Four Decades of Independence: Herode’s Journey with the Center for Independent Living

CIL has been helping individuals on their independent living journeys for 50 years now, and many of our consumers have been working with us for a large portion of their lives. One of our longest consumer partnerships has been with Herode. Herode is a Deaf consumer who has been working with CIL since the 80s, meaning has been with CIL for around 40 years. Herode is originally from Haiti. When he first came to Florida, he didn’t have many resources available to him and he didn’t know where to find the resources he needed. Herode was referred to CIL by another organization he was working with at the time, and from there his life changed greatly. This started his involvement with our Deaf Voices program and his independent living journey.

When asked how CIL has helped him, Herode explained that before CIL he struggled quite a bit. He was often looking for help with basic needs and going to CIL was when he was finally able to get the help he needed. CIL has assisted Herode with many things over the years: housing, immigration, education, employment, acquiring hearing aids, and more. Herode also encourages others to come to CIL and see how CIL can help them. He explained that CIL has many ways to communicate and interact with the Deaf community, such as video communication, and in-person translators.

Herode has been with CIL for a long time, and we’ve enjoyed every moment of working with him and assisting him along his independent living journey. His journey is a testament to CIL’s drive to help others. No matter where you are from or what you are going through, if you need help CIL will be there to provide it. We will continue to help Herode and anyone else who needs it as CIL grows and pursues its work in the coming years.