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CC Newsletter September 2020
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COMMUNITY CHOICES

monthly newsletter  //  september 2020
IN THIS ISSUE:
spotlight: joel gets back to work
sad news
fall plans and updates
meet kim
we've moved
september coop meeting
round up for good - vote for cc
leap update
internet safety classes
international survey 
illinois housing needs survey
 
There's a lot to cover, so don't forget to view the entire message! (Sometimes you have to click "view clipped message") 
 
SPOTLIGHT - JOEL GETS BACK TO WORK!

Because of the pandemic, the Olive Garden was closed for several weeks this spring.   After this ‘Covid Break’ Joel was called back to work last month.  Since he has returned Joel resumed his position as busboy for about 34 – 40 hours each week.  Joel state’s he is very excited to be back doing the job he enjoys.  He really missed seeing customers and spending time with co-workers when everything was on lockdown.  Since his return Joel learned how to navigate the new rules in the restaurant to fight the pandemic.  Additionally, Joel has been given the opportunity to be trained in the dishwasher/utilities position.  Joel is taking on new responsibilities and performing very well.  Community Choices would like to send a big SHOUT OUT to Joel for being a super success story. 
SAD NEWS FOR OUR COOPERATIVE
It's with a heavy heart that we share the sad news that our long-time and much loved member Cloteria Easterling, or Clo, as many of knew her, passed away last week. Clo was Jaz's mother and frequent companion at our events and parties. Every time we saw her, her care and enthusiasm for this community of people was clear and heartening, as was the love, hope, and pride that she had in her son. 
 
Our hearts go out to Jaz and everyone who Clo touched. She will be deeply missed by our cooperative. 
 
For those of you who know Jaz, we are certain that he would appreciate your love and support right now. We are also happy to help coordinate anything that you all might want to offer. Just let Becca know - becca.communitychoices@gmail.com.
 
Thanks to everyone who, with Clo and Jaz, have made this cooperative a place where we can support each other, celebrate the good, and weather life's sorrow's together. 
FALL PLANS AND UPDATES!
Though we are not on the other side of this pandemic, Community Choices is here to push things forward and continue to find new opportunities for people with I/DD to live full connected lives. Because of this we are excited to share the list of opportunities that we’ll be getting started with this fall!

CLASSES
Based on our conversations with members and families we've planned a robust list of class offerings this fall. Classes are likely to include zoom and possibly some in-person meetings. Unlike our daily Zoom sessions, members are asked to register and commit to coming to these classes. Our classes include: 
  • A Practical Guide to Friendships - Register HERE
  • Current Events - Register HERE
  • A Craft Sampler Workshop - Registration to come
  • Health Relationships (Co-Taught with Educators from RACES) - Registration to come

IN-PERSON SOCIAL OPPORTUNITIES
Beginning Mid-September we will be offering a limited number of in-person social opportunities out and about in the community. We will be choosing outdoor events that allow for safe social distancing. Masks will be mandatory for members and staff throughout the entire event. We will also be asking that everyone be responsible and stay home if they have any possible exposure. RSVPs will be required. - Members should be on the lookout for information from Kaitland.

NEW - ½ DAY SOCIAL OPPORTUNITIES
We understand that some of our members would benefit from a more personalized and longer opportunity to explore their interests and how to engage in those interests in the community. The Pandemic has not made this easier, but we are tackling it in creative ways. We'll be sending more detailed information to members soon, but if you are interested, please learn more HERE

DAILY ZOOM SESSIONS
Because of the growing set of opportunities that we’ll be offering, we’ll be scaling back the number of zoom sessions we offer to members each day. We’ll continue our Daily Morning Check-ins but will be only offering afternoon sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting the week of September 7th. 
MEET KIM!

Kim McGee is our newest addition to the Community Choices team as an Employment Specialist. Kim's in a brand new position at Community Choices! Her role includes providing support to individuals in obtaining a job, supporting the individual in their place of employment and also reaching out to the community for future job opportunities for our members.  Kim has worked in the Human Services field since 2001 ranging in many different positions from substance abuse and mental health facilities to working with adults and children with developmental disabilities.  Kim's previous job was a Registered Behavior Technician working with children in the Department of Education in Hawaii.

Kim was born and raised on the island of Oahu. She recently moved back to Illinois in June 2020.  She is attending school to obtain her Bachelor's in Psychology with a  concentration in substance abuse.  During her free time Kim enjoys spending time with her family, going to the gym, and making various crafts with her cricut machine.  
WE'VE MOVED!
.We’ve been talking about it for quite some time, but it’s actually happened! CC has MOVED! Last Saturday we officially moved into our new offices in the Lincoln Building. This space will allow us room to give our newest staff, Kim a desk and workspace, but also to continue to grow, have multiple meeting rooms and even a space for members to access a computer and printer if needed. 

We still have a LOT of unpacking and organizing to do, but we’re excited to settle into the new space. (Check out the pictures of our moving chaos below…)

The staff will continue to split their time between the office and working from home to ensure optimal COVID precautions, so we’ll be open for members and community by appointment only. But we’re excited about the day...hopefully soon… when we can welcome you all into our new space! 
BEFORE...
AFTER...
A NEW START!
SEPTEMBER CO-OP MEETING
Back in late February Community Choices members gathered (in person!) to discuss the evolution of our Cooperative. We gave members the opportunity to decide on the priorities for future growth and expansion. We broke down our discussion into these 3 main areas - LIVE, WORK, CONNECT.

After brainstorming and deliberation, members came to a consensus that LIVE was the direction we should move towards. It was in this domain that most members and families felt that they needed support and where our cooperative could step in to build capacity for our entire community. 

