At The Whole Person, independence has always been more than a goal. It is a belief. One that has guided our work in Kansas City for decades and continues to shape everything we do today.
Our history is rooted in the disability rights movement and in the idea that people with disabilities deserve the same control, choice, and opportunity as anyone else.
What It Means to Be a Center for Independent Living
The Whole Person is a Center for Independent Living, often called a CIL. CILs are community based organizations created by and for people with disabilities. They are built on a simple but powerful philosophy: people with disabilities are the best experts on their own lives.
As a CIL serving the Kansas City region, our role is not to make decisions for people. It is to provide tools, advocacy, resources, and peer support so individuals can make decisions for themselves.
That includes access to housing, transportation, employment, healthcare navigation, independent living skills, and advocacy at both the individual and systems level.
Being a CIL means we focus on independence, not charity. Empowerment, not control.
A Longstanding Presence in Kansas City
The Whole Person has been part of the Kansas City community for a long time, growing alongside the people we serve. Over the years, laws have changed, public awareness has expanded, and access has improved, but the core mission has remained the same.
We exist to remove barriers that prevent people with disabilities from fully participating in their communities.
That longevity matters. It means deep relationships. It means institutional knowledge. It means trust built over time with consumers, partners, and the broader community.
We are not new to this work. We have been doing it consistently, thoughtfully, and with purpose for decades.
Our Founders’ Vision
The Whole Person was founded by Mona Randolph and Paul Levy, who understood firsthand what it meant to be excluded, underestimated, or overlooked.
They believed that independence was not about doing everything alone. It was about having the right supports, resources, and community to live life on your own terms.
That vision shaped an organization led by lived experience and guided by the voices of people with disabilities themselves. From the very beginning, The Whole Person was designed to challenge systems that treated disability as a limitation instead of a natural part of human diversity.
That founding belief continues to guide our advocacy, our services, and our culture today.
How That History Shapes Our Work Today
Because of where we come from, we approach our work differently.
We center lived experience.
We advocate for systemic change, not just short term solutions.
We believe access is a right, not a privilege.
We partner with the community instead of working above it.
Our history is not something we look back on. It is something we carry forward.
Looking Ahead
Kansas City continues to grow and change, and so do the needs of people with disabilities. While the tools and challenges may evolve, our purpose remains clear.
The Whole Person will continue to stand for independence, dignity, and choice. Just as we always have.
To learn more about our history and the principles that guide our work, visit:
https://thewholeperson.org/about-us/history/
Because independence is not given. It is built, protected, and sustained by community.
