Center for People With Disabilities

11/14/2025

🇺🇸 Supporting Veterans in Living Independently — at Home

Through the Veteran Directed Care (VDC) program, veterans with disabilities can choose to remain in their homes and communities — with the freedom to hire and train their own caregivers, including family members.

At CPWD, we’re proud to partner with the VA to make this program possible. VDC empowers veterans to live with dignity, choice, and independence, while receiving the support they need to thrive.

Read more about how the program works — and how it’s changing lives every day:
👉 https://www.cpwd.org/blog/veteran-directed-care

For many Veterans, Independence often means the ability to continue living wherever and however we wish, even when faced with life’s inevitable burdens of aging or disability. These issues often bring on difficult conversations about assisted living, nursing homes, finances, and worries about loss...

11/12/2025

🇺🇸 Honoring Veterans Today and Every Day 🇺🇸

Today, we honor the Veterans who have served our country with courage, commitment, and sacrifice.
At CPWD, we are especially honored to support Veterans with disabilities in living independently, staying connected to their communities, and having the autonomy to make choices about their own care.

Our Veterans Independence Program (VIP) empowers Veterans to:
• 🏠 Live at home and in their communities
• 👥 Choose their own caregivers
• 💪 Maintain independence and dignity
• ❤️ Stay connected to relationships, purpose, and daily life

This Veterans Day, we invite you to learn more about the history of this day, and why ongoing support must go deeper than gratitude alone.

Read our Veterans Day article:
https://www.cpwd.org/blog/5g036mz6he48bfgmkcfi67pqj2bda4

Veterans Day is more than a holiday; it marks a long-standing commitment by federal programs to support the well-being and independence of Veterans with disabilities. Through a variety of Veterans Administration (VA) programs, Veterans can access important services for medical and psychological trea

11/05/2025

When Army Veteran Mark Fode began to lose his fine motor skills, daily life became increasingly challenging. Through the Veterans Independence Program (VIP) at the Center for People With Disabilities (CPWD), Mark and his family found the support, stability, and independence they needed to thrive.

First, Mark’s wife became his full-time caregiver — a role supported and compensated through the VIP program. After her passing from breast cancer in 2024, their daughter lovingly stepped in to continue his care. Today, Mark’s story is a powerful testament to how the Veterans Independence Program not only empowers veterans to live independently, but also strengthens families and communities through financial assistance, training, and connection to essential resources.

The VIP program provides eligible veterans the ability to choose their own caregivers, often family members, so they can receive personalized support in the comfort of their own homes. It’s a program that honors veterans’ service by giving them freedom, dignity, and control over their care.

🎥 Watch Mark’s story to see how the Veterans Independence Program has transformed his life — offering independence, healing, and renewed purpose for both him and his family.

🔗 Learn more about CPWD’s Veterans Independence Program: https://www.cpwd.org/vip

10/24/2025

🌟 Opening Her World: Kim's story 🌟

When Kim lost her vision, life felt overwhelming and isolating. She didn’t know how to use a white cane or how to move through the world with confidence.

Then she found CPWD’s Beyond Vision program. Through training, community, and peer support, Kim discovered new tools — and new friends — that helped her regain her independence and joy.

Today, she’s thriving: getting out often, connecting with others, and embracing each day with renewed confidence.

🎥 Watch Kim’s story and see how the power of community and skill-building can open doors to new possibilities.

10/17/2025

Advocacy isn’t a one-time victory — it’s an ongoing commitment.

From the fight to defend Section 504 in the 1970s, to the Olmstead decision guaranteeing the right to live in the community, disability rights have always depended on people speaking up and demanding to be heard.

Today, budget cuts, regulatory rollbacks, and reduced oversight remind us that progress is never permanent — and that protecting independence, access, and equality requires ongoing advocacy.

Read our latest article, Protecting Our Rights: Why Advocacy Is Never Finished, to learn how we can all take part in shaping the future of disability rights:

👉 www.cpwd.org/blog/protecting-our-rights-why-advocacy-is-never-finished

Each generation of the disability rights movement has worked hard, through advocacy and other efforts, to ensure basic rights for people with disabilities in the areas of equality, equity, access, and independence.  From Section 504 to the ADA to the community-based living victories of Olms

10/11/2025

When Marcy began to lose her vision to macular degeneration, fear set in. But through CPWD’s Beyond Vision program, she found something unexpected — a new way to see her life.

Today, her world is filled with hope, joy, confidence, and community.
Watch Marcy’s story and see how the right support can open new doors to independence and happiness.

🎥 Watch now: https://youtu.be/NOMpXVruPN8



https://youtu.be/NOMpXVruPN8

Marcy began losing her vision, she thought her world was closing in—until CPWD helped her discover a new way to see.W...

