The 2023 Independent Living Conference was held September 26, 2023 in Marlborough, MA.
Photo: MASILC Members
The one day conference brought together staff and board members from the ten Independent Living Centers in Massachusetts; the members of the Statewide Independent Living Council; staff from MRC, MCB, and MCDHH; and other members of the disability community from across the state.
Please see below for the conference agenda and description of the confirmed speakers and workshops. This page will be updated as details are confirmed.
Registration for the conference is now closed. Please reach out to SILC Coordinator Aliza Levine at alevine@masilc.org with any questions.
Download the 2023 IL Conference flyer.
Conference Agenda
- 8:30 Registration, breakfast, and exhibitors
- 9:30 Conference Welcome & Commissioner presentations
- Commissioner John Oliveira, Massachusetts Commission for the Blind
- Commissioner Opeoluwa Sotonwa, Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
- Commissioner Toni Wolf, Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission
- 10:15 – 11:30 Workshops – Choose 1
- CORI, Re-entry, and Housing
- Stronger Together: The NCIL Advocacy Platform
- Student Vision in the New Massachusetts IEP Form
- 11:30 Lunch starts
- 12:00 Keynote: Ed Augustus, Housing Secretary, Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing & Livable Communities
- 1:00 – 2:15 Workshops – Choose 1
- A Practical Overview of Involuntary Admission, Civil Commitment, and Involuntary Treatment in Massachusetts
- Accessible Public Transportation Panel: Advocacy & Resources
- Immigration and Benefits
- 2:30 – 3:30 Closing speakers – Barriers and Facilitators in Access to HCBS for People of Color, Brandeis Community Living Equity Center (CLEC), Kimberly The, CLEC Co- Investigator and Jennifer Lee-Rambharose, CLEC Project Coordinator
Welcome
Steve Higgins, Executive Director at Independence Associates (left) and Nancy Garr-Colzie, Treasurer or MA Statewide Independent Living Council.
Commissioners
Ed Augustus, Housing Secretary, Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing & Livable Communities
Workshops
CORI, Re-entry, and Housing
Alyssa Golden, Community Legal Aid
Community Legal Aid (CLA) is the civil legal services organization serving Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties. They provide legal assistance with a broad range of civil legal issues including family law matters for survivors of domestic violence, housing (eviction defense and housing discrimination), public benefits, elder law, employment law, education law, veterans legal issues, immigration (in the subsidiary, Central West Justice Center), and criminal records and reentry legal issues.
Alyssa Golden is the Senior Supervising Attorney for the CORI/Reentry unit. This unit provides legal assistance to individuals seeking to seal and/or expunge criminal records and people facing public and subsidized housing denials and terminations due to criminal records issues. Further, the unit provides assistance with employment denials and terminations, as well as some other types of civil consequences of the criminal court system. She is going to talk about these legal issues, options for addressing them, and the connections between criminal records issues and both race and disability discrimination. She will also inform you about how to access legal assistance through Community Legal Aid.
Stronger Together
Jessica Podesva J.D., Director of Advocacy and Public Policy, and Mary-Kate Wells, Programs Director, National Council for Independent Living
This workshop will provide an overview of the NCIL advocacy platform with a focus on the following:
- 5 For 5 Campaign – Increase Federal Funding for IL to Five Hundred Million to support the Five Core Services
- Upcoming Re-Authorization of the Rehab Act
- Importance of coming together as an IL network to effect change on a national level
Student Vision in the New Massachusetts IEP Form
Leslie Leslie and Rebecca Davis, Federation for Children with Special Needs
Massachusetts has updated their Individualized Education Program (IEP) form for the first time in over 20 years. Transition planning and student vision are now an integral part of the form. This workshop will review sections of the new form on student concerns, student vision and post secondary goals, offer questions to help a student define their strengths and interests, and examine ways to include employment goals on an IEP. Although the new IEP will not be implemented until school year 2024-2025, let’s get our students ready to fully participate in their future!
