The Ability Center of Greater Toledo

Address: 5605 Monroe Street
Sylvania, OH 43560 Phone: (419) 885-5733 Fax: (419) 8824813 Website: http://www.abilitycenter.org/

"The Ability Center of Greater Toledo is a Center for Independent Living serving northwest Ohio.
Our Vision: We believe in and support equitable and inclusive communities for people living with disabilities.
Our Mission is to assist people with disabilities to live, work and socialize within a fully accessible community.

Services: (please visit our ""Programs Overview"" page for details)

The Ability Center provides these services to people with disabilities living in the Center’s seven county service area of Defiance, Fulton, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Williams and Wood:

Assistance Dogs-  helps children and adults with disabilities achieve greater independence by training and placing service and therapy dogs to assist with the individual’s daily needs. Assistance Dogs has helped transform the lives of over 150 individuals and their communities.

Community Connections – The purpose of Community Connections is to create and support community options for people living with disabilities. The Center does this by assisting individuals in developing goals, identifying dreams, and defining their vision for their life. The Center also assists individuals in achieving their personal goals by making appropriate connections within the community and providing necessary information, resources, accommodations, and support.

Educational Advocacy and Consulting Services – The Ability Center’s Educational Advocates are a cross-departmental team that works with students, their families, other service providers and school districts to ensure that students with disabilities get the education and services they need and require.

The Housing Resource Center-  is four distinct, interconnected programs Nursing Home Transition, Home Accessibility, Adaptive Equipment Acquisition and Volunteers, Accessible Housing and Housing Advocacy. By combining these four programs under one umbrella, the Center can provide realistic opportunities for successful independence that addresses all aspects of housing and disability.

Inclusive Communities – Community inclusion is a key goal for The Ability Center in services and supports. Still, most community inclusion activities continue to focus from a medical model. This model is built around an external perception of disability and attempts to “fix” perceived problems. The key to true community success, however, occurs when people initiate, nurture and keep natural relationships.

Information and Outreach – This core service provides access to the wide spectrum of information on disability related issues, everything from where to get a placard for a car to future planning for yourself or a relative. It also provides links to community resources that assist individuals to live independently.

The Options for Tomorrow Care Plan – helps families avoid having to react in a crisis by planning early and make informed decisions that are the consensus of all members involved. The goal of the Options for Tomorrow Project is to facilitate the development of future care plans for adults with disabilities by providing resources and services that empower families and care partners."