the inspiring legacy of ed roberts
Edward V. Roberts (1939–1995), a pioneering leader and educator in the independent living and disability rights movements, fought to enable all persons with disabilities to fully participate in society. The first student with significant disabilities to attend UC Berkeley, Roberts was a founder of the university’s Physically Disabled Students Program and later, in 1972, of Berkeley’s Center for Independent Living (CIL), which became a model for over 400 independent living centers across the country. In 1983 he was the first disabled person to win a MacArthur “genius” award.
The idea for a campus was conceived shortly after Roberts’ death in 1995, when community leaders decided to commemorate his life and work by establishing a center dedicated to fostering collaboration and improving services and opportunities for people with disabilities, locally and worldwide. Now, after 12 years of arduous planning and fundraising, their vision is about to become a reality.
new center promises “one-stop services”
“This will be a one-stop services center,” says Jan Garrett, executive director of the Center for Independent Living since 1999 and chair of the Ed Roberts Campus board from 2003 to 2006. “From a client point of view, it will be centralized and totally accessible. And from the co-tenants’ point of view, it will give us the opportunity to advocate together for policy change, to fundraise together, to hold events together. Our capacity will be stronger as a group.” Located at the Ashby BART Station in South Berkeley, the 80,000-square-foot center will bring a range of cutting-edge programs together under one roof. Social services and health programming, including a fitness center designed specifically for people with disabilities, will be complemented by health research, advocacy and policy organizations. The building will house the offices of seven nonprofit organizations as well as fully accessible meeting rooms, a computer/media resource center, vocational training facilities, childcare center, fitness center, exhibition space, and a cafe.
a public / private partnership
The building is a public/private partnership combining private philanthropy with city, state and federal funding sources. Grants from The California Endowment have provided major support for the project’s planning and design, along with capacity-building among the partner agencies. Since its inception, The Endowment has awarded a total of $40 million in grants specifically serving people with physical disabilities; of these, $9.2 million have targeted the Bay Area.
“As a longtime advocate of innovative approaches to health care for all of California’s diverse communities, The Endowment is committed to ensuring that the needs of people with disabilities are addressed,” says Dianne Yamashiro-Omi, senior program officer at The Endowment. “In addition to planning and design, our grants have supported a series of skills training sessions for the collaborative members. We have encouraged them to work together based on a client-centered continuum.”
The new building is set to open in 2009. “Ed’s legacy meant so much to so many people,” says Garrett. “His mom is now in her 80s and I want her to see it finished!”
ed roberts campus partner agencies
Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program
Center for Accessible Technology
Center for Independent Living
Computer Technologies Program
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
Through the Looking Glass
World Institute on Disability
BEGINS THIS SUMMER
Ed Roberts Campus a Vibrant New Center
for People with Disabilities
“[The Ed Roberts Campus] will give us the opportunity to advocate together for policy change, to fundraise together, to hold events together. Our capacity will be stronger as a group.”
— Jan Garrett,
Center for
Independent Living
