News

SILC-Hawai’i News & Events

 


From Sheryl Nelson, Executive Director

“My name is Sheryl Nelson. I’ve been the SILC Executive Director for ten years. During the time I’ve been at SILC there have been many changes locally and nationally. Two highlights on the national front include:

In 2014 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) became law. The Statewide Independent Living Councils (SILCs) and the Centers for Independent Living (CILs) were transfered from the Department of Education (DOE) Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Administration for Community Living (ACL.)

In July 2015 the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) celebrated the 25th anniversary of the passage of the act.
Some SILC members attended the celebration at the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) conference last summer in Washington D.C.

The Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) members are diverse, advocates and professionals who live in communities on most islands statewide.

The SILC has experienced loss over the past several years. At meetings members who have passed on are often remembered.
Read about Marc Mortimer here…

 

Americans With Disabilities: 2010

 

About 56.7 million people — 19 percent of the population — had a disability in 2010, according to a broad definition of disability, with more than half of them reporting the disability was severe, according to a comprehensive report by the U.S. Census Bureau. The report, Americans with Disabilities: 2010, presents estimates of disability status and type.

Other highlights:
• People in the oldest age group — 80 and older — were about eight times more likely to have a disability as those in the youngest group — younger than 15 (71 percent compared with 8 percent). The probability of having a severe disability is only one in 20 for those 15 to 24 while it is one in four for those 65 to 69.
• About 8.1 million people had difficulty seeing, including 2.0 million who were blind or unable to see.
• About 7.6 million people experienced difficulty hearing, including 1.1 million whose difficulty was severe. About 5.6 million used a hearing aid.
• Roughly 30.6 million had difficulty walking or climbing stairs, or used a wheelchair, cane, crutches or walker.
• About 19.9 million people had difficulty lifting and grasping. This includes, for instance, trouble lifting an object like a bag of groceries, or grasping a glass or a pencil.
• Difficulty with at least one activity of daily living was cited by 9.4 million noninstitutionalized adults. These activities included getting around inside the home, bathing, dressing and eating. Of these people, 5 million needed the assistance of others to perform such an activity.
• About 15.5 million adults had difficulties with one or more instrumental activities of daily living. These activities included doing housework, using the phone and preparing meals. Of these, nearly 12 million required assistance.
• Approximately 2.4 million had Alzheimer’s disease, senility or dementia.
• Being frequently depressed or anxious such that it interfered with ordinary activities was reported by 7.0 million adults.
• Adults age 21 to 64 with disabilities had median monthly earnings of $1,961 compared with $2,724 for those with no disability.
• Overall, the uninsured rates for adults 15 to 64 were not statistically different by disability status: 21.0 percent for people with severe disabilities, 21.3 percent for those with nonsevere disabilities and 21.9 percent for those with no disability.