The Ottawa Independent Living Centre (OILRC) is one of 27 Independent Living Resource Centres in Canada. We are non-profit organizations, serving people with disabilitys in our communities. The Ottawa Independent Living Centre (OILRC) has been supporting people with disabilities in the Ottawa community for more than fifteen years.
The Ottawa Independent Living Resource Centre's (OILRC) mission is to assist in the individual empowerment of all persons with any disability in the Ottawa area and to provide the tools they need to direct their lives and participate fully in the community. · People with disabilities often face a number of barriers in a society that are designed by and for persons who do not have disabilities. Often attitudinal barriers are the most significant barriers – but those can be changed. ·Just because a person has a disability does not mean that they cannot achieve what they want to achieve, it just means that they may have to find a different way of going about things. ·Often people with disabilities find themselves in a place where they are unable to fully participate in society – at the Center we support people in breaking down these barriers, whether they be access to adequate attendant care services, support in filling out forms, a peer group that meets regularly, and a workshop on standing up for yourself. You name it, we’ll do it! ·Our vision is to build a society whereby every person who has a disability is able to participate in all aspects of their life; and have control over making decisions about their own lives. ·You probably remember a time when there were no push buttons to open doors, or wheelchair accessible busses. There are still places that people with physical disabilities cannot access, so we need keep moving forward. ·We often forget that we are all part of a community, we are all connected, and there is a role we can each play to bring about positive change...big or small every single contribution is important.