Announcements

We ask that you please take a moment of your time to complete our brief survey because you received services through VAIL in the past year. The survey are important to us and will help us understand how you feel about our services, how our staff is interacting with you, and if our services were helpful in assisting you with your independent living goals.

Our board of directors and executive director look at the results and feedback to make sure that we are providing you with quality services. These responses also assist them in preparing goals for the future to ensure we are meeting the needs of individuals with disabilities in our community.

We greatly appreciate all that choose to complete our survey but if you opt out of completing the survey your services with VAIL will not be affected in any way. Your answers to these questions and all replies will be treated anonymously and confidentially. No information you provide will be shared for any purpose other than ensuring we provide quality services, planning for the future, and reporting how VAIL is doing and what needs exist in our community without using your identifying information.

Click this link to access the Consumer Needs Survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YY22SSL

VAIL has just received word that the AmazonSmile program in which VAIL earned donations through your Amazon purchases will be coming to an end. Amazon has chosen to end this program in order to implement more focused efforts to invest in specific areas. Affordable housing in northern Virginia will be one of these areas. https://www.amazonhousingequity.com/

AmazonSmile will continue to operate through February 20, 2023. VAIL will continue to earn donations based on your purchases from smile.amazon.com through that date. You will still be able to support VAIL by purchasing items from our Amazon Wish List.

We thank you for using this method of earning donations for VAIL in the past. For other ways to support VAIL, please go to https://govail.org/support-vail

“Approximately 70 million Americans will see a 8.7% increase in their Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments in 2023. On average, Social Security benefits will increase by more than $140 per month starting in January.”

For more information, continue reading the SSA blog post here.

The Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) is in the very early stages of developing the next State Plan for Independent Living (Years 2024-2026). As an initial step, the Council has created a Needs Assessment in both English and Spanish. The SILC would like your help in getting responses from Consumers by August 31st. The results of this Needs Assessment survey will help drive decisions about the goals and objectives for the next SPIL. 

• English Needs Assessment:   https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VA_SILC_English
• Spanish Needs Assessment:  https://es.surveymonkey.com/r/VA_SILC_Espanol

VAIL is excited to announce the merger of the Harrisonburg Cardinals wheelchair basketball team into VAIL’s adaptive sports program.

The Cardinals compete in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association. The team offers an opportunity for individuals in the area with spinal cord injuries or other permanent lower limb disabilities to have a competitive, recreational outlet.