CENTER FOR INDEPENDENCE OF THE DISABLED IN NEW YORK INC

CIDNY is a nonprofit organization founded in 1978. We are part of the Independent Living Centers movement: a national network of grassroots and community-based organizations that enhance opportunities for all people with disabilities to direct their own lives. CIDNY is the voice of people with disabilities in New York City. Our staff and Board include social workers, lawyers, and other highly qualified professionals, most of whom are people with disabilities. The staff all have a strong belief in self-determination and bring valuable life experiences and insights to their work. We are racially and ethnically diverse, with language capacity to assist participants in American Sign Language, Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, Edo, English, Farsi, French, Greek, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Loma, Mandarin, Nepali, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Tibetan, Urdu, Uzbeki, and Yiddish.

CIDNY speaks for everyone who lives with a disability, whether it came at birth, by injury, disease, or during the process of aging. Together, we educate the public. We advocate for our civil rights and a strong safety net of benefits and services. CIDNY makes sure that our voices are heard where and when issues affecting our lives are decided.

Throughout our history, CIDNY has advised government officials on ways to make public services like transportation, health insurance, education, and entitlements work better. We monitor public and private initiatives that affect people with disabilities and offer constructive solutions to problems we see. CIDNY conducts an array of training and technical assistance activities to public officials, health care workers, and other service providers on disability awareness and disability-related issues. CIDNY also provides information and workshops for its consumers on everyday skills, such as searching for housing, budgeting, transportation, housekeeping, self-advocacy, and goals planning.

CIDNY’s offices in Manhattan and Queens provide benefits counseling, independent living skills development, direct services (e.g., housing assistance, employment-related assistance, healthcare access, peer counseling, nursing home transition and diversion, and youth transition), information and referrals, and recreational activities. All our services are free.