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Endependence Center, Inc.

Disability Advocacy and Services

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Endependence Center - About Us

Mission Statement

The Endependence Center, Incorporated (ECI) is a consumer controlled, community-based, cross-disability, non-residential, private, non-profit Center for Independent Living (CIL) operated by and for individuals with disabilities in South Hampton Roads, including the cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Franklin, Suffolk, Virginia Beach and Isle of Wight County. ECI provides an array of independent living services to individuals with disabilities and to the community. The purposes of ECI are two-fold; to prepare individuals, and to prepare the community for full integration of persons with disabilities into society. These goals are accomplished by the following strategies: (1) the provision of direct services to individuals with severe disabilities, that result in a greater level of independence and community integration/ functioning (2) the provision of services/advocacy in the community that result in a greater awareness of disability issues, physical and programmatic accessibility and systems change.

Center History

ECI was the first non-profit CIL in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The original federal grant was awarded in November 1980 to Handicaps Unlimited of Virginia (HUVA) and the Center opened in February 1981 at the Tidewater Rehabilitation Institute building in Norfolk. In 1983, the Center was incorporated and received 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service as a separate non-profit organization with 51% of its board of directors comprised of individuals with disabilities. In 1984, the Center moved to downtown Norfolk on Plume Street, where it also operated satellite offices in the cities of Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and in Newport News. In 1988, the Newport News satellite received funding from the Virginia General Assembly to establish as a separate community based non-profit CIL. In 1989, ECI moved to the Janaf Office Building providing a more central location to the service area and in 2004, ECI moved to its present location. ECI is funded through federal, state and local governments, as well as through grants, private donations and contract services to the public and private sector. ECI is part of a network of 16 non-profit CILs in Virginia and a network of almost 400 CILs nationwide.

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Endependence Center, Inc.
6300 East Virginia Beach Blvd.
Norfolk, VA 23502-2827
Phone: (757) 461-8007 Voice
(757) 461-7527 TDD
Fax: (757) 455-8223 or (757) 461-5375

Last updated on 3/4/08