The pandemic was a challenging time for single mother Sherry Henry and her young son, who has autism.
Her son, now 12, always excelled in school, earning A’s and B’s and honor roll recognition, but the pandemic and online learning “put a little hurt on it.”
Henry joined dozens of other parents Tuesday at Ada S. McKinley Community Services to apply for a grant from the city’s new Diverse Learners Recovery Fund, which aims to provide financial assistance to families with disabilities, who were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m blessed to be here,” Henry said. “I have beautiful children. I am a mom of three. … It’s challenging, but this makes it better, to go out and apply for something for our family.”
“Through resources, through programs, through things like this, is what makes our family successful and happy.”
The $5 million fund, announced Tuesday through a partnership between the city and Ada S. McKinley Community Services, will provide one-time grants of $500 to up to 8,000 eligible K-12 students through a lottery system.
“This program is going to impact every single one of our communities because the reality is there’s people with disabilities in every single community here in Chicago, and I can’t think of anything better than that,” said Commissioner Rachel Arfa of the Office for People with Disabilities.
While it is only a one-time grant, Cheryl Smith said the money could help her purchase tools for her 7-year-old son. His school has provided him with noise-canceling headphones to help with overstimulation, but Smith has had to hold off on buying some for him to use at home.
“You have to pick and choose on what’s important for the child, so this will definitely help with certain things that he needs,” Smith said.
Smith was surprised to see Mayor Brandon Johnson and other officials at the community center introducing themselves to parents and learning more about the services parents need.
“It’s not so much about the money, that’s just a bonus, but just to get [word] out about these children so they can be productive, to advocate for them, to try to get them the best care for them so they can grow up as wonderful adults,” Smith said.
Bonita Richmond said the transition into adulthood worries her as the mother of a 17-year-old boy with disabilities who will graduate high school this spring.
“We have to prepare them for the world because we’re not going to always be here,” Richmond said. “I’m hoping that this [fund] could be more than a one-time thing because the disability goes on and on.”
While this funding is still available, Richmond, a special education classroom assistant in Chicago Public Schools, said she will do everything she can to spread the word.
To apply for the Diverse Learners Recovery Fund a family must live in Chicago, have a household income less than 300% of the federal poverty level and have a student in the household with an identified disability. The students must be enrolled in a K-12 school, public or private, and be on either an Individualized Education Plan, a 504 plan, an Individual Support Plan or have a doctor’s note verifying their diagnosis.
Parents and guardians can apply online at www.AdaMOPD.com.
