History

The Whole Person is a private, nonresidential, nonprofit, 501(c)3 corporation providing independent living services to residents of Kansas and Missouri since 1978.

The Whole Person receives its base funding to operate as a center for independent living (CIL) from the U.S. Department of Education through the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) under Title VII, Part C, of the Rehabilitation Act. Additional funding is derived from grants from the State of Missouri, fees-for-service programs, and Heart of America United Way.

The Whole Person provides a variety of community-based, consumer-driven services to people with disabilities to promote consumer control and choice of services, self-direction, empowerment, independence, self reliance, self help, self advocacy and integration into the community. Services provided by The Whole Person emphasizes peer relationships and peer role models. The Whole Person services are offered without charge to all persons with significant disabilities.

The Whole Person is a consumer-controlled CIL. A majority of the Board of Directors, staff, volunteers and persons in decision-making positions are people with significant disabilities. In addition, The Whole Person frequently solicits and responds to input from people with disabilities throughout the greater Kansas City metropolitan area.

In 1978, the emphasis of The Whole Person was on community education. A panel of people with disabilities began educating the community about disability issues. A 1980 federal operating grant from RSA established The Whole Person as an independent living center.

The Whole Person advocates positive changes within the community, increases awareness of disability issues, and promotes the civil rights of people with disabilities. Measurable outcomes of more than 30 years of activities include the increased number of curb ramps throughout the metropolitan area; the increased number of accessible businesses, programs, agencies, etc.; the greater number of persons with disabilities visibly present within the community; improved transportation options for people with disabilities; improved media coverage of, and attitudes toward, people with disabilities; and the number of people with disabilities leaving institutional settings to be reintegrated into the community.

• For more than 30 years, The Whole Person has been a leader in representing people with disabilities in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area.
• The Whole Person dedicates its resources to direct services and community change and has guided thousands of people with disabilities to the independent lifestyles of their choice.
• The Whole Person, a Center for Independent Living, founded in 1978, is a private, nonprofit corporation that provides a range of community-based services to people with disabilities.
• Our goal is to promote empowerment, independence, self-reliance and integration into the community.
• A key part of our charter is to be consumer controlled as well as consumer focused. A majority of our board of directors and staff are people with disabilities.
• The Whole Person offers services to all persons with disabilities and strives to help them identify and implement resources appropriate to their situation.