Volunteer for LIFE of MS

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About Living Independence for Everyone of Mississippi

Location:

1304 Vine Street, Jackson, MS 39202, US

Mission Statement

The purpose of Living Independence For Everyone is to empower people with significant disabilities to be as independent and as fully involved in their communities as they can and want to be.

Description

Living Independence for Everyone (LIFE) is a center for independent living under Title VII, Part C of the Rehabilitation Act. LIFE is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of individuals with significant disabilities in Mississippi. LIFE has been in existence since October of 1993 and has provided core independent living services to more than 35,000 individuals with disabilities throughout the state. LIFE staff, Board members, AmeriCorps members and volunteers have provided disability awareness and information to over 170,000 individuals, groups and organizations since our inception.

LIFE has offices in Tupelo, Greenwood, McComb, Hattiesburg, and Biloxi and the state office is in Jackson. The location of these offices allows us to provide services throughout the state of Mississippi to anyone who has a disability, regardless of the type of disability, their age or their location in the state. All LIFE offices are managed and staffed primarily by individuals with disabilities themselves. LIFE is governed by a Board of Trustees with 100% representation of people with disabilities. With ten At-Large Trustees and five Officers, the Board is representative of the state population and various disability types. Each LIFE office is represented by at least one At-Large Trustee living in the area of service.

LIFE provides the four core services of independent living (peer support, information and referral, skills training and advocacy) as required by law, at no-cost. LIFE also provides other independent living services to consumers with disabilities as needed. These services include, but are not limited to, home and vehicle modifications, durable medical equipment and supplies, adaptive technology, rehabilitation engineering and much more. These I.L. services can be costly. Therefore, LIFE staff seek to develop other resources, conduct fund raising events, and apply for grant funding through other agencies and organizations. Currently, LIFE benefits from three local United Way agencies in North, Central and South Mississippi for the provision of home and vehicle modifications to individuals. We have grants or contracts with six other agencies and organizations to provide such services as transition for young adults with special health care needs, transition for people currently living in nursing homes to relocate them back into the community, information dissemination and referral for parents of children with disabilities and information and training regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Consumer-Controlled
( directed by people with severe disabilities through consumer Boards and staffs);

Cross-Disability
( not limited to any one or more disability groups);

Community-Based
( providing services in the community); and

Nonresidential
( focused on noninstitutional settings).

For more information about LIFE or the services we provide, please call our state office in Jackson at 1-800-748-9398 or (601) 969-4009 (v/tty).