Contact: Michelle West
(719) 476-3143
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE INDEPENDENCE CENTER TEACHES UCCS PUBLIC AFFAIRS STUDENTS
HOW TO AFFECT CHANGE THROUGH ADVOCACY
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, October 29, 2015 – About 40 public affairs students were introduced
to The Independence Center at a community discussion hosted by UCCS School of Public Affairs on
October 29, 2015. Attendees were given theoretical and practical perspectives along with real life
stories about policy barriers for people with disabilities.
The Community Discussion focused on Advocacy and Policy Development Supporting
Independent Living for People with Disabilities. Panelists were: The Independence Center’s Carrie Baatz
(Community Organizer), Billy Allen (Board Member), People’s Access to Homes’ (PATH) Michael Hazard,
Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation’s Andrew Winders, Amblicab’s Gail Nehls and Rocky
Mountain ADA Center’s Maggie Simms.
Allen presented on the history of education and policies affecting people with disabilities in the
United States. Baatz presented on the issue of accessible and affordable housing and how community
organizing can affect this issue in Colorado Springs. Hazard spoke about his background in law and
education and affecting change at grassroots level, especially now with PATH, a community group
formed out of the community organizing efforts of The IC.
“Nonprofits sometimes don’t take their responsibility for advocacy seriously,” Patricia Yeager,
CEO of The IC, said after the forum. “Nonprofits can be so service focused that advocacy is neglected.”
Hazard (PATH) talked about encountering people who were surprised that The Independence
Center has effectively broadened the spectrum and included people with disabilities on all areas of the
spectrum. He spoke of going out to talk with people to encourage them to become civically engaged
regarding the sit-lie ordinance.
“When I first started to tell people ‘hey, we’re working with the homeless, we’re working with
sit/lie [proposed ordinance], we’re working with [people with] disabilities, we’re working with
(more)
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affordable housing, people started to say ‘but it’s The Independence Center’ [in a questioning/confused
way].”
He starts to smile.
“We went ‘yeah’.” Hazard draws out the word emphatically and nods vigorously, to “knowing”
chuckles from the audience. “That’s the interesting thing about what The Independence Center has
done here.”
Yeager is one of the “knowing.” She says, “The Independence Center is different. Using a
metaphor for serving one versus many, we can sweep the beach or we can remodel the beach and make
it better. The IC can’t do this for people with disabilities. We have to do it together. We’re committed to
giving the disability community a voice.”
Several questions from the audience were directed to representatives from The Independence
Center, including questions about funding, starting grassroots movements, and how to obtain and utilize
data in community organizing. The entirety of the discussion can be viewed online here:
http://www.uccs.edu/spa/current-students/professional-development/community-conversationsseries.html
About The Independence Center
The Independence Center is a local nonprofit organization that provides traditional and selfdirected home health care, independent living, and advocacy services for people with disabilities. These
services range from providing peer support, skills classes, and employment assistance to individual and
systems advocacy. The IC’s mission is to work with people with disabilities, their families, and the
community to create independence so all may thrive.
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