Disability Connections

About Disability Connections

Providing services for 30 years to people of all ages with disabilities in the Middle Georgia Area as a Center for Independent Living (CIL). We are a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering people with disabilities to live independently, pursue their goals, and access the same opportunities as everyone else. 

Our organization is unique in that a majority of our board and staff are individuals with significant disabilities, reflecting our strong commitment to peer support, lived experience, and consumer (individuals with disabilities) control (as required by Federal law). 

About This Position

Independent Living Coordinators empower people with disabilities by helping them achieve independence, get out of or stay out of institutional settings, gain freedom, and lead a more independent (or interdependent) life. Independent Living Coordinators do this in a multitude of ways, including:

• advocating to eliminate barriers to independence for people with disabilities.
• supporting learners of any age.
• researching information online using databases and software
• working to empower people with disabilities to get out of isolating or segregated circumstances.

We strongly encourage individuals with personal experience with disability and who also have experience with providing services like teaching and supporting youth with disabilities. We highly encourage individuals with disabilities to apply for this position. This position reports to the Peer Disability Opportunity Team Lead. 

On Disability?  

We will work with you to ensure we do not jeopardize the social security benefits you receive.  Your disability experience is valuable to the services we provide, and we hire a majority of individuals with disabilities who provide our independent living services.  Although we are searching for full-time for this position, we may consider more than one position depending on experience, qualifications, and interviewing process.  

Responsibilities

• Communicate, work with, inform, and educate consumers with disabilities to have access to resources and information in a variety of ways.
• Deliver Pathways to Partnerships Pre-ETS instruction and other relevant programs to students with disabilities.
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with Local Education Authorities (LEAs), VR Counselors, and other youth support networks.
• Have a passion to make all content and materials accessible to all students and fellow team members.
• Support the creation and implementation of plans to engage students, school systems and parents.
• Support the creation and implementation of plans to engage with students, school systems and parents.
• Ensure adherence to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
• Attend professional development sessions and maintain professionalism in all interactions.
• Promote the Independent Living Philosophy and support the CIL instructional team members.
• Communicate program updates and facilitate CIL Wrap-Ups/Share-Outs.
• Manage online resources and provide information and referral services.
• Foster partnerships with service providers and community organizations.
• Work with a team on media content, editing, shooting, and organizing community resources, disability-related products, and information.
• Work with a team to facilitate community events (in-house and/or online).
• Support the work of our online community for all ages and especially youth with disabilities. 
• Work with individuals with disabilities on all aspects of our center for independent living and IL service delivery
• Provide, along with all Disability Connections Teammates, Information and Referral, Peer Support, Advocacy (self-advocacy and systems advocacy), Independent Living Skills Training, and Transition Services (Youth transition to community life and support efforts for other teams with assisting with transitioning individuals out of nursing homes/institutions) services 
• Along with your IL teammates, answer incoming calls and inquiries, ensuring proper documentation of requests and communications.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• College degree preferred, High school or GED required, personal/professional experience working with people with disabilities AND living with disability is preferred.
• Willingness to learn and engage with the community.
• Highly resourceful team player with the ability to be effective independently.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent documentation practices.
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to multitask.
• High degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Working understanding of computers, digital documentation of activities/work, and project/task management software.
• Excellent skills in supporting the management of our online community (social media site)
• Ability to produce multimedia for many aspects of our outreach and services, which includes some videography skills, video editing, and much more.  

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to teach, follow, and lead various activities.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, anticipate project needs, and discern work priorities.
• Ability to work well with anyone we come across to serve.
• Ability to create online media content (articles, videos, posts, etc.)