Santa Monica Salutes Agencies That Help Disabled Persons

The City of Santa Monica is saluting a number of local organizations in celebration of Disability Awareness Month.

Among them is ADEPT (Assisting the Disabled with Employment, Placement and Training), which helps people who have physical and learning disabilities and may not qualify for state rehabilitation programs. The agency, founded in 1974 and funded by the city, helps the disabled become self-sufficient, officials said.

Other organizations being honored are:

The Westside Center for Independent Living, which offers a wide range of services including career counseling, housing assistance and roommate referrals. The 10-year-old group is staffed by professionals with disabilities.

Westside Independent Services to the Elderly (WISE), a center that provides jobs, volunteer opportunities and transportation for older people. Funded by the City of Santa Monica and the County of Los Angeles, the group provides vans with wheelchair lifts and a subsidized taxi service for people with less-restricting disabilities.

Westside Self-Advocates, a group of disabled people who organized themselves to help each other. Christina Keeffer, a cerebral palsy victim who works part-time as a library assistant at UCLA, is president of the group.

Santa Monica also offers an array of programs including the Special Olympics, a children’s mainstreaming project and social events for the disabled. The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has programs including an Advisory Committee on Special Education.