For more than two years now, several groups have come together to make Carbondale an even better place for disabled people to live.

Practicing Promises of Carbondale is a program with the goal of making life easier for disabled crime victims. The Carbondale Police Department is working with several area agencies to achieve this goal.

In 2003, the police department was awarded a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Justice and additional organizations. The grant was a part of the Promising Practices in Serving Crime Victims with Disabilities Act.

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Carbondale is one of two law enforcement agencies nationwide to receive the grant. The federal government gave the grant to a total of 10 agencies nationwide.

Practicing Promises of Carbondale plans to provide direct services like transportation, training and personal assistants to disabled people.

“The efforts of the last two years are starting to come together where we are seeing a lot of results,” Carbondale Police Sgt. Don Priddy said. “The first year was dedicated a lot to needs assessment.”

There was also significant focus on a specialized law enforcement-training manual, Priddy said. Various local agencies helped design the training procedures. All law enforcement officials in Carbondale have undergone the training.

Other assets obtained through the grant include a portable wheelchair ramp and a comprehensive Web site that explains the program and what it offers.

The police are also offering regular security checks for those who request it through the Victim’s Advocate Office.

“We’ve been doing that for going on two years now and it’s going on real well,” Priddy said.

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Priddy said he is pleased with the collaboration among the agencies involved.

Other participating agencies include the Center for Rural Health and Social Services, Southern Illinois Regional Social Services, Center for Comprehensive Services, Specialized training for Adult Rehabilitation and the Women’s Center.

“We have a history with grants,” Priddy said. “I think that probably the people realize that we are able to do what we say we are going to do because we have experience and we have a history of doing that.”

Reporter Andrew E. Voris can be reached at [email protected]