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Check out Community Choices' CURRENT Newsletter!

CC Newsletter February 2021
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COMMUNITY CHOICES

monthly newsletter  //  february 2021
IN THIS ISSUE:
spotlight - celebrating Jasmine's 15 years working at walmart!
co-op meeting survey
save the date - cc annual member meeting
upcoming classes
vaccine update
seeking roommates
disAbility expo - register now
ccddb meeting calendar 
webinar - how to practice anti-racism
webinar - rates survey
 
There's a lot to cover, so don't forget to view the entire message! (Sometimes you have to click "view clipped message") 
 

Community Choices would like to congratulate CC member Jasmine Hague for her 15-year anniversary working for Walmart! Jasmine started working at Walmart in Pennsylvania in 2006 in the Housewares department. She has gained experience in the apparel, jewelry, site-to-store, crafts & stationery, and online grocery departments. Jasmine says working with the customers has kept her happy in her job for 15 years. She gets lots of compliments from the customers for her work ethic and great customer service. Congratulations, Jasmine!
CO-OP MEETING SURVEY - LOOKING FOR YOUR FEEDBACK

One of Community Choices’ longest-running supports is our regular Co-Op Meetings. We’ve held these on the 2nd Thursdays for many years, originally monthly and more recently on a quarterly basis. These meetings have always been open to anyone in the community and have featured a wide range of topics from presentations from local groups, to updates about CC services, to simple opportunities for people to meet and connect with each other. 

Since last spring we’ve been offering our Co-Op meetings and Family Support Group virtually. As we look to the second spring of the pandemic, we’re hoping to get some feedback from you all about how to make these meetings as meaningful as possible! 

Please fill out this short survey to give us some input on possible topics and formats that would be most helpful to you and your family! No need to be a member, we’d love to hear from all of you! 
 

COMPLETE THE SURVEY HERE 
It should not take more than 3-5 minutes to complete.
CC NEWS!
SAVE THE DATE - ANNUAL MEMBER MEETING

In March Community Choices will be hosting our Annual Member Meeting over Zoom!

Hear about upcoming programs and updates, vote on board members, and hear from fellow members! More details to come.

Meeting Info: 
WHAT: CC Annual Member Meeting
DATE: Thursday, March 11th, 2021
TIME: 7-8:30pm 
LOCATION: Zoom- meeting link to come!
 

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN JOINING THE CC BOARD OF DIRECTORS, PLEASE LET BECCA KNOW!
217-840-4580 // becca.communitychoices@gmail.com
UPCOMING CLASSES

We’ve had a great time connecting with our members this year through a wide variety of classes! Our next round is set to start in March. We’ll be offering 2 brand new classes focused on health.

A Healthy Lifestyle Sampler - Learn about, try out, and hear from local experts on all different ways to build a healthy lifestyle! There's something for everyone!

Healthy Foods - Learn about different types of foods, what makes them healthy, where to get them, and some tasty ways to eat them!

We’d hoped to include an in person opportunities in both of these classes. We’re still watching the latest guidance to make sure we’re offering safe but engaging options. Be on the lookout for class details and registration coming soon! 

BOTH CLASSES START MID-MARCH
VACCINE UPDATE

Our local community has been working our way through the State's Phase-Based plan to get everyone vaccinated! As of now Groups 1a and 1b are eligible to sign up for available vaccination appointments. This includes: 

  • All PSWs employed through the Home-Based Support Program 
  • All Family Caregivers who's family member has a diagnosis that might put them at greater risk of complications or uses some sort of medical technology or device - mention THIS LETTER from DHS
  • 1st Tier Essential Frontline Workers, including grocery store, manufacturing,  education, and other positions. 
To make an appointment, individuals will need to contact Public Health - 
  • Please call (217) 902-6100
  • If you don't want to wait on hold, you can use their call back service by entering your information HERE
For more information about local vaccination, please check out the great resources on the CU Public Health Website: https://www.c-uphd.org/covid-vaccinations.html

We still need more advocacy to ensure that people with disabilities get quick and equitable access to vaccinations! 

You can share your concern through the phone and email contacts below and social media.  We can all tell the Governor:

"Thank you for your efforts to prioritize people living in ICFDDs and CILAS and caregivers of all kinds for vaccines.  We ask you to expand access to all people with disabilities NOW regardless of where they live." Studies show people with I/DD are more at risk and many people with disabilities can't fully isolate because of their support services."  

Here is a link to an article from November from Ancor, a national advocacy organization highlighting that studies find people with I/DD at greater risk related to COVID.
STILL SEEKING ROOMMATES!

There is an open spot at the shared living home that Community Choices has supported for many years! The house currently has two long-term tenants and has up to two open rooms for new roommates. The house is large (5 bedrooms) and located in a quiet, safe neighborhood in Champaign - close to the Champaign Public Library. There are individual leases and utilities are shared. 

Ryan, our Community Life Coordinator, conducts house meetings and provides individual weekly support to the residents at the home. 

If you are interested in learning more, please contact Becca at 217-840-4580 or becca.communitychoices@gmail.com
RESOURCES AND LOCAL EVENTS!
disABILITY EXPO - THIRD THURSDAY RESOURCE ROUND UP

The EXPO has gone ONLINE! February 18th is the 4th and FINAL of a series of Expo Events they’re calling Third Thursday Resource Roundups!
 

FEBRUARY EXPO - The 18th 3:00-4:30pm 
This Month will be Featuring:
Educational Services, and Supports for Young Children


To participate you’ll need to pre-register, which is 100% Free. On the day of the event you’ll be able to watch informational videos about the different exhibitors and talk directly with staff from organizations over zoom.
 

PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Please Register by Sunday February 14th
REGISTER HERE

Find out more information about the virtual Expo HERE
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILTY BOARD MEETINGS - OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

The Champaign County Developmental Disability Board and Mental Health Board are funders of many extremely important human services in Champaign County. Their meetings are all open to the public. If you're interested in learning more consider attending their monthly meetings.

Then Next CCDDB Meeting: 
February 17th, 2021 at 9AM
On Zoom:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81559124557
312-626-6799, meeting ID = 815 5912 4557

All are welcome to attend and participate

See the full CCDDB CALENDAR HERE
See the full CCMHB CALENDAR HERE 
HOW TO PRACTICE ANTI-RACISM - A PLAIN LANGUAGE WEBINAR

The Arc of Illinois and Going Home Coalition will lead a plain language presentation about what is racism, how we can make sure we are doing our part to practice anti-racism and what it means to be an ally.

Speaker: Timotheus “T.J.” Gordon, Jr. is a Research Assistant at UIC’s Institute of Disability and Human Development, writer, and Autistic self-advocate in Chicago. He is also a co-founder of Chicagoland Disabled People of Color Coalition, a group consisting of people of color with disabilities in the Chicagoland area who promote disability acceptance and self-advocacy in marginalized communities.
 

Wednesday, Feb. 24, 1-2:30pm

REGISTER HERE
GUIDEHOUSE RATES STUDY WEBINAR - PLAIN LANGUAGE 

Hear about the recent Rate-Study that DHS recently released. It proposes some significant changes to the Illinois Disability System. Check out this webinar that will give a clear overview of the suggested changes. 

This webinar is for:  

People with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD)
Family Members of people with I/DD
Service Providers of people with I/DD     
Allies of people with I/DD

Learn More HERE

Monday, February 8th, 1-2pm

REGISTER HERE
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COMMUNITY CHOICES     44 E MAIN, SUITE 210    CHAMPAIGN, IL     61820