Tax Credits for Persons With Disabilities

 

BILS is proud to announce that is is working in collaboration with the National Disability Institute and the Internal Revenue Service to increaseawareness about the Earned Income Tax Credit for people with disabilities. To learn more about the EITC click here

 

Disability and the IRS click here

 

Tax Preparation Assistance Locations Click Here

 

New Program for Job Seekers 

 

Bronx Independent Living Services (BILS) is pleased to announce that it has received a “Ticket to Work” contract from the Social Security Administration to assist people with disabilities enter the labor market. The current unemployment rate for people living disabilities is higher than 70 percent.

 

“We will assist people seeking work with resume writing, creating mock job interviews, running a job seeking group; everything that will lead to an individual’s employment”, says Brett Eisenberg, BILS’ Executive Director.

The Ticket to Work program is available to Social Security recipients, people on SSI and SSDI. The program increases the beneficiary’s choices in obtaining rehabilitation and vocational services leading to work. 

 

About Bronx Independent Living Services

Bronx Independent Living Services (BILS) is a non-profit, community based organization dedicated to empower all people with disabilities to understand and exercise their civil and human rights in order to live fully integrated lives in mainstream society. BILS assists individuals by providing them the necessary tools to make informed decisions about their own lives through access to education, skills development, and access to the appropriate resources. On a systemic level, BILS is committed to facilitating social, economic, and civic change by advocating for the removal of architectural, communication, and attitudinal barriers that has limited the disabled community for far too long. 

 

Introducing the New Youth Program at BILS

 

This innovative program will empower students and their parents to make informed decisions about their future. Our new Youth Program is designed to foster leadership in today’s population of student’s with disabilities. Through this initiative, we will further develop the personal, professional, and social skills of disabled youth. The process through which we will achieve these goals is through a variety of workshops, activities, and social events. We offer assistance to students and parents in the transition from high school to both the work-force and higher education. Our goal is to educate, motivate, and support the overall development of future leaders among the disabled youth population.

Support Our Youth With A Charitable Donation Now!

 

 

Bronx Borough President Diaz Announces the Creation of the Disability Advisory Council

 

In recognition of National Disability Employment Awareness Month 

 On Wednesday, October 7, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., joined by the Commissioner of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, Matthew Sapolin, and the Executive Director of Bronx Independent Living Services, Brett Eisenberg, announced the creation of the Bronx Borough President’s Disability Advisory Council (BxBPDAC), in recognition of National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

Borough President Diaz also announced the participation of his office in the National Disability Mentoring Day, to be celebrated on October 21^st, which is a large-scale national effort to promote career development for students and job seekers with disabilities through hands-on career exploration, on-site job shadowing, and ongoing mentoring leading to internship and employment opportunities. A small group of mentees will be assigned to work in various departments of the Borough President’s Office, where they will be matched with workplace mentors according to their expressed career interests. 

Other borough institutions such as Lehman College, Hostos Community College, Bronx Parent Housing Network, Bronx Independent Living Services and North Central Bronx Community Hospital, will be taking part in this national effort.

“As one of the first initiatives of the Disability Advisory Council, The Bronx will institute a Quarterly Disability Mentoring Day. Statistics show that there is a significant disparity between the job attainment and earnings of the disabled population versus that of the non-disabled labor force population.  Therefore, it is my hope that the QMD will help disabled Bronxites in their job search,” said Borough President Diaz adding that the next Disability Mentoring Day will be scheduled in February 2010 in partnership with Lehman College.

“Lehman is delighted to be the first institution to participate in this exciting initiative.  We know how important it is to expose our students to work opportunities in their chosen field of study,” added Merrill D. Parra, Director of Student Disability Services and Veterans/Reservists Affairs for Lehman College

The planning committee of the BxBPDAC includes: Brett Eisenberg, Executive Director, Bronx Independent Living Services; Joanne Casado, Executive Director of Bronx Health Link; Bob Leiber, Bronx Health Link; Joanne Siegel, Director of Community Affairs, Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center; Monica Sanabria, Program Coordinator for the Family Support Project for the Developmentally Disabled, North Central Bronx Hospital; Nelly Velez, Parent Transition Services Advocate, John F. Kennedy Jr. Institute, Lehman College.

During the press conference, Brett Eisenberg, the Chair of the BxBPDAC, released applications for membership to the council to be submitted by Friday October 30^th, via email at brett@bils.org or fax 718-515-2844.  Interested parties must live and or work in the borough of the Bronx, must submit a recent resume and short writing sample on why they are interested in membership, what they think are the top three issues facing the disabled community in the Bronx and how they feel they can contribute to the solutions. "I am honored and privileged to chair the council.  By advising the Borough President and his staff on the issues most relevant and important in the community we will strive to improve the lives of Bronxites with disabilities," said Brett Eisenberg.

Bronx Independent Living Services (BILS) Announces Involvement in the Campaign for Disability Employment  

Bronx Independent Living Services Expresses Commitment to Improving the Disability Employment Landscape

New York, September 29, 2009– Today, BILS announced its involvement in the Campaign for Disability Employment, a new collaborative effort to promote positive employment outcomes for people with disabilities.

The Campaign for Disability Employment is a national initiative designed to increase the employment of people with disabilities.  Every day, people with disabilities can and do add value to America’s workplaces.  However, in both good economic times and bad, people with disabilities have far fewer job opportunities than the general population.  The Campaign for Disability Employment’s goal is to promote the hiring, retention and advancement of people with disabilities and dispel negative stereotypes about disability and employment.      

In support of the Campaign, BILS will promote the advocacy Web site, www.whatcanyoudocampaign.org,  which offers users the chance to learn, express their commitment to disability employment efforts and share what they “can do.”  The site also features grassroots tools and tangible ideas for supporting the Campaign’s goals, as well as a library of video public service announcements (PSAs) that challenge assumptions about people with disabilities and employment.  Included in the video library is the Campaign’s flagship “I Can” PSA, intended for nationwide television broadcast, and the winners of the What Can YOU Do? video contest, which invited aspiring filmmakers to produce their own videos in support of the Campaign’s goals. 

Specifically, Bronx Independent Living Services will be hosting educational events, distributing educational materials, and playing the public service announcements.     

“We are thrilled that so many individuals and organizations are taking part in this groundbreaking campaign to advance America’s promise of opportunity for all,” said Louis Orslene, co-director of the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), a technical assistance provider to the Campaign for Disability Employment.  “Together, we can drive positive change by illustrating that at work, it’s what people CAN do that matters.”   

About the Campaign for Disability Employment

The Campaign for Disability Employment seeks to promote positive employment outcomes for people with disabilities by encouraging employers, and others, to recognize the value and talent that people with disabilities bring to the workplace, as well as the dividend to be realized by fully including people with disabilities at work.    The Campaign is a collaborative effort between the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD); the National Business and Disability Council (NBDC); Special Olympics (SO); and the U.S. Business Leadership Network (USBLN). The Campaign for Disability Employment is supported by West Virginia University, receives technical assistance from the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) and is funded by the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)/U.S. Department of Labor. For more information, visit www.whatcanyoudocampaign.org.