Services for Independent Living: Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement Award Winner

Services for Independent Living, or SIL, provides an array of services with one goal in mind: help people with disabilities live a full and independent life. As it turns out, that mission includes and promotes a culture of environmental sustainability.

SIL won the MCPA award for resource conservation, largely owing to their durable medical equipment recycling program. In that program, SIL collects donations of equipment — including things like wheelchairs, canes, and hospital bed — and distributes them, free of charge, to those with disabilities. Not only is SIL able to provide equipment that would otherwise be financially unfeasible, they’re also able to keep usable medical equipment out of landfills.

“When an individual or entity calls and asks us if they can donate something, the answer is yes,” Ann Marie Gortmaker, SIL outreach specialist, says. “By and large, the vast majority of items that are donated are in fine and usable shape.”

Through the recycling program, SIL has salvaged and redistributed $300,000 in medical equipment. They also partner with local organizations such as Love Inc., who refers clients with unused medical equipment to SIL.

The recycled equipment is also used for in-house demonstrations, which audience members can use to help make purchasing decisions on expensive equipment.

Gortmaker hopes SIL can use their MCPA award to generate awareness for the program, which would then mean more donations.

“For us, it’s really a nice way to highlight our services and promote it in our community,” she says. “All too often, when people come into our demo center, they say, Oh I had no idea you did all this.”

This article is part of a series on the Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement awards. Check out our profiles of this year’s other winners.