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The JJs List Blog

Disability Advocate Profile: Leroy F. Moore Jr.

By Kamaria Kali, Administrative and Development Assistant at Search Inc.

February is Black History Month, honoring generations of Black people in America who persevered through adversity and their important contributions. At Search and JJ’s List, we recognized Black History Month in many ways. One way we recognized…

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Action Alert: Stop the Elimination of Direct Support Professional Hours

Update as of 1/25/2024: Thanks to your advocacy, the Illinois Department of Human Services – Developmental Disabilities Division (DHS-DDD) has decided not to move forward with funding cuts to Direct Support Professional hours, and will keep the current rate reimbursement structure until July 1, 2024….

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JJ’s List 2023 Recap

Looking back on this past year, our JJ’s List team is so grateful for all that we have accomplished. Thank all of our amazing partners who made this year’s successes possible! Our Disability Awareness Trainings trained many organizations throughout Chicagoland in 2023, including the Museum…

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Summer Highlights

Ignite, one of our Search Day programs, went on many adventures this summer. They explored the Chicagoland area by going to plays, movies, restaurants, beaches and more. They are excited to share their experience and they had so much fun! Read on to hear more…

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Navigating the Changing Landscape of I/DD Services with Greg Petersen

Within the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) sector, the last few years have witnessed a surge of transformative changes in Illinois. This month, our team had the pleasure of interviewing Greg Petersen, Chief Executive Officer of Keystone Alliance, to gain valuable insights into the recent…

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Pride Month: Reflection, Connection, and Celebration!

By Beth Ann Kimura

Pride month is bittersweet for LGBTQIA+ community. It is a time of rememberance for what occurred during the Stonewall riots and discrimation that our community has faced. It is a time to recognize the pain and limitations our community continues to face….

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Celebrating Juneteenth at Search

By Princess Porter

June 19, 1865 commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. Although slavery is not discussed in history classes, being able to educate the clients about a significant historical event was exciting.

Surprisingly, Juneteenth is not as well-known as the Fourth of July…

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Interview with Jess F.

 The ComEd Energy Force program is the country’s first program that empowers people with developmental disabilities to teach others about solar options and energy-saving tips. The program began in 2012 with eight nonprofits with which ComEd had established relationships.

At that time, the focus was peer-to-peer…

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Catch Up with Our Disability Awareness Players

This month, we caught up with our Disability Awareness Players. We asked them about accessibility in their communities, recent achievements and about their hobbies. Read on to learn more!

How have public places, in general, more become accessible over the years?

Brian: Over the years, public places… Read More >

 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Reflections and Goals

We asked our participants throughout our Adult Learning Programs to reflect on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and new things that they would like to learn in 2023.

Read their responses below!

What does Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) mean to you?

Pam: Diversity means people of different…

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