Advocacy
Community Organizing and Policy
At Access Living, our youth and education disability advocacy includes community organizing and policy work. This work focuses on:
Meaningful transitions from high school to postsecondary options -- whether work or school: Access Living Youth Community Organizing Groups, such as Advance Youth Leadership Power and The Empowered Fe-Fes, advocate for coordination between schools, community partners and businesses to empower young people with disabilities with disability history and culture, increase awareness about people with disabilities, increase the education and employment rates of young people with disabilities, and promote basic life skills independence.
Youth leadership development: Groups such as Advance Youth Leadership Power teach our youth about disability history, community pride and advocacy traditions, and taking the lead on social change. Our youth learn through one-on-one mentoring and peer group opportunities.
Programmatic and physical access to education in the Chicago Public Schools: Access Living’s Education Policy Work ensures that that CPS’ more than 50,000 students with disabilities, their families and teachers work together to achieve meaningful education outcomes on an equal basis with non-disabled students, with solid postsecondary preparation.
Our young people have the ability to exercise the civil rights won by previous generations of their peers. With our community education, organizing and policy/legislative efforts, Access Living is a powerful action-oriented setting for the personal growth and self-advocacy of our young people with disabilities throughout Chicago.
