News

This is the Thanks to the ADA Campaign introductory video created by the Great Lakes ADA Center.

https://adaminnesota.org/thankstotheada/

Our mission at Metropolitan Center for Independent Living (MCIL) is removing barriers, promoting choices. The Centers for Independent Living came about as a result of the struggle and pain of the civil rights era and the newly established civil rights laws from the 1960’s through the 1980’s.  We are deeply anguished and troubled by the death of George Floyd by law enforcement in Minneapolis Minnesota.

Our hearts are filled with prayers for Mr. Floyd and his family. We acknowledge the current and historical injustices experienced by the African American community, by all diverse communities, by people with disabilities and all whose rights have been denied. We join our hope and our work, with the hope and work of all who seek that as a society, we become a more just, equitable and civil society.

Throughout my career I have worked on advancing the quality of life of marginalized people, social justice, equity, educational advancement and economic development for diverse communities, recruitment of diverse and women candidates for Minnesota’s Judicial Selection Commission,  independent living for people with disabilities and ultimately the ability of people to care for one another.

We live in a time in which affirm these truths to be self-evident, that we all are made in the image and likeness of a Supreme Being and we are therefore endowed with the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

We remain committed to fully realize our mission of MCIL and that our work, our hope and our concerns may also contribute to the greater good in advancing freedom, safety and fairness for all as a civil society, so that ultimately we contribute to advancing the ability of people to care for one another. 

In this moment we affirm the need for healing, of care for all and of hope in realizing a better future for all.

Sincerely

Jesse Bethke Gomez, MMA

Executive Director

Metropolitan Center for Independent Living

530 Robert Street North, St. Paul, MN 55101

Urgent action needed as people with disabilities are left out of State’s COVID-19 plans

March 18, 2020 (ST. PAUL, Minn.) The emergency package approved by the legislature earlier this week addressed hospitals, clinics and nursing facilities, but did nothing to address the needs of people with disabilities and the frail elderly who live at home. Many cannot get out of bed by themselves and need help with daily activities, such as bathing, dressing, going to the bathroom, eating and taking medications. Some rely on ventilators or other medical equipment, which in-home providers help them use and maintain.

Even if they do not get the virus, people with disabilities continue to need in-home services to get up every day, stay healthy and avoid costly complications that can cause them to need hospital or nursing facility care. Such care is much more expensive than in-home care and is practically unavailable due to COVID-19. For many people with disabilities, in-home services are necessary for their very survival!

The in-home care system was already facing severe workforce shortages due to low wages and low reimbursement of providers. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed further strain on critically needed in- home care services.

Disruptions that are already happening:

• Personal Care Assistants (PCAs) who are willing to work extra hours to fill staffing gaps cannot do so because of overtime limits and lack of funding for overtime.
• PCAs who have passed a background check with one provider agency, cannot go to work for another without passing a second, time-consuming background check.
• Lack of funding for supplies, such as gloves, gowns and masks for PCAs who are concerned about being unwitting carriers of the virus.
• Apartment managers fearful of COVID-19 denying access to PCAs needed by people with disabilities who live in their buildings.
• Scaling back of accessible transportation services people need in order to buy groceries, pick up medications and to get to procedures like dialysis and chemotherapy.

The Legislature must reconvene this week to include PCA and other services for people with disabilities, and the frail elderly living at home, in emergency response plans. Legislation is needed to provide regulatory flexibility and funding for overtime pay, extra staffing, protective equipment, and to ensure that unforeseen issues can be addressed as they arise.

Quick action by the legislature is critical to ensuring that people with disabilities are not abandoned as the COVID-19 crisis deepens with each passing day. Many lives depend on swift action to close this gap in emergency response laws.

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Metropolitan Center for Independent Living COVID-19 Preparedness

March 19 2020

Metropolitan Center for Independent Living (MCIL) continues to operate all programs and services. We assist a vulnerable population and have an important role to play in mitigating emotional isolation and expect to continue to be of service to our clients and community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are also deeply committed to the safety and security of our Employees, and Direct Support Professionals and we are therefore making a necessary change to a remote work environment with essential personnel working out of the MCIL Offices until further notice.

Though our St Paul Offices will be closed to the public effective Wednesday March 18th, our main telephone number remains as a point of contact 651-646-8342. Disability Hub MN can be reached at 1-866-333-2466.

