Friday, January 5, 2018
Hello everyone, and welcome to our blog. On behalf of everyone at Integrated Living Opportunities (ILO), we would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year.
2017 was an incredible year for ILO. We helped self-advocates move into their own homes – in supported communities created according to their wishes, and in accordance with their needs – and have also grown our organization in other ways. We welcomed seven new participating families into our fold, and look forward to helping them create their own networks of support. We hosted a number of successful fundraisers and raised a significant amount of money towards community goals. The overwhelming support we received affirms that our communities are needed, and valued, by ILO self-advocates, participating families, community members, and donors.
We also launched an exciting new community building initiative, ILO Community Group. In addition to all this, we found time to host some fun ILO events and lay the groundwork for expansion in 2018.
We could not have achieved any of this without your support. Thank you.
2018 Plans: Virginia Expansion, Website Redesign and More
ILO is committed to continuing to work hard to create supported communities for self-advocates and their families, while facilitating existing networks of support and community pods. A number of exciting ventures are planned for 2018, including Virginia community groups, website redesign, and ILO videos. Please stay tuned to our website, subscribe to our blog posts, and follow our social media feeds in the coming weeks and months for more information.
Virginia Expansion
At ILO, our goal is to create supported, integrated and inclusive communities in which adults with disabilities can live independently according to their needs. ILO supports a number of communities – or pods, as we refer to them – in Maryland and Washington, D.C. One of our big projects in 2018 is to expand our organization and begin creating community pods in Northern Virginia.
If you would like to learn more about this expansion, or would like to begin creating a supported community for your family member with disability in Northern Virginia, please contact us.
Website Redesign – Coming Soon!
2018 will bring an exciting change to ILO’s online presence – a website redesign. As we grow and welcome more self-advocates and participating families into ILO, we are committed to ensuring that our online presence grows accordingly and can meet the needs of our extended ILO community.
As a result, we are redesigning our website to ensure that we continue to effectively promote ILO’s message of community and to streamline the ways in which ILO self-advocates, participating family members, and potential new families can interact with each other online. In addition to the redesign of the site, we will also be adding ILO informational videos, created by Blueberry Shoes Productions, LLC –specifically, Will Schermerhorn.
An announcement regarding the launch of our newly designed website will be coming soon – please subscribe to our blog to be notified when it occurs.
ABLE Popup – Community Group Members Only
One of the first events of 2018 is an ABLE Popup event. This will take place January 23, 2018 from 6:00-8:00 on and is intended to help individuals with disabilities and their families learn about Maryland and Washington, D.C. ABLE accounts from the experts. After a short presentation on the topic, attendees will be able to ask questions, gather information, and even register for an ABLE account on the spot.
Please note that this event is open to ILO Community Group members only. To learn more about Community Group, or to join, follow this link.
Join ILO and Begin Creating a Supported Community for your Family Member with Disabilities
Again, thank you for your continued support of ILO. As an organization dedicated to creating communities, we know that we can thrive when everyone is connected and working towards the same goal – integrated, inclusive, independent living options for adults with disabilities.
If you are interested in creating a supported community for your family member with disabilities, please contact us. We would love to meet you and learn about your family with special needs. We would also love the opportunity to introduce you to the ILO family, and to show you how we are working together to make our dreams a reality.
