Summerfest Business Alliance Member Spotlight
1.) Tell Us Your Story!
Independence First is a nonprofit dedicated to helping people with disabilities live independently in the community instead of in institutions. Our mission is for full inclusivity for people with disabilities of all ages and all disabilities in every aspect of life. We do this through five core services: Advocacy, fighting for systemic change and guiding personal advocacy, Independent Living Skills, offering more than 40 workshops and classes, Information and Referral, as the one-stop resource, Peer Support, and Transition, to help those who want to live independently after high school, and those who want to leave institutional settings. Independence First was founded as part of the disability rights movement that began in 1962, eventually resulting in the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This effort highlighted the need for people with disabilities to freely live, work, and participate in society. Independence First is one of several hundred agencies across the nation charged with helping in that goal.
2.) What does the future hold for your organization?
Independence First is working to get funds needed for a mobile unit or van to take our services to people with disabilities, who often have mobility and transportation challenges. Once we are able to purchase a van we can bring adaptive equipment, computer banks, living skills training and more, to people in remote areas and underserved people in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha Counties. Based on the expanding reach with satellite offices, and an increasing consumer base, we plan to significantly grow in the number of people we serve. This is one way we look and adapt to the needs of local people with disabilities. One measure of success is the daily stories we hear and the difference we are able to make in the lives of people who can live independently. Shelli is one of those people. After a car accident, she spent ten years in a nursing home with the dream of one day living on her own. Independence First helped make that dream a reality, helping Shelli with paperwork, options, and support so that she now has her own apartment in the community. She looks forward to eating the foods she likes, inviting friends over for cards, and attending church—the things many of us take for granted.
Independence First impacts the community by being the force driving inclusivity for people with disabilities, and providing what’s needed in terms of adaptive equipment and expertise, most often free of any charge. Independence First has partnered with the local health departments for vaccination clinics, the US State Department to provide discussion for foreign disability agencies,
Our nonprofit partners with the Hunger Task Force, bringing food to seniors in need each month. Independence First brings its classes to Milwaukee Public Schools and other regional school districts to teach students with disabilities how to make good choices about sexuality and how to stop unwanted advances and assaults. Independence First works with hundreds of caregivers in our program to provide needed support for people with disabilities and our staff provides peer support for survivors of gunshots who are paraplegic or quadriplegic. We work with area hospitals for referrals, and government agencies as well as colleges and universities. Independence First attends community events of all types, bringing information to as many as we can. We have a seat on many committees, such as the Aging and Disability Resource Center, Mental Health Task Force, Community Collaborative Commission, Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, and more. We collaborate, support, lead and partner.
3.) Why is it important to your organization to support Summerfest through the Summerfest Business Alliance and what are some of the unique ways in which you distribute/use your Summerfest tickets?
Independence First seeks community partners and businesses to partner and bring accessibility and inclusivity to the area. Our staff works passionately, facing many challenges and welcomes the opportunity to attend Summerfest in an accessible way. More than 50% of our staff have a disability and Summerfest is accessible and even has an adult changing table for people with disabilities.
4.) Favorite Summerfest Memories
Many of us can recall the first season of Summerfest, the open-air concerts, and the white folding chairs used for those who didn’t sit on the grass. Our favorite memories include families enjoying the day together near the lakefront, evenings filled with firework shows, and children enjoying the play area. We’d love to see more artists with disabilities on the stages: Victoria Canal performing with Coldplay, comedian Josh Blue, and others. We look forward to our newest partnership with the Summerfest Business Alliance. Thank you!