NRCIL Values
Your disability rights and resource center
As a community of people with disabilities, we know the pain of oppression.
Our children with disabilities have been kept segregated in separate schools and
in separate classrooms that promote discrimination by teaching the rest of the
children in the school that it’s acceptable to keep “those people” out of the
general population. Our brothers and sisters with disabilities have been locked
away in institutions for decades through no fault of their own.
The services that NRCIL provides are all aimed at assisting our brothers and
sisters with disabilities to live in integrated communities with supports to
avoid these same institutions.
We believe in Henry David Thoreau’s idea of Civil Disobedience: there is a
need to prioritize one’s conscience over the dictates of laws, when the laws are
unjust. When a law is unjust, people should distance themselves from the law,
and rather, follow one’s conscience to do the right thing. We also believe in
Mahatma Gandhi’s concepts of civil disobedience – a strategy of non-violently
refusing to cooperate with injustice. Like other Independent Living Centers
around the country, NRCIL has organized and participated in many marches and
protests from our hometowns to Albany and Washington DC – all of which have been
peaceful protests to bring light to unjust conditions that people with
disabilities endure.
We were horrified and saddened by the murder of Mr. George Floyd of
Minneapolis and the other people who have suffered like him. We agree that
oppression in all forms is unacceptable when delivered against a class or group
of people. We are also horrified and saddened by the violence that has occurred
in many places in our Country and across the World. As such we add our voices to
those who speak out against oppression and against violence. To be silent on
these subjects would be to condone them. NRCIL does not condone oppression
against people with disabilities, people of color, people who speak a particular
language, people wishing to worship in a particular way. We support and
encourage people to choose love.
Full Inclusion
People can live, work, attend school, eat, sleep and recreate
throughout the community regardless of their abilities.
Independent Living
People are in charge of their own lives and have the right to choose the
services, tools, and support systems in the community that they deem best for
themselves.
Ownership of NRCIL by People with Disabilities
People with disabilities in our community must be a majority of our Board,
Staff, and Volunteers, to ensure proper direction of planning and policy making
for the organization.
Advocacy for Systems Change
NRCIL, with consumer participation, uses effective methods to transform
systems in order to achieve positive change for an inclusive society.
Quality Service
Our services are delivered so that all people are treated with respect,
integrity, efficiency, and with the highest degree of competence.
Professional Peer Support
People benefit from receiving support from peers at NRCIL with similar
experiences who can best understand and empathize with their situation.
Environment of Warmth
People involved with NRCIL experience a friendly welcome and sense of
belonging.
Representation
People with disabilities will have equal opportunity to participate and be
represented in the leadership of the community.
