Welcome

Mainstream is a non-profit, non-residential, consumer-driven Independent Living Resource Center serving people with disabilities in Central Arkansas. Consumers of Mainstream set their own goals and take the lead in developing plans to meet those goals and objectives. Mainstream, which has been in existence since the summer of 1987, offers services to consumers and other stakeholders free of charge.

Mainstream is committed to supporting people with disabilities as they make informed choices, direct their own lives, pursue greater independence, and participate meaningfully in their communities. We recognize that each person's goals, experiences, and support needs are unique, and we work alongside consumers as they identify the opportunities and resources that are most important to them.

Mission Statement

The mission of Mainstream is to provide advocacy, peer support, independent living skills training, information and referral, and other services that support people with significant disabilities in living independently and pursuing meaningful opportunities in the community.

Mainstream is dedicated to consumer-directed service delivery. Each consumer has control of his or her life, goals, and choices. Services, support, training, and advocacy are provided within the framework of a written Individual Independent Living Plan when desired by the consumer. The consumer develops his or her own plan with assistance from a qualified Mainstream staff member.

The organization is dedicated to the following principles of operation:

Assisting each consumer with consideration, respect, and attention to individual goals;

Working closely and cooperatively with organizations and community stakeholders to strengthen available supports and expand opportunities for independent living, employment, skill development, community participation, and access to needed resources;

Promoting greater access to information, skills, services, technology, employment, housing, transportation, health care, and other community resources that support independence and self-direction;

Increasing each consumer's awareness, knowledge, confidence, and ability to make informed decisions, develop personal goals, build practical life skills, and direct the course of his or her own life.

The most important replacements you are making

You are keeping "people with disabilities" because that accurately identifies the population Mainstream is federally authorized to serve.

You are replacing language such as:

"integration of people with disabilities into the mainstream of society"

with:

"living independently and pursuing meaningful opportunities in the community."

You are replacing:

"equality and justice"

with:

"greater access to information, skills, services, technology, employment, housing, transportation, health care, and other community resources."

And you are replacing the more dated:

"personal power to direct the course of their own lives"

with:

"confidence and ability to make informed decisions, develop personal goals, build practical life skills, and direct the course of his or her own life."

This lets you make a quick, clean revision for Tuesday without changing the website architecture, while still preserving the core Independent Living philosophy and Mainstream's statutory mission.