PACE
Center for Independent Living

1317 E. Florida Ave.
Urbana, IL 61801
(217) 344-5433 voice (217) 344-5024 TTY
http://www.prairienet.org/pace

Contact: Nancy McClellan-Hickey, Executive Director

PACE is a Center for Independent Living serving people with disabilities, their families, and disability service providers. PACE also offers disability awareness and information to the community.

The PACE Goal
Our goal is to support persons with disabilities full participation in the rights and responsibilities of society.

Coverage
PACE serves Champaign, Douglas, Vermilion, Edgar and Piatt Counties. There are 24 Centers for Independent Living in Illinois. There are over 580 across the nation.

PACE Service Specific to Aging:
Visual Impairment for age 55 years and over
· Adaptive Equipment to Maintain Independence
· Self Help Group Support and Speakers
· Peer Counselors with Vision Loss
· Low Vision Fairs in Champaign and Vermilion Counties
· Information and Referral
· Adaptive Skills for Accessing the Home and Community
· Advocacy for Individuals
· Advocacy for Systems Changes (which increase access for people with vision loss.)
General PACE services for all Ages
Information and Resources
· Disability Related Information and Referral
· Interpreter Referral
· Housing Lists
· Personal Assistance Referral for Champaign and Vermilion Counties.
Any person with a disability is eligible, and there is no fee for the referral service. The person with a disability is the employer and pays the personal assistant's salary. A personal assistant can provide services including bathing, dressing, transfers, transportation, grocery shopping, meal preparation, laundry, and other services.

Access and Advocacy
· Individual Advocacy
Consumers are assisted in asserting their needs or legal rights in various situations.
· Systemic Advocacy
To educate consumers about the need for changes in systems to accommodate for disabilities.
· Accessibility Surveys
· Braille Printing
· Assistive Devices/Independent Living Aids Consultation
· Deaf Services: Coordinator uses Signed and Oral Communication
· Readers and Writers for People with Visual Impairments

Skills Development
· Personal Assistant Management Training: to help persons with disabilities learn the skills needed to recruit, interview, check references, schedule, and supervise personal assistants.
· Employment Search Skills
· Basic Computer Skills Training
· Computer Typing Tutorial
· Public Transit Use (including use of wheelchair lift)
· Assertiveness
· Budgeting
· Financial Benefit Attainment
· Adaptive Cooking Techniques
· Civil Rights and the Law

Counseling
· Independent living and peer counseling