San Francisco’s Independent Living Resource Center at White House for ADA 25th Anniversary Event
San Francisco’s Independent Living Resource Center at White House for ADA 25th Anniversary Event: Monday, July 20
media contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc. / (415) 676-7007/ news@davidperry.com
15 July 2015 – San Francisco, CA: At the invitation of President Barack Obama, San Francisco’s Independent Living Resource Center (www.ilrcsf.org) will mark the 25th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act at a special White House Reception on Monday, July 20 at 3:15pm (EST), represented by its Executive Director Jessie Lorenz.
“What a difference a quarter century makes,” said Lorenz. “In the last 25 years since the ADA was first passed, many things have improved for the disability community. However, much still needs to be done. I am honored and proud to have been invited to attend this special reception at the White House to both celebrate and advocate.”
The Americans With Disabilities Act, commonly referred to as the ADA, was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990. A number of events marking this year’s anniversary are taking place. Information may be found online at www.adaanniversary.org
ILRCSF is San Francisco’s only cross-disability organization operating under the Independent Living philosophy; a movement, which asserts that people with disabilities are the best experts on their needs. ILRCSF holds that people with disabilities must organize themselves for political power, and that taking the initiative to design and promote better solutions for their inclusion is the best way to achieve full access. Since 1976, ILRCSF – staffed almost entirely by people with disabilities – has offered support, advocacy, and information regarding the rights of people with disabilities to individuals, educational institutions, and the small business community. Programs at ILRCSF include everything from peer counseling and help with assistive technologies, to economic empowerment workshops and accessible housing advocacy. In recent years, the agency has expanded outreach to include a program geared towards youth empowerment and has now become home to a number of peer support groups including a Veterans’ Art Guild, in which military veterans living with service-related disabilities work on creative projects ranging from photography and sculpture to creative writing.
“Our primary focus has always been to make the greater community a more accessible, livable place for people with disabilities,” explains ILRCSF Executive Director Jessie Lorenz. “It is becoming increasingly clear that the best way to achieve that end is to foster opportunities for people with disabilities to connect with one another, to develop community, and to become engaged advocates.”
For more information visit www.ilrcsf.com