ED ROBERTS AND THE INDEPENDENT LIVING MOVEMENT

The Physically Disabled Students Program would inspire Roberts to create a community in
Berkeley where people with physical disabilities could live as independently as possible.
Founded in 1972, this community was the first Center for Independent Living. It served as a
model encouraging the movement toward independent living and accessibility in the
disabled community. 

 The First Centres of Independent Living (CIL)s in the UK

As a consequence of the achievement of ‘Project 81’, this group of people then naturally felt
that they wanted to share their experiences and change of life style, with other disabled
people seeking similar solutions to their lives. They then got together with a number of
other disabled people in the community, some of whom were students, and included Neil
Slatter and Simon Brisenden from Southampton. In order to organise, structure and develop
this process, they founded the Hampshire Centre for Independent Living in 1984, which was
the first of its kind in the UK. This CIL was founded on similar lines to those in the USA
incorporating the basic “Independent Living Principles”. This meant that the services
provided would be available for all disabled people regardless of their impairment, gender,
sexual orientation, age, ethnicity and background. Secondly that the organisation should be
run and controlled by disabled people. This would ensure that it would have the right
emphasis and focus to empower disabled people to manage and develop their own
organisation, and have its expertise around Independent Living issues which could easily be
passed on to other disabled people through advice, information, peer support, self help,
sharing and training.

Two of the main focuses of attention at this time, were ensuring that housing and personal
assistance were the two main core services that needed to be provided to help and enable
disabled people to live independently. The problem about accessible housing was
particularly pertinent, because disabled people needed an accessible housing environment
in order to be able to live in the community. Personal assistance was also important because
this was the essential support component the individual needs to be able to live and survive
in the community.