Newsletter Resources
Introduction
The following are rotating resources that have been featured in the DCC Newsletter for students, staff, faculty, and community members.
To keep up-to-date with the Disability Cultural Center, subscribe to the DCC Newsletter! For any questions, please contact the DCC at dcc@uic.edu or call (312) 355-7050.
Time Sensitive Resources and Opportunities
These resources have deadlines and/or specific relevant important dates coming up!
Being disabled is expensive. We're here to help!
Squeaky Wheel Community Microgrants are one-time short-term relief payments of $250 to help cover small but crucial expenses, including but not limited to medication, accessibility tools, and cell phone bills.
While we wish we could approve all requests, our limited budget means we can only approve approximately (2) microgrants per calendar month. Applicants will be randomly selected from qualified applicants each month. You are welcome to apply once each calendar month, but please do not submit multiple applications in a single month.
Complete this short form to submit your request for a Squeaky Wheel Community Microgrant.
Have you experienced distress or challenges around food or eating?
Adults (18+) with lived experience of distress or challenges related to food or eating are invited to participate in a research study exploring how people understand and experience care in relation to eating-related distress.
This study involves a collage-making activity and a small focus group discussion in a supportive, non-clinical setting.
For the purposes of this project, “eating-related distress” is broadly defined as having experience with complicated, distressing, or challenging relationships with food, eating, weight, and/or body image. No diagnosis or treatment history is required. This study is not focused on dieting, weight loss, or behavior change; The workshop is not a nutrition or weight-loss program.
Access info: The workshop will last 3-4 hours, including breaks. Participants will be compensated. The workshop will take place in late May/ June, depending on participant availability, and Nour will follow up with scheduling details. For access needs or questions, please contact Nour at nourag2@uic.edu!
To find out if you are eligible, please complete a brief eligibility questionnaire here.
February Groups: Registration Open!
Fireweed Collective Groups are virtual spaces where folks can connect, and offer mutual aid with others who share similar life experiences and struggles.
Groups run for a month. They meet once a week online for 60 to 90 minutes. All support groups are sliding scale and are peer-led with the support of Fireweed Collective members.
Groups available include: QTPOC Support Space, Healing Verses: A Healing Justice Approach to Collective Poetry Crafting for POC Folks, Spooned Out & Plugged In, etc.
For further information on each group available & to register, check out the Fireweed Collective website!
Ongoing Resources and Opportunities
Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change (CCUSC)
As the fall semester progresses and many of you and your families are being impacted by the actions of ICE and their abductions, the DCC and all of CCUSC want to underline our ongoing support to you all. Remember that there are multiple pillars on campus to help you stay resolute in completing your studies. As you continue to fight the good fight, know that you are not alone in the urgency you are feeling. Our spaces are open to study, gather in community, and check-in with staff. We are here to support your academic success through the end of the semester and beyond. We will continue to find courage in our solidarity and community, fight injustice, and build spaces of love and care.
Other Resources & Departments
Emergency Funding and Grants
- UIC Office of the Dean of Students: Basic Needs Insecurity Resources
- U&I Care Emergency Fund
- Dean of Students Basic Needs Assistance Form
- Graduate College Emergency Grant
- College of Nursing Emergency Fund
- Jane Addams College of Social Work Student Emergency Fund
- *as of 11/13/25, we have been told that this fund has been suspended due to lack of funds, with pending reopening in the future.
- United Faculty Emergency FAST Fund
- For questions, contact uicuf.fastfund@gmail.com
Food Resources
Disability Inclusive KYR Information
The DCC wants to be sure that we all know that people with medical conditions and disabilities have a right to accommodations, communication access, and appropriate medical care when interacting with law enforcement or being detained. Please help amplify these resources!
- Disability Rights California KYR Accommodations Card: This KYR website has great examples of possible accommodations and a printable card for people to carry with them. We have copies on the DCC lobby table!
