I caught up with the Executive Director of the Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida, Tony Delisle, to talk about the fantastic work we do in the community! (Yes, I said we because it just happens to be where I work). We provide services through partnerships with the Department of Education, the Department of Health, Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program, and the Alachua, Bradford, Citrus, Levy, Marion, and Putnam County School Boards. In addition, we are the only coordinator of sign language interpreting services for Alachua and surrounding counties and have four highly qualified sign language interpreters on staff. The CILNCF is also partnered with Florida Telecommunications and Relay, Inc. (FTRI), the designated Regional Distribution Center (RDC) of specialized telecommunications equipment. With this program, the CILNCF provides communication access to deaf, hard of hearing, deaf/blind, and speech-impaired people residing in North Central Florida. Further, our organization has developed intensive programming for youth with disabilities. The CILNCF operates a High School High Tech Program at six (6) area high schools in five (5) school districts in North Central Florida. High School/High Tech (HS/HT) was developed out of concern that too few students, especially those with disabilities, were being prepared for technology-based careers. Our program is designed to provide young people with all types of disabilities the opportunity to explore jobs and postsecondary education leading to technology-related careers. Locally, it is a community-based partnership comprised of students, parents and caregivers, businesses, educators, and rehabilitation professionals. Connect with CIL: Instagram: @cilgainesville Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FloridaCente... CIL Podcast: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/.../the...... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ePzIFF... Google: https://www.google.com/podcasts... Or give us a call at 352-378-7474 to find out more about our services!
