Beckwith HallThe mission of Beckwith Hall, within the Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is to provide housing, personal assistant, and disability services to Beckwith residents in a manner that will assist them in the attainment of their personal and educational goals. Beckwith services are based on individual student needs and goals, which are designed to maximize a student's independent living skills at a comfort level which is defined by the student.
Independent Living is thus defined as the right of people with disabilities to control and direct their own lives and to participate actively in society.
To control and direct one's life means making cultural and life style choices among options that minimize reliance on others in decision making and in performance of everyday activities, limited only in the same ways that people without disabilities are limited. It means exercising the greatest possible degree of choice about where you live, with whom to live, how to live and how to use time. This includes taking risks and having the right to succeed or fail. It also includes taking responsibility for one's decisions and action.