- Chicago area activists have created a detailed slide deck about rights relevant to people with disabilities and offer the same printable card as Disability Rights California for people to use. Their slide deck includes local resources as well.
Food Assistance Resources
Explore the full list of resources of on and off campus resources, food search tools, cultural and neighborhood food pantries, and mental health services!
The full PDF is available to view here: Food Assistance Resources at UIC
Know Your Rights Resources
Know Your Rights Cards for people with disabilities from Access Living in English and Spanish
Access Living and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) has created cards specifically for people with disabilities in English and in Spanish. Get prepared and keep safe, with physical disabilities, mental health disabilities, sensory disabilities, neurodivergence, and nonverbal access needs in mind!
Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Red Cards / Tarjetas Rojas Printable in 16 languages
All people in the United States, regardless of immigration status, have certain rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution. The ILRC’s Red Cards help people assert their rights and defend themselves in many situations, such as when ICE agents go to a home.
Chicago Immigration Defense Resources and Training Guide
A collection of Know Your Rights resources including ICE Encounters & Raids, Family Preparedness, Worker’s Rights, KYR Trainings, Resources, and Citizenship Classes. Versión en español disponible.
Disability & Immigration Taskforce of Illinois (DITI) has launched a new project!
The Disability & Immigration Taskforce of Illinois (DITI) is building an archive of stories and media about the harms of federal immigration enforcement on our disabled community.
They are seeking stories from immigrants with disabilities and caregivers!
This can include:
- News articles, social posts, media clips
- A personal story (written, audio, or video)
- Experiences with immigration processes, enforcement, detention, or court
- Times when accommodations were needed, denied, or provided
Research Study: Paid Interview Opportunity
Are you an adult with a disability? Have you applied to Social Security benefits?
Would you like to participate in a research study about experiences with applying and receiving benefits? The purpose of this study is to understand these experiences and how social security policies have impacted you.
Eligibility: Must be 18-65 years old and have applied for Social Security Disability and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Compensation: $45 for a 1-2 hour audio/video recorded Zoom interview
To see if you are eligible and indicate interest in interviewing, complete the Social Security Benefits Study Eligibility Screener form! For questions, email smalon4@uic.edu!
Autoimmune Action & Advocacy at UIC: Anonymous Survey and/or Interview!
Autoimmune Action & Advocacy (AAA) is working towards an initiative to add sharps disposal containers in commonly used bathrooms on and around campus. This would provide meaningful accessibility for the UIC community, as private injection and disposal spaces have been identified by community members as being especially important accessibility targets.
They are asking for feedback through a quick anonymous 5-minute survey, the Improving Campus Support for Autoimmune Disease Management Questionnaire. For individuals who would like to participate in a confidential interview about their experiences and perspectives, AAA is able to provide $25!
Research Study: Autistic Family Engagement in Early Childhood Education
Research Study: Autistic Family Engagement in ECE: Explorations Using Educational Journey Mapping
Are you an Autistic parent of young children? Come participate in a study about your experiences in school and how it relates to how you engage in your child’s early childhood education!
Study Requirements:
- Complete an educational journey map (a type of diagram) on your own
- Participate in a Zoom interview
Are you eligible to participate?
- Must be Autistic (either self-diagnosed or formal diagnosis)
- Must have at least 1 child between the ages of birth to 8 years old
- Must live in IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, OH, WI
Time Requirements:
- Educational journey map: Upto 90 minutes
- Interview: 90 minutes
Benefits:
- Help us create more Autistic-affirming early childhood practices
Contact:
- For more information, or to sign up, please contact Christina Ihnen at ihnen@wisc.edu
Call for Participants: Social Media & Disability Research
Do you use social media to learn about disability?
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin- Madison are conducting a research study about how teachers and other school employees (and those in training) use social media to learn about disability. Participants will complete a short survey (approximately 15-20 minutes) about their social media usage related to disability, and may be asked to do a follow up media artifact collection activity and interview.
