Community Transformations Grant Demonstration Project
In 2001, the Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD) created a statewide network of community-based agencies to offer the Living Well with a Disability health promotion program for Iowa adults with disabilities, particularly physical disabilities. Developed at the University of Montana, Living Well with a Disability is an eight-week, 16-hour workshop that promotes health as a means of attaining real life goals. Goals set by participants often focus on employment or improved participation in activities or events that are important in the individual’s life.
Supported through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Iowa Department of Public Health, CDD managed the Living Well with a Disability program (Living Well Iowa), recruiting host sites, training and certifying facilitators, and conducting program evaluation. CDD provided technical and financial support for Living Well programs:
- Three Rivers Center for Independent Living, Sioux City
- Central Iowa Center for Independent Living, Des Moines
- North Iowa Vocational Center, Inc., Mason City
- Northeast Iowa Center for Independent Living, Waterloo
- Scenic Valley Area Agency for Aging, Dubuque
- Access 2 Independence, Iowa City
- Peer Action Disability Support (PADS), Cedar Rapids
CDD developed a four-module Continuing to Live Well with a Disability workshop for those who have taken the Living Well with a Disability program, and a Staying Healthy and Living Well workshop for youth who will be transitioning into independent or semi-independent settings.
Funding for Living Well Iowa ended in 2021. For more information, please get in touch with Meredith Field at [email protected].