CPWD is a Center for Independent Living (CIL), which means it is run by people with disabilities for people with disabilities.

As people with disabilities, we represent a significant and important part of society, and yet, we have historically and continue to be marginalized through discrimination, misunderstanding, isolation, pity, and poverty.

In the 34-plus years since the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, CPWD and other CILs have been working hard to shift the attitudes and views about people with disabilities in society. In service delivery, that means shifting from dependency to independence and consumer choice.

Instead of having doctors and caregivers do things for people with disabilities and tell them how to live their lives, we promote the belief that all people, regardless of ability, have the right to make their own choices. Further, we champion that people with disabilities, once informed, are themselves the best decision-makers about their care, life, and other choices.

Two of our core tenets are self-advocacy and freedom of choice. As people with disabilities, we can only live fully when we have agency in decisions that affect and determine our lives. Living fully includes the opportunity to take risks, make mistakes, learn, grow, and choose what’s best for us at each stage of life and living.

To fulfill our vision of integration and equality, CPWD and other CILs provide the assistance, skills training, self-advocacy, peer support, and other services that empower people to exercise their freedom of choice, and choose the lives they choose to live.

By championing independence, we seek to contribute to an inclusive community of all people, regardless of ability. To achieve this, in addition to our work with individuals, we are active at the local and state levels, advocating for laws and policies that will promote independence, seeking to dismantle those that create barriers, and engaging in education and information across all levels of society.