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Alaska State Independent Living Council Unveils Community-Based Web Site for People with Disabilities, Seniors, Caregivers and Service Providers

October 3, 2007
Alaska Statewide Independent Living Council Inc.

Fairbanks, Alaska – The Alaska Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) today introduced a breakthrough solution for people with disabilities, the elderly, caregivers and service providers called Network of Care, a multilingual, community-based Web site that provides comprehensive long-term care services, information and education that is significant to the thousands of seniors and persons with disabilities who live in their community.

Sponsored by a grant from the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority and in partnership with Alaska’s five Aging and Disability Resource Centers, the Alaska SILC developed the “Aging and Independence Network of Care” site (http://alaska.networkofcare.org). The site will help empower persons with disabilities, seniors and their caregivers find the right service at the right time, educate themselves about their issues, find assistive devices, understand current policy initiatives and advocate directly to elected officials, and help them manage their affairs, interactions, and important records.

The Network of Care provides a comprehensive Service Directory of the approximately 300 service providers in Alaska, putting people in touch with the right services at the right time. The Network of Care also provides easy-to-search libraries and vital information about specific disorders, pending legislation and advocacy, as well as daily news articles from around the world concerning aging and disabilities.

To increase accessibility and accommodate the Network of Care’s users, the sites innovative technology provides near-universal access, regardless of literacy or income level, to Web-based services through a text-only version of the sites and other adaptive technologies. The sites are fully ADA-compliant and Bobby-approved. The Network of Care also is available in multiple languages.

Service providers can share challenges and ideas, as well as create powerful new mechanisms to better serve persons with disabilities and seniors, by embracing the Network of Care’s communication tools such as message boards and community calendars. Service providers can even build their own free Web sites in the For Providers section.

Trilogy Integrated Resources LLC of San Rafael, Calif., created, developed and maintains Alaska’s Network of Care site and several similar sites across the country. The Alaska SILC contracted with Trilogy to create the Aging and Independence Network of Care site.

The Alaska Statewide Independent Living Council is committed to promoting a philosophy of consumer control, peer support, self help, self determination, equal access, and individual and systems advocacy, in order to maximize leadership, empowerment, independence, productivity, and to support full inclusion and integration of individuals with disabilities into the mainstream of American society.

For more information, please contact Patrick Reinhart at the Alaska SILC at 907-263-2092, or preinhart.silc@gci.net.