The Consumer survey was put up on the CFI website for just about 30 days. The survey could be answered by consumers, family members and other service providers. It was an accessible survey in that people who used screen readers (the visually impaired) could access it as well as others. In addition to collecting demographic information such as gender, zip code, disability, and income levels, it asked questions about services that respondents would use and asked them to prioritize them. It also presented a list of barriers that people might face in living independently and asked respondents to put a check by any they had experienced.

Some 35 people responded to the survey which is not enough to make generalizations. Of the 35 respondents, 20 were persons with disabilities, 2 were family members, 1 was from a government agency and 11 were service providers. Most the respondents came from Mesa County with several from Delta, Montrose and Garfield.

The services that these 35 respondents picked as important included all of the core services that CILs are to provide: information and referral, peer support, advocacy and IL skills training. In addition, assistive technology, employment services and recreation services were regarded as important. Again, there are not enough respondents to do more than just report on how these individuals responded.

The barriers that people reported do give the Center some direction to consider when thinking about what advocacy issues to pursue. It gives some indication of where there are problems in the community. The biggest barrier that respondents with disabilities identified was “Employers won’t hire me” (35%). Other top barriers include, “Health care services are not disability friendly” (32.4%); “I cannot talk to people on the telephone” (26.5%) and “I cannot use public transportation” (26.5%).

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Introduction

What is the Center for Independent living?

What services should a Center for Independent Living provide?

Questions to Ask When Deciding on Services

The Vision

The Consumer Survey

What Staff, Board and Key Informants Said