The second in a series highlighting the programs which will be benefited by the proceeds from this year's United Way fundraiser.
It all began in the late 1960s with a man named Ed Roberts who, suffering from polio, became disabled at the age of 14 years old.

Because of his battle to gain independence, today Bootheel Area Independent Living Services (B.A.I.L.S.) is able to help hundreds of handicapped residents in Pemiscot, Dunklin, New Madrid and Stoddard counties maintain their independence.

B.A.I.L.S. is a community-based, non-profit, non-residential organization whose services include -- but are not limited to -- information and referral, skills training, peer counseling, advocacy, community awareness, equipment loan, home modifications, transportation, disability awareness and a resource library.

"We are not just limited to physical disabilities," said B.A.I.L.S. Executive Director Tim Shaw. "We also work with developmental or emotional disabilities."

The organization is perhaps best known for its home modification and Personal Assistance Services (PAS) programs.

Home modifications include the installation of grab bars, assistive technology and wheelchair ramps.

"This is what most of the United Way money is used for," Shaw said. "We helped install 275 ramps in the fiscal year 2003 and we are expecting that number to climb as word of our program spreads."

The organization offers either the materials or labor for the building of ramps. Consumers, as participants of the program are called, provide the other.

Consumers are usually referred to the organization through other organizations such as the Missouri Department of Family Services or the Division of Aging. There are 22 Independent Living Services organizations in Missouri and over 400 in the nation.

PAS, another popular program, provides over $700,000 to the organization's budget, not including the $189,000 budget for the independent living services.

"This program allows the consumer to hire their own attendant to help them overcome the physical disability they have -- such as to help them get in and out of the shower or to help them feed themselves," explained Shaw. "This attendant is allowed to work for a certain number of hours per day and we receive an administrative rate on each of those hours."

While the consumer is the "boss" -- the one in charge of signing the time sheet and overseeing all hiring and firing -- B.A.I.L.S. offers case management by calling the consumer each month and helping to work out any problems the consumer may have.

The organization is also in charge of training all attendants before they begin work.

All consumers who participate in the program must be covered by Medicaid, as it is that organization who pays for the attendant. B.A.I.L.S. then receives their money from Missouri Vocational Rehabilitation.

"This program actually saves Missouri a lot of money by keeping these people out of nursing homes," said Shaw. "We go before legislators each year and present them with the numbers that show how much money is saved per consumer in our program."

More than half of the organization's 14 employees are staffed to take care of the PAS program.

However, adults are not the only ones who benefit from the organization. More than 130 children received services from B.A.I.L.S. last year.

"We do a lot with children who have learning disabilities," said Shaw. Those disabilities can widely range from dyslexia to attention deficit disorder.

"We will go in and mediate and advocate between the child, parents and teachers," said Shaw. "Sometimes this is not always easy, but everyone makes the best of the situation that they can."

An Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is then set up for the student. This is done by a member of B.A.I.L.S., the parents and the teacher. Measurable short-term and annual goals are then set for the child. This plan is updated and monitored closely.

The organization also offers a Back to School Rally each year.

"We bring children with disabilities together so that they can hear motivational speakers with disabilities who have overcome," Shaw said. "Hearing these people really helps the older children. It shows them that you can have a life based on your abilities rather than your disabilities."

This year's speaker was an attorney from the Kansas City area who had overcome her disability of being sightless.

"I don't know if it really impacts the younger children, but the older children are really impacted by something like that," said Shaw.

Some lesser known programs the organization offers are information and referral -- responding to requests for information about disabilities or independent living related issues and referring individuals to other resources that offer additional services; advocacy -- providing organizations, people with disabilities and the general public training to advocate for their own needs; skills training -- offering individual learning or re-learning any aspect of life activities that could increase independence and control over their own life; peer counseling -- working to match individuals in a one-to-one or group setting so they can share common methods of coping and problem solving; equipment loan program -- loaning Geri Chairs, manual wheelchairs, walkers with and without wheels, shower chairs, lift chairs and crutches, etc.; transportation services -- a van and bus equipped with wheelchair lift to help transport consumers to doctors appointments, etc..; and a resource library -- equipped with videos, books, magazines and newsletters all geared toward helping consumers learn about disabilities and other organizations for people with disabilities. It also allows consumers to connect with the Internet.

"We just really try to advocate and to do whatever needs to be done," said Shaw. "We try to go above and beyond when we can. We will do as much as we can, even if it is something we don't normally do through this organization."

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