two day Independent Living conference in fall of '09. ILCNSCA visited the statehouse twice with the SILC and the other ten Massachusetts independent living centers in FY' 09.

We also sent out many public service announcements to our local cable TV stations, revised and greatly updated, reformatted and have expanded our webpage, www.ilcnsca.org, sent out multiple mailings of events and activities. The results from our Consumer Satisfaction survey of those served in ’08 were positive. We introduced in late 08 and continued in ’09 a postcard satisfaction survey, included with all our information and referral mailings. A follow up was also instituted with every Long Term Care Options Program consumer.