consumer opportunity

RCIL: Advocates in Red

By Mandy Smith | December 22, 2010

A majority of our staff attended the Big Tent Rally on April 29, 2010.  The leaders of the Big Tent asked us to wear red to be more visible.  Our staff was also spending a lot of time at the Capitol building during this time, so we decided we would order shirts for staff members…

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Access to Assets – Changing the economic expectations of people with disabilities

By Mandy Smith | December 10, 2010

Every time we turn on the television or open up a newspaper, we are bombarded with news of the bad economy. It seems as though most people are in survival mode when it comes to finances and asset building isn’t their top priority; however, at a recent conference session about a program called Access to…

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Visitability

By Mandy Smith | December 1, 2010

  Last summer I was going to have a birthday party at my house for my 1 year-old. I was so excited that I started all these lists to make sure everything was in order. I had a list of people to invite, a list of food to buy and prepare and a list of…

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I’m becoming an O & M Specialist – What is that?

By Mandy Smith | November 17, 2010

This blog was written by Mandy Smith, an RCIL Staff member, who recently became an O&M Specialist.  She has been working with RCIL since June 2009. In August of this year, I applied for a new position at RCIL.  When I found out I had the position, I was so excited I went and told…

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Social Media

By Mandy Smith | November 15, 2010

The RCIL Social Media team was able to attend PodCamp Topeka on November 6th at the Topeka Shawnee County Public Library. PodCamp is an “un-conference” dedicated to web media in all of its’ forms.We met great people, heard wonderful presentations, and came back to our offices ready to really get going on Social Media. One…

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Vote for What Matters

By Mandy Smith | October 26, 2010

When we go to the polls on November 2nd we have a huge responsibility not only to ourselves and our families but to our communities as well. Unfortunately, there is an entire portion of our society that is regularly disenfranchised by our government; they are the members of the disability community. While most of us…

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Make your voice heard

By Mandy Smith | October 21, 2010

The election is less than 2 weeks away and we are in danger of losing what we worked so hard to get in the last legislative session. As November 2nd gets closer it becomes more apparent that our next governor will be Senator Brownback. For the disability community this is a very scary prospect. He…

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Yes on 2 Campaign Protects Voting Rights

By Mandy Smith | October 15, 2010

Did you know that the Kansas Constitution sanctions discrimination against all people with a mental health issue? Probably not.  In fact, the issue had basically flown under the political radar until 2008. That’s when a group of mental health consumers and advocates learned that the state constitution allows the Legislature to take away the right…

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Self Direction Training

By Mandy Smith | August 30, 2010

On Thursday August 26 we held a Self Direction Tool Kit Training in Topeka for our consumers and personal care attendants (PCAs). The training was a full day of empowerment, useful tips for recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and managing PCAs, Independent Living Philosophy, and group discussions on all of the above. Thank you to everyone that…

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Call for Applications for Appointments to KCDC

By Mandy Smith | August 17, 2010

The Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns (KCDC) is taking applications for consideration for appointment. KCDC is an advisory body to state government for changes to state programs, laws and regulations that improve participation of Kansans with disabilities in those programs and their communities.  The commission must have representation of a variety of disabilities, geographic locations…

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