10/01/2025

🎉 October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) — a time to recognize the vital contributions of people with disabilities in the workforce and to spotlight the need for full inclusion.

Employment not only offers a paycheck, it also brings purpose, independence, and dignity for individuals. Yet in 2024, only 22.7% of people with disabilities are employed, compared to 65.5% of those without. This gap stems not from lack of skill, but from systemic barriers and ableism in hiring practices, workplace culture, and accessibility.

📈 Research shows that inclusion benefits everyone: companies identified as leaders in disability employment report 60% higher revenue, 2.6x more net income, and twice the economic profit of their peers.

✅ One meaningful way to take action this month? Host a Disability Etiquette Training and start building a workplace where everyone can thrive.

📖 Read the full article: www.cpwd.org/blog/building-inclusive-futures-national-disability-employment-awareness-month

Each October, the nation recognizes National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) as a time to honor the contributions of people with disabilities to the American workforce and reflect on the work still needed to build truly inclusive workplaces. Established by Congress in 1945 as “Nation...

09/27/2025

🌐 From ASL to AI: The Many Ways We Speak 🗣️

Language is not just speech. It’s gestures, sign, code, and technology.

Our new article dives into how accessibility has evolved — from human connection through American Sign Language, to voice-to-text tools, captioning AI, and emerging assistive tech.

Whether you’re Deaf, Hard of Hearing, neurodivergent, or simply curious — join us in celebrating all the ways we communicate.

📖 Read now → https://www.cpwd.org/blog/the-many-ways-we-speak-from-asl-to-advanced-technology-the-evolution-of-accessibility
🔁 Share this if you believe access is a right, not a privilege
💬 Comment: Which mode of communication has been especially meaningful to you?

On August 11, 2025, CPWD’s Beyond Vision program consumers visited the Denver Art Museum for a unique, inclusive experience: an Audio Described and Tactile Tour that brought exhibits to life through touch, narration, and shared storytelling. What’s special about this is that the participants wer...

09/19/2025

📣 Did you know?
There are five Core Services that every Center for Independent Living (like CPWD!) offers, designed to support people with disabilities in living fully, freely, and on their own terms:

✅ Advocacy
✅ Information & Referral
✅ Independent Living Skills Training
✅ Peer Support
✅ Transition Services

These services the foundation of the Independent Living movement and are proven to help individuals gain confidence, build skills, and connect with their community.

👉 Learn more about how these services came to be, why they matter, and how CPWD is helping people thrive every day.

📰 The Power of Possibility: CPWD’s Core Services and the Independent Living Legacy

🔗 Read the full article at www.cpwd.org/blog/the-power-of-possibility-cpwds-core-services-and-the-independent-living-legacy

Everyone deserves the opportunity to live with independence, purpose, and joy, no exceptions. CPWD’s work is guided by this belief every day, and it's brought to life through what are known as the Core Services of Centers for Independent Living (CILs). These Core Services are pathways to self-dete...

09/12/2025

🚨 New Article! 🚨
How can a black license plate change lives?

Thanks to the Laura Hershey Disability Support Act, funds raised through Colorado’s “Support People with Disabilities” license plates are now fueling essential programs like ours.

📝 We’re proud to announce that CPWD was awarded a CDOO grant to expand our SSI/SSDI benefits assistance—empowering more people with disabilities to access the resources they need to thrive.

📊 With over 100,000 Coloradans relying on disability benefits, this work matters more than ever.

💬 Read more about how this grant, this legislation, and this community are driving lasting change:

👉 https://www.cpwd.org/blog/empowering-independence-how-cpwd-is-supporting-coloradans-through-ssissdi-benefits-and-beyond


♿🖤📈💪🏼

For many people, applying for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI),  and other benefits can be challenging. Navigating all the paperwork and requirements with accuracy is often more accessible and successful with the support of an expert.CPWD recog

09/09/2025

Ron is a Veteran and is enrolled in CPWD's VIP program through one of our spoke providers, the League of Human Dignity. We are so happy to share his success story!

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09/03/2025

This year has brought powerful momentum across the disability community through legislation, policy changes, inclusive design, and grassroots leadership. From the Supreme Court to the fashion runway, people with disabilities are not only gaining greater access and protection, but also claiming space in new, joyful, and deeply visible ways.

Here’s a detailed look at the most significant good news stories from 2025—nationally and here in Colorado—that are shaping a more inclusive future.

Photo from Weston Mosberg and Denver Fashion Week.

This year has brought powerful momentum across the disability community through legislation, policy changes, inclusive design, and grassroots leadership. From the Supreme Court to the fashion runway, people with disabilities are not only gaining greater access and protection, but also claiming space