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Southwest Life Health And the West is History Community Travel

Paths to independence

Center assists disabled with accessing services, being mobile
Jason Ragsdell, an independent living coordinator with the Southwest Center for Independence, can load his electric-powered chair into his van with the help of a platform lift. The purchase and installation was made possible by the local chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. The lift is key to his mobility.

The once-a-year observation of World MS Day – it’s coming up Wednesday – calls attention to the every-day work of independent living coordinator Jason Ragsdell at the Southwest Center for Independence on behalf of people with multiple sclerosis and other disabilities.

“We help people with disabilities live well,” Ragsdell said. “We get them more involved with life.”

In short, independent living coordinators help people with disabilities obtain equality of access not only to buildings, sidewalks and stairways but also to services, travel and leisure facilities, education and jobs. The overall goal is independent living.

Ragsdell, who has multiple sclerosis, has a positive attitude and expects the clients he serves to take the same approach to meeting challenges.

“There’s no room here for pity or self-pity,” Ragsdell said. “We work to help people reach the goals they want. The consumer is always right.”

Multiple sclerosis, which affects 2.3 million people worldwide, is a neurological disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. There is no known cure.

Ragsdell, who received a diagnosis of MS in 2004, drives a van in which he carries a scooter for getting around elsewhere. He is mobile, but MS has taught him to plan each day carefully.

“You learn to plan every action,” Ragsdell said. “You calculate each step.”

Ragsdell is one of four independent living coordinators at the Southwest Center for Independence in Durango. There is one similar position at the branch office in Cortez.

Sharing independent living coordinator duties with Ragsdell in Durango are co-workers with low vision, post traumatic stress disorder and cerebral palsy.

“But each one helps – across the board – people get control of their lives,” said center director Martha Mason. “We cover all ages and all disabilities.”

The core services at the center, Mason said, are information and referral counseling, training in independent living skills, individual advocacy, peer support and help people transition to living on their own.

The philosophy of independent living is individual empowerment and self-determination, Mason said.

One huge goal is to keep people out of nursing homes, Ragsdell said. A lot of people with disabilities want to live in the community as best they can, he said.

Plans are underway to increase office space and expand the staff next year, Mason said. The funding comes from Senate Bill 240, recently signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper. The legislation establishes a funding formula for centers for independence, of which there are 10 in the state.

The Durango office will see its $280,000 annual budget increase to $600,000 with the next funding cycle, Mason said.

“This is recognition for what we do,” Mason said. “It feels good to be recognized.”

The new funding comes from what will be saved in Medicaid services, she said.

The biggest need of people with disabilities in Durango are Medicaid service providers and access to buildings and, once inside, the stairways and bathrooms.

daler@durangoherald.com



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