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Message from the Executive Director

Greetings from the team of dedicated and caring professionals at Services for Independent Living (SIL). The year ahead (2024) will be a time of progressive transitions for SIL, and we have much to share with you.

As some of you may know, SIL will be relocating in March to 1905 West Ash Street, just across the street from the Shelter Gardens and next door to the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture (CCUA).  The office at 1401 Hathman Place will be closed the week of March 25th (Monday through Friday) for the move. Our transportation services will continue to run that week and our phone lines will be open Monday to Wednesday, but we will be closed for walk-ins and office appointments that week.  SIL will reopen and be fully operational at the new location on Monday April 1st, 2024.

The new location is a larger building at 11,500 square feet compared to the 7,200 square feet in our current building. The building is currently undergoing significant upgrades by the landlord that include resurfaced/stripped parking lots, replacing the entire heating/cooling system with a much more efficient system, adding two unisex accessible restrooms, and fresh paint throughout the building. The new location will feature:

  • A 1,000-square-foot space for SIL’s Assistive Technology Exchange Program (ATEP) for storage, restoration, and distribution of durable medical equipment (DME). The space has 4 garage bay doors (2 in front and 2 in back) for easy access and SIL will have a curbside service for DME donations and pickups.
  • A 300-square-foot dedicated assistive technology center for consumer demonstrations and training.
  • An adjacent 400-square-foot accessible kitchen for staff that can accommodate consumer training with adaptive equipment and personalized cooking classes (with an adjacent accessible restroom).
  • A 900-square-foot meeting room that features a large drop-down screen and projector system and will be set up for integrated video conferencing.
  • A dedicated smaller conference room adjacent to the lobby will be used for Consumer/Case Manager meetings and intakes.
  • Dedicated supply storage rooms will increase the capacity for donated supplies.
  • Improved office spaces for staff.
  • Parking in the rear of the building to accommodate staff and fleet vehicles and parking in the front available to visitors and consumers (our current location does not accommodate our parking needs).

This new location will help enable SIL to expand programs and services which are already in the exploratory and developmental stages. We will be hosting a series of open houses beginning in April, we hope to see you there. More to come on all of this with future newsletters and through our website and social media. The SIL team is energized about the move and SIL’s future, as we hope all of you will be.

Patrick Lee

Our Partner Agencies

info@silcolumbia.org
© 2025 Services for Independent Living. All Rights Reserved. Services for Independent Living is a qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization
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