What did this mean? It meant that in the next months and years, Community Choices staff, board, and members will be working to design a more robust set of supports that will: 
  • Allow more people with I/DD to build and sustain self-directed lives in the community
  • Ensure that people and their families get help to coordinate resources and supports
Members had the chance to share their ideas for what services would be most helpful. The big themes focused on: 
  • More robust supports for finding, managing, and scheduling PSWs, including Agency-Based PSWs
  • Support with life and resource coordination including emergency back-up systems, transportation, and property management
  • More ongoing support with daily living tasks including budgeting, managing benefits, and medical appointments 
This does not mean that CC is going to stop our focus on Employment, Social, and Leadership opportunities for people in our community with I/DD. We are still deeply committed to supporting people in all these facets of their lives.

Unfortunately with the outbreak of COVID-19 and the innumerable changes that it brought into our world, our next steps on this project were delayed. However, we are excited to re-start this journey and conversation! 

Please join us for our September Co-Op Meeting where we’ll revive our conversation about building more robust community living supports into the options that Community Choices offers. 

The meeting will be held on Zoom! Everyone is welcome! Members with disabilities will have the option of joining a break-out group with Kaitland to plan our October In-Person Social Opportunities and talk about our new ½ Day Social Opportunities pilot. 

Here’s the details: 
DATE: Thursday, 9/10/20
TIME: 7:00-8:30pm
WHERE: Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84002753364?pwd=dlV2TGUvb3hCWW5Bb1A2VFJDVTRUUT09
Meeting ID: 840 0275 3364
Passcode: 395040
CO-OP NEWS
VOTE FOR CC FOR THE ROUND UP FOR GOOD!
Each year the members of our fellow local cooperative - the Common Ground Food Coop - vote to support local not profits by rounding up their grocery totals and giving the extra few cents away! These few cents make a big difference to non profits in our area! Community Choices is hoping to be one of the organization that the Coop supports this year! 

If you are a member/owner at Common Ground Co-op, please be on the lookout for an owner ballot for the “Round Up for Good” program between September 10th and 17th. If we get enough votes, we’ll be chosen as one of the organizations of the month! Most organizations make $2000-4000 dollars. This would make HUGE impact on our fundraising goals for the year.   
Be sure to tell all your friends who are Common Ground Owners!
SHARE YOUR RECIPES
Although we won't be able to have a Chili Cook Off this year, Community Choices is excited to continue our tradition of sharing food and community through a Cookbook! 

We hope to gather simple, tasty, and accessible recipes from our members and community. We'll be compiling these into a digital and print cook book that we'll sell as fundraiser. In addition to the fun of exchanging recipes and cooking tips, we are determined to make this a cook book that folks with I/DD can use to grow their own cooking skills. 

We'll be including all the recipes from our Tuesday cooking group, and very much hope to have both a dedicated chili and pie section in honor of our annual event, but any recipe you want share is fair game!

Please send your recipes to kaitland.communitychoices@gmail.com

If you have any questions, please let Kaitland or Becca know! 
becca.communitychoices@gmail.com. 
LEAP into the VIRTUAL AGE!
Even with COVID-19 restrictions in place, in partnership with DSC, we have prerecorded both our full LEAP training, and our new Front Line Staff Training! Our prerecorded options give everyone all of the same valuable information in a new format that employers can watch at their convenience! 

Earlier this summer, the HR personnel from the City of Champaign completed their initial LEAP training! We are happy to add them to our growing list of over 80 businesses in Champaign County that are now considered to be disability inclusive! 

If you know of a business that would be interested in knowing more about LEAP, please contact Ashley Wither at 217-417-6997. 
 
INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
SPECIAL OLYMPICS SERIES ON INTERNET SAFETY
Join in this educational series that was created through a collaboration between Google and the Internet Keep Safe Coalition (iKeepSafe.org). It is designed to teach kids, young adults and adults the skills they need to be safe and smart online. Find out more HERE: https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us/
(This site is geared a bit more for kids, though there will be content that's helpful for people of all ages!)
RESEARCH: Survey on the impact of COVID on people with I/DD and their families
The Human Services Research Institute is conducting an international survey about the affects of COVID 19 on people with I/DD and their families. 

The survey is led by the UCD Centre for Disability Studies in Ireland and has a team of 26 researchers working in 19 countries. This survey has full ethical approval and is entirely anonymous. They want to recruit participants who are 18 years or older and are either (1) a family member of a person of any age who has an intellectual and developmental disability, or (2) a paid staff member supporting a person or people of any age who has intellectual and developmental disabilities.
 
Learn more and take the survey HERE
ILLINOIS HOUSING NEEDS SURVEY

The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) is pleased to announce that it is developing a new statewide plan for housing and community development in Illinois. This plan, called the Housing Blueprint, is a large-scale planning endeavor that will collect information on local housing needs throughout the state, develop a vision for the future of housing in Illinois, and establish locally tailored plans for achieving that vision. Perspectives and feedback from a diverse group of residents, community leaders, and organizations is critical to this process, and that is why we are reaching out to you - our community partners - to help engage and raise the voices of all Illinoisans as we plan to meet our current and future housing needs. 

Primarily, we are asking that you help us share the Statewide Resident Survey - an anonymous survey that asks Illinoisans their needs, perspectives, and hopes for the future. The results of this survey will add context and help to shape the goals of the Blueprint. You can access the survey via the link to the Blueprint's website, or by downloading and sharing the survey copies included below:

 
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COMMUNITY CHOICES     44 E MAIN, SUITE 419    CHAMPAIGN, IL     61820