Celebrating disability advocacy was the focus of the recent SKIL annual meeting. Staff and customers of SKIL Resource Centers throughout Southeast Kansas came together at the VFW Post 704 on the afternoon of Friday, Dec. 5.
“This is a celebration that we do every year,” SKIL President Shari Coatney said. “ It’s a holiday celebration, but we also have our annual board meeting at this time.”
“It’s an opportunity for us to celebrate some folks who have done some outstanding things,” Coatney noted that while awardees have been given their awards throughout the year, a slideshow honoring those awardees and awards was displayed during the event.
“It’s just an opportunity to bring people together; people with disabilities, people without disabilities in the same room, caregivers,” Coatney said. “All of the aspects of our lives are all in one room to celebrate together and feel like a family and a community.
According to Coatney, SKIL’s purpose is to meet the needs of southeast Kansans, to ensure that individuals with disabilities can live independently with support.
“Our goal for the next year is to continue to provide the services that we are providing, and to have our services reflect more of what our community looks like,” Coatney said. “We have a diversity team that works on those outreach goals. They’re just getting out there and trying to be a part of those communities, so those communities feel like they are a part of us.”
Executive Project Strategist and Advocacy Liason Dillon Warren is one such team member. Warren also serves as the assistant to the CEO and President, and chair of Kansas ADAPT, which stands for American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today.
Of ADAPT, Warren said the organization advocates for disability rights, such as fair wages and fair, accessible housing.
See MEETING, Page 3.
“We go all over the United States advocating where we are needed,” Warren said. “So we team up with our agency, SKIL, here.”
Warren noted that disability has no one face and that the disability community is already incredibly diverse.
“We just need to let everyone know that we’re here, and we’re here to advocate for you, and keep you in your own home, with the tools that you may need or the people that you may need to do it,” Warren said.
Of Friday’s celebration, Warren said: “Today we are celebrating our customers, the people we serve. These are people in our community — who are working in our community — paying taxes in our community. We’re celebrating everyone having the freedom to be on their own.”
Tara Frasier, based out of the Columbus office, started as a SKIL customer nearly 20 years ago, but is now an independent living coordinator.
“What I do is, I help our customers get the workers that they need in their homes, in order to do their daily living skills without limitations.”
Tara said she enjoys helping the customers be a part of their community. Tara greeted individuals during Friday’s meeting and passed out surveys.
“I’m grateful to SKIL because I’ve been in my own apartment for a year at the end of this month,” Fraiser said.
Frasier previously lived in a group housing facility before moving into her own apartment.
District 7 Representative Dan Goddard was also present and addressed attendees.
“I’ve done this for many years now as a welcome and to really recognize SKIL for everything they do for the community,” Goddard said. “They create a caring and supportive environment for all their clients, and they are really dedicated to what they do.”
Goddard said a “big thank you” should go out to the parents and caregivers, who are not associated with SKIL but still support the mission.
Goddard noted that Coatney often reaches out to Goddard at the State Capitol to advocate for SKIL’s needs.
“There are a lot of programs, it’s just the fact that we don’t have the money to do a lot,” Goddard said. “And a lot of times we don’t have the people that are qualified to do things.”
Coatney added that both funding and staffing are issues SKIL faces often.
“We have a need, but we don’t always have the capacity to meet that need; either it is financial or physical,” Coatney said.
SKIL has offices in Parsons, Chanute, Columbus, Fredonia, Independence, Pittsburg, and Sedan. To learn more about SKIL visit skilonline.com or https://www.facebook.com/SKILResourceCenter.
