ADDITIONAL SERVICES
The Access Center’s Think This is Easy? Training Program
This is a hands on training that allows the individuals to experience various disabilities and improve their abilities to work with individuals in the community.
This is a great opportunity for service providers to have their staff trained that will be working with individuals in the community with a disability. If you would like more information on the program, call the center today.
For information regarding details of this program and how you can request to schedule this training please contact:
Dylan Boot or Melody Burba, Independent Living Skills Specialists: [email protected] or (937) 341-5202
Pre-Employment Youth Transition Services
Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) is making available Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) to students with disabilities beginning at age 14. These services are introductory services and are intended to help students with disabilities get an early start in identifying career interests. Pre-Employment Transition Services are for students with disabilities who need these services and have been determined eligible for Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services or are potentially eligible but have not applied for VR services.
In conjunction with Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, the Access Center for Independent Living offers instruction in Self-Advocacy:
Instruction in Self-advocacy
Learn skills needed for greater independence
Students will have an increased awareness of their rights and responsibilities. They will learn leadership skills to support success in the workplace, explore and connect with leadership or peer mentoring groups in their communities to expand networks. In addition, students will complete a form identifying their own personal self-advocacy interests and activities needed to build independence and self-advocacy skills.
For questions regarding the Access Center’s Youth Services contact:
Barbara Butler, Independent Living Specialist/Youth Transition Coordinator
(937) 341-5202 ext. 102 voice / 711 Ohio Relay / [email protected]
For additional information and for service referral please visit
http://ood.ohio.gov/Transition-Students
Access Center Peer Support Group
Come join others with a disability, make friends and get support for your goals in life!
For information regarding details of this group or how you can participate please contact:
Dylan Boot, Independent Living Specialist (937) 341-5202 or [email protected]
Breaking Silence Community Collective Groups
Breaking Silences Community Collective is for everyone struggling with the impact from the COVID pandemic. The group is not a support group and does not focus on any one specific issue, but embraces all issues relevant to individuals with disabilities, this pandemic, and the aftereffects.
Hosted by: Dr. Julie Williams from Wright State University and Maria Matzik of Access Center for Independent Living
The group’s intent is to offer community connectiveness to individuals who are isolated by the impact of COVID-19. The group has worked on ways to develop emergency resources and has developed an awareness regarding individuals with significant disabilities. Our goal is to initiate social connections and to offer support within the community.
Breaking Silences Community Collective is for those who live as a body at the margin(s) of disability/chronic illness/aging, and/or for those who are centering themselves as advocate/ally/provider for disability, chronically ill and any other bodies at risk of discriminatory triaging, social and emotional isolation, medication rationing and/or loss of access to food, resources, and access to phones…
This is not a therapy group but rather a liberatory response to what is a social justice pandemic. There is no charge and no screening process.
About Open and Closed Meetings:
Breaking Silences has witnessed ripples in community support because of the ever-changing tides of our communities. In mid-2021 individuals expressed a need for time and space to share only with individuals who self-identified as having a disability. We honored that request and separated Breaking Silences Community Collective into 2 separate meetings: Closed and Open. Each Group meets once a month.
Closed Meetings:
Closed meetings or (safe space) allows members of specific marginalized communities a space to talk more freely and not feel watched or placed in a position to educate. Closed meetings means that only folks who identify as an individual with a disability, any disability, are welcome to attend. This would not include family members or allies unless they have a disability themself, and are representing themself.
CLOSED Meetings are held on the 1st Tuesday of each month from 5:30 PM to 7 PM. They are hosted by the Access Center for Independent Living and will be held on the Zoom Platform.
A C-Print Captionist and ASL Interpreter will be streaming live throughout the meeting.
If you would like to be added to the invitation list for Closed meetings, and self-identify as an individual with a disability, please contact:
Maria Matzik: [email protected]
(937) 739-8178 (Direct Line)
(937) 341-5202 office
711 Ohio Relay
Once you receive a link for Closed meetings, we ask that you PLEASE do NOT share that email, or link, with anyone.
Open Meetings:
Open Meetings means that anyone is welcomed to attend. Open meetings are opportunities for community members, professionals, students, family members, etc. to come together and engage in discussions regarding issues that affect the disability community.
OPEN Meetings are held on the 3rd Wednesday of each month from 5:30 PM to 7 PM. They are hosted by Wright State University and will be held on the WebEx Platform.
A C-Print Captionist and ASL Interpreter will be streaming live throughout the meetings.
If you would like to be added to the invitation list for Open meetings, please contact:
Dr. Julie Williams: (937) 266-9375
