A Personal Assistant (PA) is someone who works for a person with a disability, a consumer, with the purpose of empowering that person to live independently in the community.  The PA’s role is to assist the consumer in completing activities of daily living based on his or her individual needs.  The consumer acts as the employer of the PA even if the PA’s paycheck comes from an outside organization.

Advocates for Access maintains a list of people who would like to become Personal Assistants for people with disabilities.  Our Personal Assistant Coordinator conducts initial interviews of people interested in the position and hosts an orientation that all PA’s must attend prior to being placed on our referral list.  A computer database is maintained daily and used to generate the referral lists of PA’s to give to consumers upon request.  The Personal Assistant Coordinator also provides further training to PA’s and offers assistance to consumers with interviewing, hiring, and communicating effectively with his or her PA.

Personal Assistant Training
The PA will be required to attend a three-hour, unpaid orientation class. These trainings will be the second Thursday of every month at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in the Advocates for Access Conference Room. Additional training will be available on an ongoing basis.  Some topics that may be covered are nutrition, safety, care tips, first aid/CPR, etc.

ANYONE INTERESTED IN BECOMING A PERSONAL ASSISTANT MUST CALL TO RESERVE THEIR SPORT FOR ORIENATION.

If you would like to become a Personal Assistant, please contact the office at 309.682.3500.

Personal Assistant Application Form Part 1

Personal Assistant Application Form Part 2

If you are a Personal Assistant and would like to update your contact information and/or time availability, please contact the office at 309.682.3500.

Consumer Training
Upon consumer request, the center can offer assistance with interviewing, hiring and communicating effectively with their personal assistant.