Wyandotte and Johnson County Core Services

Photo collage of several images of people with various disabilities engaging in basic life activities   

For information on Core Services in Wyandotte and Johnson Counties, contact:
LaNeece Jardon, Core Services Manager | ljardon@independenceinc.org

Independence, Inc. has expanded service territories to include Kansas City, Kansas.  We are now serving both Johnson and Wyandotte counties with all of our Core Services (listed below) and Wyandotte County only with our Kansas Youth Transition Network services under a Kansas Department of Education “Pathways to Partnership” grant.

Core Services in Johnson and Wyandotte Counties include:

Information & Referral: Do you need information on agency or community resources? This service is for you! Give us a call and we can help you over the phone, meet with you in person, look for your chat from our website  (see the blue chat bubble in the lower right hand corner? Just click on it!) or communicate by email. The choice is yours!

Advocacy: Individual advocacy works with people with disabilities develop the skills necessary to represent themselves in all kinds of situations. helping them to act on their own behalf to settle disputes, obtain housing or employment, ask for accommodations, or obtain support services from community agencies.  Systems advocacy works at community, state and federal levels for policy changes, removal of physical, systemic, programmatic or attitudinal barriers,  to make facilities, services and opportunities accessible to people with disabilities.

Independent Living Skills Training: The goal of the Independent Living Skills Program of Independence, Inc. is to assist individuals with disabilities in maximizing their potential to lead fulfilling and productive lives in their homes and the community, through practical and hands-on training in basic life skills like money management, budgeting, healthy cooking, using technology, cleaning, understanding public transit systems and schedules and much more.

Peer Support and Peer Counseling: Individuals with disabilities who have gained knowledge and skills in independent living, assist others in coping with their disability-related experiences. We do this through both a one-on-one Peer Counseling relationship with trained volunteers, and through our consumer-led Peer Groups, organized and facilitated by a staff member.

Deinstitutionalization/Transition Services: Deinstitutionalization is a core service that reflects our values and belief that placement of people with disabilities in institutions or nursing homes is inappropriate. Independence, Inc. provides services to assist a person with a disability make the transition from a nursing home or institution to a home of their choosing in the community.    We also offer Youth Transition Services which involves assisting teens and young adults with disabilities transition from high school or other education system into adulthood and higher education, technical training or employment.

We will also offer a Computer Lab – similar to the one in our Lawrence, KS office –  with a variety of common computer programs and accessibility software and features. Our computer lab will be open to consumers in Wyandotte and Johnson Counties.

For information on our Kansas Youth Transition Network (KYTN), Youth Transition Program in Wyandotte County: