Mental Health Support Group
2023-02-20 17:00 - 18:00, 2023-02-13 17:00 - 18:00, 2023-01-30 17:00 - 18:00, 2023-01-23 17:00 - 18:00, 2023-01-16 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Chicago) | Online – Zoom
The Peer Mental Health Support Group is an opportunity for Disabled-identifying people and those exploring their relationship to disability identity to share and hold space for one another in an accessible and virtual setting.

Facilitated by disabled art therapist Bri Beck, LCPC and SAIC art therapy graduate student, Amy Bernard, this group is meant to offer an opportunity for participants to share current concerns, thoughts/emotions, and offer support to others through validation, encouragement, and even practical ideas to cope. This group will also explore art as an emotional outlet.

This group is not considered, nor should it be a substitute for traditional group therapy, however, topics of mental health, emotional wellness, self-advocacy, and healthy relationships will be addressed in a structured and confidential space. Participants may attend as many or as little group meetings as needed. Group norms will be reviewed every week.

For any questions, please email bbeck@accessliving.org.

Join the group via Zoom here

April 24th Meeting: Join Here

PASSWORD: [REDACTED]

Mental Health Support Group
2023-02-20 17:00 - 18:00, 2023-02-13 17:00 - 18:00, 2023-01-30 17:00 - 18:00, 2023-01-23 17:00 - 18:00, 2023-01-16 17:00 - 18:00
The Peer Mental Health Support Group is an opportunity for Disabled-identifying people and those exploring their relationship to disability identity to share and hold space for one another in an accessible and virtual setting.

Facilitated by disabled art therapist Bri Beck, LCPC and SAIC art therapy graduate student, Amy Bernard, this group is meant to offer an opportunity for participants to share current concerns, thoughts/emotions, and offer support to others through validation, encouragement, and even practical ideas to cope. This group will also explore art as an emotional outlet.

This group is not considered, nor should it be a substitute for traditional group therapy, however, topics of mental health, emotional wellness, self-advocacy, and healthy relationships will be addressed in a structured and confidential space. Participants may attend as many or as little group meetings as needed. Group norms will be reviewed every week.

For any questions, please email bbeck@accessliving.org.

Join the group via Zoom here

PA Training @Virtual
2023-02-15 12:00 - 14:30, 2023-01-18 12:00 - 14:30, 2023-01-18 08:00 - 17:00
Become a Paid Personal Assistant for People with Disabilities

Access Living provides training for people interested in becoming a paid Personal Assistant for people with disabilities. These trainings are open to members of the public as well as the family members of people with disabilities. If you provide care for a loved one with a disability you may qualify for wages by becoming a registered PA!

Schedule training:

If you would like to be scheduled for a training, contact a Personal Assistant Training Coordinator. Due to COVID-19 safety measures, there are a limited number of seats per training. Contact a Personal Assistant Training Coordinator to reserve your spot.

Please bring the following items to your training session:

Photo ID (Driver’s License or State ID)Social Security CardResume and three professional referencesCertified Nursing Assistant Certificate (if applicable)Face mask that covers both your nose and mouth(Optional) Proof of COVID-19 vaccination

About the Program

PAs are hired directly by a person with disabilities, not by Access Living. This means you will be employed directly by the person you’re hired to support. In many cases, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS/IDRS) serves as the fiscal agent, which means that they will pay you. Access Living is not responsible for payment or regulation of payment.

Our program is for training only. We are not a personal assistant hiring agency.

PA Training, Virtual
2022-12-14 12:00 - 14:30, 2022-11-16 12:00 - 14:30

Inclusive Dance Workshop Series
2022-11-30 18:30 - 20:00, 2022-11-16 18:30 - 20:00, 2022-11-09 18:30 - 20:00, 2022-11-02 18:30 - 20:00, 2022-10-26 18:30 - 20:00, 2022-10-19 18:30 - 20:00, 2022-10-12 18:30 - 20:00, 2022-10-05 18:30 - 20:00 and 1 more date
It’s time for the Fall 2022 Inclusive Dance Workshop Series! The series is a weekly Wednesday gathering of movers of all bodies, minds and experience levels. Each session, different facilitators and guest artists lead the group through an exploration of dance-making tools, dance techniques, and improvisational exercises, from ballet to improvisation to voguing.

