City: Winter Park   County: Orange   Year: 2024
Location: 720 N Denning Dr

SIDE ONE: Center For Independent Living - The disability rights movement of the 1960's advocated equal rights, independence, and greater public access for people with disabilities. In 1975, Disabled self-advocate Ed Roberts founded the first Center for Independent Living (CIL) in Berkeley, California. In 1976, under the leadership of Beverly Chapman, Central Florida Disability Advocates established a CIL community center in Central Florida. It was one of the nation's first CILs and Florida's first nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people with all forms of disabilities to live independently. In 1985, seeing the need for increased resources in the area, CIL moved from its small office near Florida Hospital to its newly constructed Winter Park Campus. Since its founding, CIL has advanced its goal of delivering independence to individuals with disabilities through home modification, ramp building, vocational rehabilitation, government program navigation, and many other programs and services. Today, CIL continues to break down barriers for people with disabilities in Central Florida. SIDE TWO: Beverly Chapman - Beverly Chapman, the Center for Independent Living's founding executive director, was a nationally recognized advocate for people with disabilities. At age five, doctors diagnosed Chapman with muscular dystrophy. In 1979, Chapman was crowned Miss Wheelchair America. She used her title to travel the country in a Ralph Braun van, advocating for wheelchair-accessible transportation. In 1981, she founded the Center for Hi-Tech at Valencia College as a computer skills training program for people with disabilities. She also founded Shared, Inc., the first company in Florida with the goal of hiring and paying Disabled Peoples equitably. Chapman regularly used the Florida Highway System but was unable to physically reach out and pay tolls. She worked to change this. In 1988, the Beverly Chapman Act was passed, making the highway tolling system accessible to People with Disabilities. This became to the SunPass highway tolling system. She wrote a regular column for the Orlando Sentinel and advised US presidents on disability issues, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In 1989, President George H.W. Bush named her "Disabled Person of the Year," recognizing her lifetime of advocacy.