We encourage you to contact your healthcare provider should you have an urgent need, or 911. COVID-19 concerns please note the following:

Minnesota Department of Health, Community mitigation (schools, child care, business) questions: 651-297-1304 or 1-800-657-35047 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Minnesota Department of Health, Health-related questions: 651-201-3920 or 1-800-657- 3903 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Consistent with the Minnesota Department of Health Strategies to Slow the Spread of COVID-19 in Minnesota and CDC guidelines, MCIL encourages proper hygiene, personally and for your surrounding spaces, through increased hand washing, not touching your face, and frequent disinfecting of your spaces (phones, keyboards, door handles, etc.) and following other CDC and MN Dept. of Health recommendations as the best way to prevent the spread of illness such as social distancing.

MCIL takes these necessary social distance measures out of an abundance of caution to reduce the spread of disease, so as not to overwhelm our healthcare system, to protect all, our elderly, people with disabilities, and to protect high-risk individuals.

Jesse Bethke Gomez, MMA Executive Director

Metropolitan Center for Independent Living

Metropolitan Center for Independent Living Awarded Grant
from the F. R. Bigelow Foundation for Philanthropic Feasibility Study 

Funds will provide support for study to identify opportunities to expand MCIL facilities and service

SAINT PAUL, Minn., (Aug. 20, 2019) —The Metropolitan Center for Independent Living (MCIL) was recently awarded a $25,000 grant from the F. R. Bigelow Foundation. This generous grant will provide financial resources to support an extensive study to create a path to address MCIL’s outgrown facilities, affirmatively position the organization for growth, and advance MCIL’s mission of “Removing barriers, promoting choices.” The three-part study will be done in cooperation with consultants Crowley White and Associates. Outcomes will include a comprehensive facilities plan, an assessment of the funding potential from the philanthropic community, and provide MCIL a capital campaign strategy and comprehensive plan to move forward. Work will be done in close collaboration with MCIL Executive Director Jesse Bethke Gomez, MMA, and the agency’s board of directors, key stakeholders, staff and constituents.

As one of more than 405 Centers for Independent Living in the United States, MCIL offers an extensive range of programs and services for members of the disability community, their families, and partner organizations. Programs include housing referral services, transition plans for young adults with disabilities, consumer-directed Personal Attendant Services, ramp and home modifications, and relocation from nursing home institutional settings. With more than 70 staff members and 200 Personal Care Assistants (PCAs), MCIL serves thousands of participants, consumers and clients annually across the Twin Cities metro area. Thirty-seven years after its founding, the agency has outgrown its current facility and is poised for considerable transformation toward expanding services and an addressing increased need.

“This comprehensive feasibility study is an outgrowth of a 2017 rigorous strategic planning effort,” said MCIL’s Executive Director Jesse Bethke Gomez, MMA. “Our board of directors, agency employees, external stakeholders, and notably people served by MCIL, all had input. That work elevated the necessity to build greater capacity and prepared a way forward to address our currently inadequate facilities. We are inspired by the F. R. Bigelow Foundation’s long-standing commitment to enhancing the quality of life, bringing pursuit of equity for residents in greater Saint Paul. We are honored to have their support. The funds they have provided allow us to take our planning to the next level and meet the needs of our clients, employees and the community for the foreseeable future.”

“We are pleased to support this study, and assist MCIL in positioning itself for long-term, sustainable growth,” said Sharon DeMark, program officer for the F.R. Bigelow Foundation. “MCIL’s work is critical to strengthening our community. We look forward to the outcome of this important study and the exciting possibilities it will bring.”

About MCIL: The Metropolitan Center for Independent Living (MCIL) is a Twin Cities metro-based, nonprofit

501.c.3 consumer-directed organization founded in 1981. MCIL is dedicated to the full promotion of the Independent Living (IL) philosophy by supporting individuals with disabilities in their personal efforts to pursue self-directed lives. Being “consumer-directed” means that the majority of decision-making employees and members of our board of directors are individuals with disabilities. MCIL is committed to promoting this IL philosophy through innovative projects and direct services that meet the needs of MCIL consumers. MCIL is also one of eight Centers for Independent Living in Minnesota and is a member agency of the Minnesota Association of Centers for Independent Living. Visit mcil—mn.org

Metropolitan Center for Independent Living Receives Grant

from the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations for New Facilities Study

Funds will support study of facilities solutions to facilitate MCIL growth plans

SAINT PAUL, Minn. (Aug. 5, 2019) — Established in 1981, the Metropolitan Center for Independent Living (MCIL) sets the highest standard of service for people with disabilities in the metro area. One of 405 Centers for Independent Living nationwide and one of eight such centers in Minnesota, MCIL has more than 70 staff members and 200 Personal Care Assistants (PCAs). The organization is committed to supporting members of the disability community in fulfilling their desire to lead productive, self-determined lives. By “Removing barriers, promoting choices.” And it has outgrown its 10,000-square-foot St. Paul facility. A recent $25,000 grant from the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations will help remedy the challenging situation and position MCIL to better serve the community well into the future.   

