A satellite office was created in 1993, when a task force of consumers in Planning District 22 (Accomack and Northampton Counties) expressed concerns that children and adults with disabilities were not receiving the services they needed.

The Eastern Shore Center for Independent Living, Inc. became its own entity in 1999, as a non-profit, non-residential center for independent living which receives part of its funding from the State of Virginia. The E.S.C.I.L. is governed by a Board of Directors. At least fifty-one percent of the members of the Board of Directors have disabilities which helps to assure that the E.S.C.I.L remains in touch with the persons with disabilities in our community.

No longer must disabled individuals of Virginia’s eastern shore have to live in a cocoon of doubts fears, myths or misconceptions of what their future can hold.

The Eastern Shore Center For Independent Living believes that each individual has the right to fly free as a butterfly to reach his or her own level of independence. We are committed to working with individuals and the community to create choices and opportunities for persons with disabilities.

Philosophy of independent living

Independent living is based on the premise that individuals with disabilities are capable of self-determination, and that programs established to provide services to individuals with disabilities should be impacted, at every point, by the individual themselves. Independent living centers are non-residential community based programs which reflecting the needs of individuals with disabilities and the community at large by taking direction from those who benefit most directly from the services provided. It is therefore, mandatory that all centers be private, non-profit, consumer controlled, and that they play a key role in effecting policies and programs that impact individuals with disabilities. Toward this end, ESCIL has committed itself to the establishment of an independent living center to serve the citizens of Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The establishment of this center has been like the independent living movement itself, an evolutionary progress.