ILGR

Earlier this summer, Independent Living of Genesee Region (ILGR) hired two new people.

Melissa Golpl is the new full-time outreach specialist/disability rights advocate. She has experience as an advocate for policies which serve to eliminate discrimination and promote inclusion using the "Independent Living Philosophy."

She is very active in local and statewide advocacy. Golpl comes to ILGR from Independent Living of Niagara County, where she served as disability rights advocate. She has also been a community advocate for the Mental Health PEER Connection.

Golpl will coordinate systems advocacy for Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties. In addition, she is trained as a certified trainer of the American with Disabilities Act and is available to train people upon request. As an outreach specialist, she will work on a program in Niagara and Orleans counties that seeks to identify individuals living in nursing homes who are able to move back into the community.

Edna Painter was hired as a full-time, temporary outreach specialist. Most recently, she has served as a program aide at Stepping Stones Day Treatment in Warsaw and as a meal site manager for the Wyoming County Office for the Aging. She received a diploma from the Olean Business Institute.

As the outreach specialist, Edna will arrange community activities for the agency, including support group development and targeted outreach to various agencies. Painter is available to speak to individuals, groups and organizations about how ILGR can assist individuals with disabilities.

Independent Living of Genesee Region (ILGR), part of the WNY Independent Living Inc., Family of Agencies is located in Batavia at 113 Main Street, Suite 5.

The agency provides individuals of the Genesee Region with four "Core Services; Information & Referral, Peer Counseling, Independent Living Skills Training and Individual and Community Advocacy."

For more information about ILGR or to begin receiving services, please call (585) 815-8501, ext. 400, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Press release:

Independent Living of Genesee Region (ILGR) is pleased to announce that Director James C. Moody has been selected to serve as the program coordinator / facilitator for “Step Up to Stop Falls in Genesee County.”

Moody will coordinate activities of four workgroups (Exercise, Community Education, Home Assessments and Health Fairs) and manage partner accountability to carry out the project plan.

Local partners include the Genesee County Office for the Aging, University of Buffalo, Genesee Community College Nursing Program, Summit Physical Therapy – UMMC and Catholic Charities of Western New York. These partners are working with several other Genesee County agencies.

Moody will also work with the project's executive leader, Office for the Aging Director Pamela Whitmore, to develop long-term plans that involve all community residents.

Falls are the leading cause of injury deaths, hospitalizations and emergency department visits among adults 65 and older. Falls can result in lasting, serious issues, affecting mobility, independence and mental health.

Genesee County residents age 65 and older average more than 425 visits per year to the emergency department because of falls. Typically, 177 of those incidents result in a hospital stay. The annual cost for these services is more than 3 million dollars!

Step Up to Stop Falls in Genesee County is a prevention project funded by the Community Health Foundation of Western and Central New York to provide Genesee County elderly residents with information needed to help reduce the risk of falling and thus, reduce costs to the community.

Independent Living of Genesee Region (ILGR), part of the WNY Independent Living Inc., Family of Agencies, has primary offices at 113 Main St., Suite 5, Batavia. The agency provides individuals of the Genesee Region (Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming counties) with four core services: information and referral; peer counseling; independent living skills training and individual and community advocacy.

For more information about ILGR, to become involved in the Falls Prevention Project or to begin receiving services, please call 815-8501, ext. 400, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.