The workshops meets weekly on Wednesdays from 6:30 pm – 8 pm central from Wednesday, September 28th to Wednesday, December 7th. There will be no workshop on November 23rd. All Wednesday workshops in the fall will be held remotely via Zoom.

AI captioning will be available for all virtual workshops. Due to the high demand for ASL interpretation during the pandemic, we will do our best to fill requests for ASL Interpretation. We kindly ask you send us your request at least 3 weeks in advance by emailing bbendtsen@accessliving.org

Register Here

This event is brought to you by the Arts and Culture Project at Access Living, an independent living center for people with disabilities, Bodies of Work: Network of Disability Art and Culture and Shirley Ryan Ability Lab.

The contents of this series of workshops were developed under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90RTCP0005). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this series of workshops do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency

PA Training: Virtual
2022-10-12 12:00 - 14:30

Virtual Book Launch: Year of the Tiger by Alice Wong
2022-09-14 19:00 - 20:00
Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life, by Alice Wong

Join Women & Children First and Access Living for a virtual event celebrating Alice Wong’s Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life.

While Alice Wong is recovering from a recent hospitalization, her community will be stepping in to promote her memoir this fall. For this event, Akemi Nishida and Sandie Yi will be joining us on Alice’s behalf.

This event will be held via Zoom Webinar. ASL and live captioning will be provided. If you need additional accommodations, please contact us!

Event Registration

About the Book

This groundbreaking memoir offers a glimpse into an activist’s journey to finding and cultivating community and the continued fight for disability justice, from the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, Alice Wong.

In Chinese culture, the tiger is deeply revered for its confidence, passion, ambition, and ferocity. That same fighting spirit resides in Alice Wong.

Drawing on a collection of original essays, previously published work, conversations, graphics, photos, commissioned art by disabled and Asian American artists, and more, Alice uses her unique talent to share an impressionistic scrapbook of her life as an Asian American disabled activist, community organizer, media maker, and dreamer. From her love of food and pop culture to her unwavering commitment to dismantling systemic ableism, Alice shares her thoughts on creativity, access, power, care, the pandemic, mortality, and the future. As a self-described disabled oracle, Alice traces her origins, tells her story, and creates a space for disabled people to be in conversation with one another and the world. Filled with incisive wit, joy, and rage, Wong’s Year of the Tiger will galvanize readers with big cat energy.

About the Author

Alice Wong is a disabled activist, media maker, and research consultant based in San Francisco, California. She is the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, an online community dedicated to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture. Alice is also the host and co-producer of the Disability Visibility podcast and co-partner in a number of collaborations such as #CripTheVote and Access Is Love. From 2013 to 2015, Alice served as a member of the National Council on Disability, an appointment by President Barack Obama.

About the Hosts

Sandie Yi is an assistant professor in the department of art therapy and counseling and the program director of Disability Culture Activism Lab (DCAL) at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). She has a Ph.D. in Disability Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago; a MA in art therapy from SAIC, and MFA from the University of California Berkeley. She is a disabled artist and disability culture worker whose work focuses on wearable art made for and with self-identified disabled people. As a part of the Disability Art Movement, Yi’s art, Crip Couture explores the issue of intimacy, desire and sexuality of the disabled bodymind. The latest rendition of Crip Couture researches and archives disability narratives by collecting bodily artifacts, including skin flakes and hair. Crip Couture aims to preserve and conserve disability culture and narratives as heritage. Her research interests include Disability Arts and Culture; disability fashion; accessibility design and programming for arts and cultural venues; and social justice-based art therapy.

Akemi NishidaAkemi Nishida uses research, education, and activism to investigate the ways in which ableism are exercised in relation to racism, cis-heteropatriarchy, xenophobia, and other forms of social injustices. She also uses such methods to work towards cross-community solidarity for the liberation and celebration of community power. She is the author of Just Care: Messy Entanglements of Disability, Dependency, and Desire (Temple University Press, 2022) in which she examines public healthcare programs as well as grassroots interdependent care collectives and bed-space activism. She teaches at University of Illinois Chicago, while also advocates for disability justice locally and nationally.