A Practical Overview of Involuntary Admission, Civil Commitment, and Involuntary Treatment in Massachusetts
Justin Woolf of the Disability Law Center and Shain Neumeier from Committee for Public Counsel
This presentation will take attendees chronologically through each step of the involuntary mental health treatment process in Massachusetts, covering the aspects most relevant to consumers. The goal of this training will be for participants to help their clients understand their rights better and to know when to contact the Committee for Public Counsel Services to seek legal assistance. It will include:
- When can an individual be “sectioned,” what happens after they are brought to the emergency department at a hospital, and when to request an emergency hearing;
- An individual’s rights upon transfer to a psychiatric facility, the conditional voluntary application process, and what happens when the facility decides to file a civil commitment petition;
- When can an individual be involuntarily treated with medication and/or electroconvulsive therapy;
- What happens after an individual is committed to a psychiatric facility;
The session will involve “issue spotting” exercises to help participants gain a better grasp of the subject matter.
Accessible Public Transportation Panel: Advocacy & Resources
- Nancy Garr-Colzie, SILC Treasurer, Board President of the Center for Living and Working, Standing member of the Transportation Planning Advisory Group of the WRTA, and Past Member of the WRTA Advisory Board
- Rachel Fichtenbaum, Manager of Grant Programs & Mobility Management, MassDOT Rail & Transit Division
- Mike Kennedy, CLW ADA/Access Advocacy Coordinator
- Katarina (Kat) Torres Radisic, BCIL Community Organizer / RTAG Facilitator
CIL Staff, Board members and representatives from MASSDOT will share ongoing efforts to improve available accessible transportation in Massachusetts.
- Updates from the Massachusetts Community Transit Grant Program
- Worcester advocates’ efforts to increase accessible and affordable transportation options
- The Joanne Daniels-Finegold lawsuit and the creation of the Riders’ Transportation Access Group. 20 plus years of advocacy to improve access on the MBTA
Katarina (Kat) Torres Radisic, BCIL Community Organizer / RTAG Facilitator,
Rachel Fichtenbaum, Manager of Grant Programs & Mobility Management, MassDOT Rail & Transit Division, Nancy Garr-Colzie, SILC Treasurer, Board President of the Center for Living and Working, Standing member of the Transportation Planning Advisory Group of the WRTA, and Past Member of the WRTA Advisory Board and
Mike Kennedy, CLW ADA/Access Advocacy Coordinator
Immigration and Benefits
Stephanie Souza and Kelly Hewitt of the Community Action Committee of Cape Cod & Islands
The Community Action Committee of Cape Cod & Islands provides free legal counsel and assistance for immigrants and their families. In this workshop, we will review some of the immigration petitions and applications that can lead to legal status and briefly discuss the eligibility requirements and application process. We will identify other organizations that offer legal services to the immigrant community.
We will then discuss access to public benefits for immigrants including:
- Overview of Health Connector & MassHealth Insurance Plans and Eligibility
- Application process and documentation needed.
- How to create a Member Account and Log-in.
- Health Connector Navigator Services.
- How to find a Navigator Organization near you.
- Overview of SNAP benefits and Eligibility.
- Application process, DTA Interview, and documentation needed.
Closing – Barriers and Facilitators in Access to HCBS for People of Color
Kimberly The, CLEC Co- Investigator and Jennifer Lee-Rambharose, CLEC Project Coordinator. Introduced by Anna Herman of MRC.
The Community Living Equity Center is excited to connect with members of the MASILC, IL staff, and friends of the independent living network Kimberly The, CLEC Co- Investigator and Jennifer Lee-Rambharose, CLEC Project Coordinator during the closing session. This session will discuss disability, racial equity, and Home and Community-based Services research. The purpose of this session will be to: 1) provide an overview of the Community Living Equity Center, 2) describe participatory research and the process of including disabled people of color throughout all research phases, 3) discuss preliminary findings on experiences of disabled people of color transitioning out of nursing homes and 4) provide initial recommendations for how to improve nursing home transitions for disabled people of color.
Please reach out to SILC Coordinator Aliza Levine at alevine@masilc.org with any questions.
Kimberly The, CLEC Co- Investigator
Kimberly The, CLEC Co- Investigator
Random Photos
Exhibitors (alphabetic)
Ahoi! – a brand new app that tells you whether or not many places are accessible, and also allows you to add your own reviews of locations.
Client Assistance Program, MASS Office on Disability
Executive Office of Elder Affairs
Federation for Children with Special Needs
MA Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Mass Rehabilitation Commission
PLAN of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Inc
REquipment – Durable Medical Equipment and Assistive Technology Reuse Program
Random photos of exhibitors!
