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We at the League of Human Dignity are concerned with the rights and quality of life of people with disabilities. We believe in emphasizing likeness not difference, ability not disability, normality not abnormality, and integration not segregation. We work with people who have disabilities to promote independent living and ensure social, economic, and political equality.
People with disabilities in Southeast Nebraska now have better access to the services they need to live independently.
The League of Human Dignity’s Lincoln Center for Independent Living expanded its service area late in 2018 to include five underserved Southeast Nebraska counties – Richardson, Pawnee, Nemaha, Johnson and Otoe. The center has been offering Independent Living services in Lincoln, Lancaster County and other Southeast Nebraska counties since 1971.
The League of Human Dignity operates Centers for Independent Living in Lincoln, Norfolk, Omaha and Council Bluffs, Iowa. In addition, the League offers services coordination under Nebraska’s Medicaid Waiver for Adults with Disabilities Program in all 93 Nebraska Counties through Medicaid Waiver offices in Kearney, North Platte and Scottsbluff.
The expansion follows a similar move in North Central Nebraska earlier in 2018. The League’s Norfolk Center for Independent Living expanded its service area to include Boyd, Brown Cherry, Holt, Keya Paha and Rock. The Norfolk center has offered Independent Living services in 14 Northeast Nebraska counties since 1982.
A revolutionary idea — independent living.
As the civil rights movement swept the country in the late 1960s and early 70s, the independent living movement for people with disabilities was also gaining ground.
Spearheaded by Ed Roberts, a student at the University of California at Berkeley, the movement was based on a revolutionary idea — taking charge of your own life through self-empowerment and consumer control. It’s the founding aspiration for all the League of Human Dignity’s activities.
Midwesterners are known for taking their time accepting new ideas and concepts. But we are proud to say this was not the case with disability rights. Thanks to the vision of our founders, the League of Human Dignity was active in the early days of the disability rights revolution.
It all started with a newspaper ad . . .
Discontent with the barriers facing residents with disabilities in 1971, Jean Scanlon placed a classified ad in a Lincoln, Nebraska, newspaper hoping to find others with similar concerns.
She was pleasantly surprised when more than a dozen responded to her request to join forces. The group began working to remove barriers, coordinate community services, and improve public transportation — and eventually founded the League of Human Dignity.
This grassroots gradually expanded and today is active throughout Nebraska and Southwest Iowa. We serve thousands of consumers through our Centers for Independent Living in Lincoln, Norfolk, Omaha, and Council Bluffs, and our Medicaid Waiver Offices in Scottsbluff, Kearney and North Platte.
The League of Human Dignity is a nonprofit, consumer-controlled, nonresidential, community-based organization promoting a more independent lifestyle for people with disabilities.
