About Us ...
Independence Unlimited, Inc. (lU) is a non-residential, non-profit center for independent living that serves very diverse populations in 38 cities and towns in mainly Hartford County. The Center, which was established in 1982, is governed and managed by people with disabilities. IU's mission is to assist people with disabilities in obtaining and maintaining their personal independence and live in the community of their choice. IU is a center for independent living as defined by the Rehabilitation Act and provides the four core services required by the Act: advocacy (both individual and systems), peer counseling, skills training and information and referral. IU is community based and responsive to the needs of the communities it serves. In response to community needs, IU established the following programs:

• Access Greater Hartford provides training and technical assistance on accessibility, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act and other disability issues to remove barriers to full inclusion of people with disabilities.
• local Beginnings/Universal Outcomes provides information and training in both English and Spanish to parents of children with disabilities on IDEA, ADA, and other disability related topics.
• New Beginnings Peer Support Group is a model program that provides skills training, peer counseling and support to people with disabilities who want to transition from institutions/nursing homes into community based living situations.
• Project TEAM provides outreach and mentors to people with disabilities in the Bristol area who are at risk of premature entry into an institution/nursing home.
• leaders of Tomorrow Youth Group provides skills training, peer counseling and social and recreational opportunities to youth with disabilities and young adults 16 to 30 who are transitioning from school to work or from living with family to living on their own.

During the past five years, Independence Unlimited:

• provided multiple, long term services (over 40 hours) to 984 people with disabilities. Of this number, 130 were at risk of immediate premature entry into a nursing facility. It would have cost $14,858,000 per year (at a rate of $113,600 per year, per person) to provide for these individuals in a nursing facility. At Medicaid rate of $61 ,800 per year the cost would be $8,034,000.
• transitioned 105 people with disabilities from institutions, including nursing facilities, into the community. It would cost $11,928,000 per year if they remained in a nursing facility (Medicaid rate cost $6,489,000).
• provided information and referral services to 3,362 unduplicated callers

Independence Unlimited led the state in transitions under the Nursing Facilities Transition project and currently employs four transition coordinators to transition people under the new Money Follows the Person program and one half time coordinator under state funding. IU was instrumental in providing training and technical assistance to 22 statewide transition coordinators for Money Follows the Person.

IU is a one stop disability resource for the Greater Hartford area and beyond.

For more information on Independence Unlimited, contact Candace Low, Executive Director at
(860) 523-5021 voicelTTY or email at contactus@independenceunlimited.org.
151 New Park Avenue, Suite D, Hartford, CT 06106
Tel: 860-523-5021 Voice/TTY Fax: 860-523-5603 Email: Clow@independenceunlimited.org