“As a multifaceted nonprofit organization, we are dedicated to assisting people with disabilities through an extensive array of programs and services,” said MCIL Executive Director Jesse Bethke Gomez, MMA. “MCIL, as a Center for Independent Living, serves the entire seven county Metropolitan area. To continue to assist our clients, consumers and participants as a growing agency, we are greatly concerned that the agency develop a thoughtful facilities plan and a capital campaign plan to secure a right-sized facility that will fully serve the needs our clients, staff and community for years to come.” Bethke Gomez continued, “The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations is Minnesota’s largest community foundation. Their commitment to equity, justice, and bringing together donors, nonprofits and community members to address some of the biggest problems facing Minnesota is exemplary. We are humbled by their generous support, affirmation of our work and aid in positioning MCIL for a long, sustainable future.”

In 2018, the MCIL Board of Directors and Executive Director organized a Facilities Visioning Committee to develop a Facilities Visioning Plan. The grant from the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations provides significant financial resources for a study to be done by Cresa, Real Estate and Project Management Services, which specializes in nonprofit facilities planning. Done in concert with the Facilities Visioning Plan, the study’s outcome will include recommendations for facilities solutions and the best strategic options for MCIL to move forward.

“MCIL’s work is central to building a strong, vibrant and equitable community,” said Sharon DeMark, program officer for the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations. “We are pleased to provide this grant and support the organization’s exploration of a path for thoughtful, sustainable growth in service to the disability community and well beyond.”

About MCIL: The Metropolitan Center for Independent Living (MCIL) is a Twin Cities metro-based, nonprofit 501.c.3 consumer-directed organization founded in 1981. MCIL is dedicated to the full promotion of the Independent Living (IL) philosophy by supporting individuals with disabilities in their personal efforts to pursue self-directed lives. Being “consumer-directed” means that the majority of decision-making employees and members of our board of directors are individuals with disabilities. MCIL is committed to promoting this IL philosophy through innovative projects and direct services that meet the needs of MCIL consumers. MCIL is also one of eight Centers for Independent Living in Minnesota and is a member agency of the Minnesota Association of Centers for Independent Living. Visit mcil—mn.org

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Jesse Bethke Gomez, Executive Director, Metropolitan Center for Independent Living states at the Thursday August 8, 2019 State Capitol Accessible Ramps Ribbon Cutting event hosted by Disability Advocate and Master of Ceremonies Rick Cardenas: “Congratulations Minnesota on your commitment to people with disabilities, today’s opening of the State Capitol accessible ramps advances the American Ideal, we hold these truths to be self-evident.”

Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony Celebrates

New Accessibility Ramps at State Capitol

New ramps provide access to south side mall, ensuring accessibility for all members of the public

Saint Paul, Minn. (Aug. 5, 2019) — Members of the disability community, ADA advocates, friends, family members, community leaders and policymakers will gather on the south side lawn of the Minnesota State Capitol Aug. 8 at 1 p.m. for a much-anticipated ribbon-cutting ceremony. The celebration will unveil two new ADA compliant ramps that provide full access to enjoy the popular gardens on the Minnesota capitol grounds.

The colorful landscape of flowers, shrubs and pathways was previously inaccessible to members of the disability community and others with mobility issues. The new ramps bring the historic property to the next level of accessibility compliance and ensure all members of the public can fully enjoy this welcoming space.

Twin Cities ADA advocate Rick Cardenas spearheaded the project, and his dedication has resulted in this important improvement to our state capitol grounds. Cardenas worked closely with community leaders, local disability advocates and organizations, along with former Gov. Mark Dayton’s office. More recently he worked with the office of Gov. Tim Walz who was committed to ensuring project’s completion.

The celebration will take place Aug. 8 at 1 p.m. on the south side of the Capitol at

75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, St. Paul. Members of the media and the public are encouraged to attend. The event is sponsored in part by the Metropolitan Center for Independent Living, the Minnesota Council on Disability, Advocating Change Together (ACT) and Charlotte Forsythe.

For more information contact:

Rick Cardenas: phone: 651-357-8927

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