Organization
Access Living
Chicago's disability-led Center for Independent Living, providing peer support, housing advocacy, civil rights enforcement, and community-based services for disabled Chicagoans since 1980.
About
Access Living was founded in 1980 and is designated as a Center for Independent Living (CIL) for the Chicago area. It is governed and staffed by a majority of people with disabilities, making it an authentically disabled-led organisation committed to self-determination and full community inclusion.
What They Do
Access Living delivers five core independent living services: peer support, independent living skills training, individual and systemic advocacy, information and referrals, and transition services (from institutions to community, and from youth to adulthood). The organisation also pursues civil rights enforcement, housing advocacy, and youth programming across Chicago.
Who They Serve
Access Living serves disabled Chicagoans across the full spectrum of disability — physical, sensory, cognitive, and psychiatric — at no cost. Services are rooted in the philosophy that disabled people should lead and direct their own lives.
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