BUY THE BOOK

This event is brought to you by the Arts and Culture Project at Access Living, an independent living center for people with disabilities, and the Disability Culture Activism Lab (DCAL), a teaching lab housed under the department of art therapy and counseling at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. As a platform for creative disability art and advocacy projects, DCAL uses a peer support and collective care model in which disability community members and art therapy graduate students collaborate as disability culture makers for social change.

The contents of this event were developed under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90RTCP0005). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this book event do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

PA Training - Virtual
2022-09-14 12:00 - 14:30
Become a Paid Personal Assistant for People with Disabilities

Access Living provides training for people interested in becoming a paid Personal Assistant for people with disabilities. These trainings are open to members of the public as well as the family members of people with disabilities. If you provide care for a loved one with a disability you may qualify for wages by becoming a registered PA!

Schedule training:

If you would like to be scheduled for a training, contact a Personal Assistant Training Coordinator. Due to COVID-19 safety measures, there are a limited number of seats per training, and session locations may vary. Contact a Personal Assistant Training Coordinator to reserve your spot and confirm your training session location.

Please bring the following items to your training session:

Photo ID (Driver’s License or State ID)Social Security CardResume and three professional referencesCertified Nursing Assistant Certificate (if applicable)Face mask that covers both your nose and mouth(Optional) Proof of COVID-19 vaccination

About the Program

PAs are hired directly by a person with disabilities, not by Access Living. This means you will be employed directly by the person you’re hired to support.In many cases, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS/IDRS) serves as the fiscal agent, which means that they will pay you. Access Living is not responsible for payment or regulation of payment.

Our program is for training only. We are not a personal assistant hiring agency.

Mental Health Peer Support Group
2022-08-22 17:00 - 18:30, 2022-08-08 17:00 - 18:30, 2022-08-01 17:00 - 18:30
Mental Health Support Group is an opportunity for Disabled-identifying people and those exploring their relationship to disability identity to share and hold space for one another in an accessible and virtual setting. During the group, we will share our current concerns, our thoughts/emotions, and offer support to one another through validation, encouragement, and even practical ideas to cope. This group will explore art as an emotional outlet as well.

Register/RSVP for the Group Here

Summer Schedule:

Monday, June 6th : 5:00 – 6:30pmMonday, June 20th : 5:00 – 6:30pmNo Group on July 4thMonday, July 11th : 5:00 – 6:30pm (make-up date)Monday, July 18th : 5:00 – 6:30pmMonday, August 1st : 5:00 – 6:30pmMonday, August 8th : 5:00 – 6:30pm (make-up date)No Group on August 15thMonday, August 22nd : 5:00 – 6:30pm

Bri Beck
Arts & Culture Project Coordinator
bbeck@accessliving.org
(312) 640-2170

View bio

Facilitator:Disabled and disability-affirming art therapist Bri Beck, LCPC, ATR-P is a therapist in private practice and also an Arts and Culture coordinator with Access Living. Bri will facilitate space for peers to support one another and will also offer psychoeducation, resources, and tools from her experience as an art therapist. Bri is experienced in supporting those who experience chronic pain, trauma, anxiety, depression, and stigma.

Access Information:

Due to high demand for live captioning (CART) and ASL interpretation services during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are asking participants to submit access requests 2-3 weeks in advance.

Please reach out to Bri Beck at bbeck@accessliving.org with any questions, concerns or access needs.

This event is brought to you by the Arts and Culture Project at Access Living, an independent living center for people with disabilities, and the Disability Culture Activism Lab (DCAL).

Disability Culture Activism Lab (DCAL) is housed under the department of art therapy and counseling at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. DCAL is a platform for creative advocacy projects and disability allyship training. In partnership with Access Living’s Arts and Culture Project, DCAL provides teaching and hands-on learning guided by disability justice–a framework that examines disability in connection to other forms of oppressions and identities. Using a peer support and collective care model, disability community members and art therapy graduate students collaborate as disability culture makers for social change.

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
