Southern Adirondack Independent Living – SAIL Helps
The mission of Southern Adirondack Independent Living (SAIL) is to promote independence, equality, and dignity of people with disabilities in all aspects of personal and community life. SAIL provides core services including information services, referrals, peer services, independent living skills, advocacy and provides help with transitions into independent living situations.
Tyler Whitney is the Executive Director of SAIL, and works out of the Queensbury location, which has been located at 71 Glenwood Ave in Queensbury since 1998. The land for the facility was donated by a local family that had first-hand experience being helped by SAIL… SAIL helped a woman who had a memory disorder live independently. This inspired the family to donate the land to SAIL.
SAIL’s mission to “help people live more independently” is broad and basic for a reason… Having a broad mission enhances their ability to offer the expansive services that are needed in the community. In the last five years, SAIL has experienced a tremendous amount of growth, and currently runs 13 different grant programs out of the Queensbury location; these grants are federal, state, and local grants. Each grant adds services to the programs that are offered.
The equipment loan program, which is officially called the Technological Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities (TRAID), is the most forward-facing program that SAIL offers. Every day, dozens of people come to the SAIL offices to borrow medical equipment – the equipment can be loaned out for 30 to 90 days. The people who borrow the equipment have the opportunity to try out the medical equipment at a time when they need it most… People who participate in this program have recently had surgery or an injury, and they need equipment to make their home accessible while they are healing. As part of the service, a specialist will help explain how to adjust and use the equipment correctly.
SAIL also offers health insurance enrollment services to anyone who needs it: “We enroll people in health insurance through the marketplace and through the Affordable Care Act. We have a Medicare specialist on site. That program is usually a ‘gateway for us’. People come in to enroll in benefits and then they become aware of the expansive services that we provide. We want to keep people out of institutionalized care, out of nursing homes, for as long as they can live safely and independently. For each individual that includes different tools and services and each case is different,” Tyler said.
When an individual goes into a nursing home, there is a survey that is provided… One of the questions on the survey is “If you could live safely at home, would you like to?” Many people answer yes to that question, and that triggers a referral to the SAIL office; at that point, a social worker has 10 days to connect with that person and start the process of exploring if a safe discharge from the facility will be possible, and what support that person would need to live independently.
The nature of SAIL is to continue to grow and add programs that are needed in the community. As people transition into independent living, the services that can help them succeed are identified… SAIL now offers technology classes. Technology can open so many doors to help people live independently! The technology classes take place on the second and fourth Thursday of each month; on the second Thursday of the month, the class takes place at 3:00 PM at the Queensbury SAIL office, and on the fourth Thursday of the month, the class takes place at the Saratoga SAIL office at 5:00 PM.
An aspect of offering the technology classes is to provide the skills needed for an individual to enter the workforce: “SAIL is a hiring world for people with disabilities. There are barriers to breakdown when it comes to integrating a person with disabilities into the workforce. These classes are an example of how we provide the support needed for a person with a disability to take the next step and expand their independence. Not only in the workforce but in day to day life,” Tyler said.
The technology classes also broaden the services and reach that SAIL has to offer businesses: “When hiring a person with a disability, there is fear on both sides… The person with the disability may be a qualified candidate but may need support. SAIL can provide that support so that the candidate can accept the job and expand their independence,” Tyler said. SAIL can work with the employer to make reasonable accommodations for the employee. This expands the independence of the individual with the disability and fills a necessary role within a company.
SAIL works to break down barriers that stand between an individual and their independence. For more information about the services that SAIL provides, please visit sailhelps.org