A Mission To Connect And Engage

The Independent Life

And we are back! Tony kicks off Season 3 of The Independent Life by sharing his reflection and gratitude from when we first launched the podcast on Thanksgiving Day.. 2 years ago.

Also sharing what you can expect from Season 3 - we’re going take a more intentional look at the independent life and how its impacting people with disabilities in various areas, especially with social situations and support. We want to dive into what the independent life means when it comes to community and unity, and how its impacting our ability to live independently.

Tony recognizes our current state as a period of transition, noting how the independent living network was founded from the spirit of transitioning people in the early 1970s, out of institutional care settings and back into the community. Taking a look at all the existential conditions we’ve been through in the past couple years, with COVID at the core, causing a rippling impact across our entire world. From Tony’s perspective, he feels this is a pivotal moment in humanity’s trajectory.

Our hope for this season is to work towards connecting more with those in our community who have disabilities, and those who love and live with those who have disabilities. We’re excited to learn from their perspective as they live through these transitional times; exploring what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, and WHY they’re doing it. What is their why and what is driving them during these times.

In Season 3, our mission is to connect and engage with our community. As a community, we have a shared struggle that we can learn from each other and together we are stronger as a community. We’re going to look to the community to help orient us. We want to learn from you; we want to help be your voice of advocacy and awareness for living the independent life.

Our goal is to create safe spaces for people to lean into their vulnerabilities with courage. This is a space where we come to share stories and have conversations with diverse groups of people who are dedicated and committed to collaborating and bringing people together.

We’re going to come together by seeing through the lens of other people’s points of view and to be able to explore their journey so that we, as people with disabilities, know how to best rebuild out community and making our world a better place.

We want to hear from you! Reach out to us if you have a story you'd like to share or a message you want to spread:

• Email: [e-mail]
• Instagram: @theindependentlifepodcast
• TikTok: @theindepdentlifepodcast