Chicago Home Care Resources
Mother’s Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes
Mothers’ Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes provides safe, pasteurized donor human milk to premature and critically ill babies.
Milk Bank WGL also supports moms who donate milk after loss and distributes reduced-cost or free donor milk to chronically ill middle and low-income children.
This non-profit organization serves over 50 hospitals and hundreds of families throughout Illinois and Wisconsin.
JCFS Chicago’s Respite Program
JCFS Chicago’s Respite Program provides support to families caring for children and youth with special needs.
Its program “takes a supportive, nurturing and therapeutic approach, combined with fun, social and recreational activities, while providing a well-deserved break for parents.”
For more information, visit the JCFS website, email ask@jcfs.org or call toll-free at (855) ASK-JCFS (275-5237).
It’s easy to view self-care as a low priority when your child is diagnosed with a serious illness. Your role as a parent and parenting partner has unexpectedly changed. The child has urgent and complex medical needs; you must manage appointments and service providers, and learn new information about the disease and medical treatment—all while tending to the needs of other family members, work and/or other responsibilities.
The Courageous Parents Network provides this guide to help parents make time and find ways to take care of themselves.
Illinois Computer Equity Network
Illinois has launched a statewide network that will receive, refurbish and redistribute used computers to those in need.
This initiative responds to the 1.1 million Illinois households currently without computers and aims to bridge the digital divide for those without internet access to help improve connectivity essential for remote learning, work from home, telemedicine, and other requirements of everyday life.
The project is a partnership of the state of Illinois, PCs for People and various community partners.
To be eligible, residents must be below 200 percent of the poverty level or enrolled in income-based government assistance programs, such as free or reduced school lunch, Medicaid or SNAP.
Individuals can register for upcoming distribution events in their area to receive a computer, internet or both.
Visit www.pcsforpeople.org/illinois/ or call (618) 215-3787 for more information.
Vaccine Appointment Call Center
The Illinois Department of Public Health has launched the Vaccine Appointment Call Center to help people who do not have access to or who have difficulty navigating online services in making appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The toll-free Vaccine Appointment Call Center phone number is (833) 621-1284 and can take TTY calls.
The call center is open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to midnight. The call center has English and Spanish-speaking call agents with the availability for translation into other languages.
Call agents will help individuals who do have access to online services navigate the various registration sites. However, if the individual does not have access to online services or is unable to navigate the site, the agent will make an appointment on their behalf.
Bilingual Parents Video Library
The Illinois Resource Center has put together a library of videos for bilingual parents with videos in French, Tagalog, Urdu, Arabic, Polish, Spanish and English.
Each video showcases subjects and information relevant to parents, caretakers and community members, such as the role of Bilingual Parent Advisory Committees, financial aid for college, tenant rights, multilingual student rights and more.
Vaccine Considerations for People with Disabilities
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides this information on what people with disabilities and their care providers need to know about the COVID-19, flu and respiratory virus vaccines.
Rare Caregiver Respite Program
The National Organization for Rare Disorders’ (NORD) Respite Program is for caregivers (parent, spouse, family member or significant other) of a child or adult diagnosed with a rare disorder.
The Respite Program provides financial assistance to enable the caregiver a break to attend a conference, event or simply have an afternoon or evening away from caregiving. Financial assistance will be granted up to $500 annually for those who qualify. Awards may be spread throughout the year or in a single-use.
For more information about this program, contact NORD at (203) 616-4328 or email CaregiverRespite@rarediseases.org.
Reading a Student’s IEP – Special Education Under the IDEA
Equip for Equality provides this guide to help understand the purpose of an individualized education program (IEP), how to read one, rules to know, special education rights, Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requirements and more.
Entry Point for Suburban Cook County
Entry Point’s purpose is to ensure all people experiencing homelessness or who are at-risk of homelessness have fair and equal access to housing in suburban Cook County.
Individuals and families experiencing homelessness or who are at-risk of homelessness can access Entry Point throughout the region. Trained Entry Point staff at access locations work with households to understand their strengths and needs using a standardized assessment. Entry Point uses HUD homeless assistance eligibility guidelines and uniform prioritization policies to refer people to the right programs based on their preferences and levels of need.
Entry Point also helps suburban Cook County make the best matches between homeless assistance resources and the people who need them most.