Quincy Herald-Whig : By RODNEY HART : 6/16/2011
The West Central Illinois Center for Independent Living is moving in two weeks from its office at Third and Maine to the Quincy Senior and Family Resource Center, 639 York.
The move four blocks east means the center, a nonprofit advocacy center funded by state and federal grants to provide services to people with disabilities, will save "significant" money on rent and other expenses, center Executive Director Glenda Farkas says.
"There is a push nationally to create aging and disability resource centers," Farkas said. "Basically we want to create a one-stop shop for anybody or for any age for people with disabilities."
The Center for Independent Living serves a six-county area and provides a wide variety of services, from helping to find independent living arrangements to providing wheelchairs and other equipment for those with disabilities. It has an annual budget of $420,000.
The center has been in a building at Third and Maine owned by Ray Shortridge for about four years after moving from Fourth and Hampshire. The center's eight full-time employees will be moving June 29, and the new office should be up and running on the second floor of the Quincy Senior and Family Resource Center by July 1.
Farkas says a center employee will be located by the first-floor entrance of the Senior and Family Resource Center, while the actual office will be in Room 204.
West Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging Executive Director Lynn Niewohner and assistant Todd Shackelford are moving from Room 204 to temporary second-floor headquarters, with their old office being renovated and painted for the new arrivals.
"A lot of their clients come here anyway, so we talked to Glenda and said, รข Let's put it all in one place,' " Niewhohner said. "We are happy to have her here, and I think they will flourish here."
Farkas said the new headquarters will have better parking and it keeps the Center for Independent Living in the downtown area, where it serves many clients. The agency will have the same phone number, (217) 223-0400.
"I think being at the Quincy Senior and Family Resource Center will make us more accessible," Farkas said.
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