Mission

Volar Center for Independent Living is an organization of and for people with disabilities, advocating human and civil rights, community options and empowering people to live the lives they choose.

Values

Independent living is based on the idea that we, as people with disabilities, have rights and responsibilities as first class citizens to control and direct our own lives and including exercising the choice about where, with whom, and how we will live.

Obstacles to independent living are viewed as environmental and attitudinal barriers, and CIL’s throughout the U.S. address these issues through consumer advocacy, systems advocacy, and community based services.

Volar CIL challenges persons with disabilities to “volar”, to soar higher and further, as we face this New Millenium.

Volar Center for Independent has been serving persons with disabilities in the El Paso area since 1981. As an organization guided by persons with disabilities and serving persons with disabilities, Volar CIL is one of 600 centers for independent living throughout the United States and 27 in the State. Volar CIL advocates for human and civil rights.

The dedicated staff at Volar CIL has accumulated over 100 years of experience in promoting and developing community options and empowering people with diverse disabilities to live the lives they choose. More then half of the staff at Volar CIL are persons living with disabilities who make decisions in agency policy and service delivery.

Volar CIL is constantly growing and expanding its capacity for service. And this includes a pro-active Board of Directors from diverse sectors of the El Paso community. At least 51% of our Board personally knows disabilities as well.

As we look towards a future where society accommodates and fosters inclusion, Volar CIL will continue to support persons with disabilities to make their individual life choices, and pursue the American dream.

Please select the following link to witness testimony from one of our valued consumers. (https://youtu.be/ZEKXuFjRo9c)

Luis Enrique Chew, Executive Director (Spinal cord injury)