Eligible participants meet the following criteria:
- Currently working in an educational setting from early childhood- higher education (including pre-service/student teachers and other professionals in training)
- Engage (see, like, share, create, etc!) with disability content on social media on at least three days per week
If you meet the inclusion criteria and are interested in participation, click here to be taken to the survey.
To learn more about the study, please contact Gabriela Puma at gpuma@wisc.edu. Participants will receive resources about social media accounts related to disability activism as a thank you for participating.
This study has been approved by the University of Wisconsin- Madison’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) as Minimal Risk Research.
ICIRR Family Support Network Hotline Internship
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) has an undergraduate internship opportunity with their Family Support Network Hotline! This internship offers students the chance to make a real impact by helping connect immigrant families to critical services, such as: Legal Assistance, Healthcare Referrals, Public Benefits, and Citizenship and DACA workshops.
Internship Details:
- Location: Hybrid/Remote (with option to work from downtown office)
- Hours: 10-25 hours per week (flexible scheduling)
- Compensation: Unpaid; College credit may be available
- Languages: The hotline operates in English and Spanish daily, with support in 8 additional languages on weekdays
- Availability: The hotline runs 7 days a week from 6am-9pm. Shifts are flexible.
For full internship details and further information, see the ICIRR internship listing here.
Applications and inquiries can be directed to fsn@icirr.org to Xochitl Esparza.
Disability Justice in Nursing Education and Practice
Are you a multiply marginalized disabled nurse, nursing student, nurse educator, or nurse adjacent person? Are you committed to disability justice-focused political education, scholarship, organizing, art-making, mutual aid, and activism in nursing?
DNNSC is a nursing disability justice scholar-activist organization that focuses on disability justice political education, scholarship development, systems reimagination, subversive art-making, community-building, and mutual aid. We believe in the interconnectedness of material oppressions (ableism, racism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia, ageism, fatphobia, etc.) and the power in cross-movement solidarity (disability justice working in partnership with justice movements that work toward Black liberation, Palestinian liberation, police and carceral abolition, reparations, fat liberation, queer and trans liberation, reproductive justice, indigenous sovereignty, climate justice, long covid justice, and immigration justice) through critical reflections on white supremacy, colonialism, and capitalism. We will engage in the works of critical disability scholars and disability justice activists including Akemi Nishida, Jasbir Puar, Margaret Price, Alison Kafer, Alice Wong, and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarsinha, among others.
If you are interested in joining the collective, please fill out the Disabled Nurse National Solidarity Collective interest form!
For any questions, please reach out to DisabledNurse.NSC@gmail.com!
UIC Connections with IL Department of Rehabilitation Services
UIC is strengthening our connection with the Illinois Department of Human Rehabilitation Services (DHS/DRS), and there are now DRS Counselors dedicated specifically to serving UIC students!
This means that UIC students will have a direct link to a DRS counselor for registration and support!
New to the idea of DRS? DRS is the state’s lead agency serving persons with disabilities. DRS counselors work one-on-one with individuals who have disabilities and their families to empower them to reach their employment, education, and independent living goals. This means they can provide resources and support well beyond what UIC DRC can offer! Previous UIC students working with DRS have been approved for tuition assistance, purchase of technology, assistance paying for personal care attendants, assistance finding employment and more!
If you are interested in speaking to a UIC-dedicated DRS counselor to learn more, your first step is to complete a referral form:
• Complete the DRS Referral Form (also available at short URL: go.uic.edu/DRSForm)
• Under the item “How did the applicant learn about DRS? (Referral Source)” write in “UIC DRC”
• Save the form and send to malisha.webber@illinois.gov as an attachment
• Someone from DRS will follow up with you with next steps!
Note: Unfortunately, at this time, DRS counseling is only available for individuals with SSN numbers. Students with questions may contact malisah.webber@illinois.gov.