Though they have had a branch office in Detroit Lakes for several years now, their location made the Freedom Resource Center for Independent Living a well-kept secret to many.

“We were cleverly hidden inside the Workforce Center at the Roosevelt (Avenue) office building,” says Mark Bourdon, program director for the Freedom Resource Center in Detroit Lakes.

But since the private non-profit moved its offices into the Washington Square Mall in December, “our increased visibility has resulted in a significant increase in the number of individuals who sought our services,” Bourdon notes.

“We’re staying nicely busy,” he adds with a smile.

To celebrate their move, the Center will host an open house at their new offices (located directly across from Maurice’s) this Friday, Feb. 24, from 2 to 4 p.m.

Current clients and their families are invited to attend, as well as those who would like to know more about the organization and its services.

“There will be refreshments and treats, and it will also give individuals a chance to meet our staff,” Bourdon says.

“There are four staff members who work out of this office.”

Those four staff members rotate their in-office hours so that there is always someone on hand to answer questions from walk-in customers.

“Our goal is to have one person here every day during our regular hours, which are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday,” says Bourdon.

Though there are other organizations and programs serving disabled individuals in the region, the Freedom Resource Center is unique because its primary objective is to help its clients to help themselves — with the eventual goal of not needing them at all.

“We cover nine counties in Minnesota and 10 counties in North Dakota,” Bourdon says. “We started in Fargo a little over 20 years ago, and now have satellite offices in Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Wahpeton and Jamestown.”

The Detroit Lakes office is one of only eight in Minnesota, though there are over 400 such centers located throughout the U.S., he notes.

“The Centers for Independent Living were established by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,” says Bourdon. The first one opened in Berkeley, Calif.

Though they were established through a federal law, “we are not a government agency, we are a private non-profit,” he explains — nevertheless, much of the funding for the centers comes from federal and state sources in both Minnesota and North Dakota.

Though each of the centers offers the same five core services, the manner in which those core services are delivered are different for each office, he says.

“The time and energy put into each of those services is different also,” adds Bourdon.

The core services provided by the Freedom Resource Center include individual advocacy, independent living skills training, peer mentoring, systems advocacy, information and referral.

“We consider ourselves as purists — we focus on those core services, and nothing else,” says Bourdon, noting that while some centers do occasionally add peripheral programs, theirs has not.

“What we’re trying to do here is to help individuals living with disabilities to become independent and self sufficient,” he adds.

Whether the barriers to that independence are physical or architectural, external or internal, the goal is to help remove them, one by one.

“We help them identify their dreams, their aspirations, what they want from their lives, and what the key is to accomplishing them,” Bourdon says.

One of the toughest barriers to overcome is the economic one — breaking the cycle of poverty.

“A larger percentage of people with disabilities do live in poverty than those without (disabilities),” Bourdon says.

The problem is that even when those with a disability are able to find a job and a place to live on their own, they see their disability benefits decrease almost instantly, rather than gradually tapering off — and their struggle to maintain their newfound independence becomes even more difficult.

“Disability benefits are meant to be a safety net, but our goal is to help individuals so they don’t become dependent on those benefits for the rest of their lives,” says Bourdon. “Breaking that cycle of poverty is incredibly difficult, and that’s part of why we’re here.”

For more information about the Freedom Resource Center and its services, please call 218-844-5800, stop in at the Detroit Lakes office during its regular hours, or visit the website at www.freedomrc.org.

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