Peer Counseling and Independent Living Skills Training

At Blue Ridge Independent Living Center, they work with the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services Peer Counselors to assist individuals with disabilities and their families to develop and achieve independence and self-reliance. Participants develop a plan to achieve maximum independence and set goals towards that independence. Through counseling and sharing of experiences of coping with the effects of disability, participants learn about the needs and resources to achieve their goal. Peer counseling is done on an individual basis or as group support.

Independent Living Skills includes individual and group training provided in several categories including:

• personal assistant management,
• building self-esteem,
• money management,
• navigating one's environment,
• self-advocacy.

All programs are designed to meet individual needs.

Individual advocacy services include BRILC staff members who train and assist individuals with disabilities to understand and exercise their civil rights regarding government and other service providers. Staff represent individuals in obtaining access to benefits and programs to which an individual with significant disabilities may be entitled.