Partners
We have partnerships with many community organizations in Chicago that support our teaching, research and scholarship, and service missions.
Below is a partial list of our most active partners.
Community partnerships Heading link
55th & Pulaski Health Collaborative
The UI Health 55th & Pulaski Health Collaborative provides comprehensive healthcare services for the residents of Chicago’s Gage Park and West Elsdon communities. By increasing access to specialty care, care coordination, urgent care, behavioral health, dental care, women’s health, and advanced diagnostics, the Health Collaborative supports patients in getting the care they need, while providing health education assisting with financial and social needs to ensure adequate support through the care journey.
Access Living, the Chicago Center for Independent Living, is a disability advocacy organization that is run by people with disabilities. They provide peer support and resources to people with a variety of disabilities and engage in disability advocacy.
Bonaventure House is a transitional living facility for adults with HIV or AIDS, and who were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. It serves as a resource center to assist up to 35 residents in transitioning to independent living. Many residents are in recovery and have a history of addiction.
Chinese American Service League connects families and individuals in the greater Chicago Chinese community with the vital support they need, such as ensuring our seniors live full and independent lives with dignity.
Clearbrook empowers adults and children with intellectual/developmental disabilities to live their fullest lives possible. Clearbrook residential services include smaller homes for up to eight people. Services and supports are matched to the residents based on their choice and individual needs.
El Valor serves adults with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities in community group homes and a day program. The day program includes activity groups as well as a computer lab and fitness activities. There is also a healthy lifestyles program run by the UIC OT department.
Easterseals Academy Chicago is a school and day program just south of the UIC campus. It provides educational programs for children with an autism spectrum disorder, emotional disability, developmental delay or intellectual disability.
Esperanza Community Services is a community center for children and adults with disabilities. It includes a day program for adults and a school serving children and young adults with a variety of moderate to severe developmental disabilities, primarily autism, as well as behavior needs. The school is a private, therapeutic day school and provides a bilingual Spanish-English environment.
Eyas Landing is an evidence-based and family centered therapeutic clinic for children and adolescents with developmental disabilities. Eyas Landing is affiliated with Bluebird Day School, which is an intensive pediatric therapeutic preschool and kindergarten setting.
Family Rescue is dedicated to eliminating domestic violence in the Chicago community by providing comprehensive support services and shelter to victims of domestic violence, particularly abused women and their children, engaging in advocacy to promote future system change, and encouraging prevention through community education.
Gigi’s Playhouse supports both children and adults with Down syndrome. GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago offers a variety of educational and therapeutic programs to meet the needs and provide foundational learning opportunities for individuals with Down syndrome, their families and the community.
Grupo SALTO is a non-profit organization that supports Spanish-speaking families who have children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Resources offered include training, education, information, and family support groups.
Just Roots Chicago works in collaboration with communities to develop access to local, sustainably grown food through education, farming and community building. They work with local communities to grow culturally relevant food with and for the community through sustainable practices. Educational programming aims to equip participants with the skills and resources to grow food sustainably and work towards leading a healthier life.
Lifeline to Hope Inc. is a Chicago-area community organization that focuses on building community capacity through empowering low-to-moderate income minority families with an emphasis on public safety through anti-violence efforts and youth engagement.
MADO Healthcare provides residential care and evidence-based services for adults who live with a serious mental illness. MADO provides support for individuals to enhance independent living skills, facilitate community integration, and transition to community living.
Marjorie Kovler Center helps transform the lives of refugees recovering from the complex consequences of politically-sanctioned torture. Kovler Center provides medical, mental health, and social services as well as a bi-monthly cooking group for survivors, gardening, and computer and English classes.
Mary Crane Center is dedicated to the comprehensive early development of children and to supporting their families through a variety of programs. Our goal is to provide quality education in a safe and diverse environment and to strengthen the bonds between children and their families.
Midwest Brain Injury Clubhouse (MBIC) provides lifelong community based rehabilitative support to persons affected by brain injury and stroke. MBIC is a unique place where individuals can come to relearn skills through the work of the day. For many, the Clubhouse is the next step in transitioning from a brain-injured patient back into the real world.
Metropolitan Asian Family Services provides an array of social services to immigrants from South Asia including but not limited to India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh with a focus on facilitating community participation and social integration.
Movement Revolution. Their philosophy is that everyone with a neurological condition has the opportunity to significantly benefit from specialized exercise and wellness programs. Their specialized staff, programs and facilities foster a community of support, hope, and strength through exercise, education, and social engagement.
Project H.O.O.D. provides mentorship, training, and community for residents of Woodlawn and Englewood. They care for our neighbors through services that empower. Their goal to end the cycle of poverty, violence, and incarceration drives impacts their community. They are driven by the belief that all people hold the power to transform their own lives and become peacemakers, leaders, and entrepreneurs.
Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago Repairing homes, revitalizing communities, rebuilding lives. Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago improves homes and neighborhoods of people in need so they may continue to live in warmth, safety and comfort. They work in partnership with neighbors, community leaders, trade unions, service clubs, companies, and volunteers to improve Chicagoland homes and neighborhoods.
ReVive Center for Housing and Healing is committed to end homelessness and provide affordable housing for a better Chicago. They provide supportive housing and services for those chronically homeless individuals and families who also have a HUD-defined disability.
Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital is a freestanding, not-for-profit rehabilitation hospital in the heart of Chicago’s West Side. Part of Sinai Chicago’s network of hospitals and clinics, Schwab focuses exclusively on intensive rehabilitation, helping those who live in our community return to healthier, more independent lives.
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab is the largest freestanding rehabilitation hospital in the United States and first “translational” research hospital in which clinicians, scientists, innovators and technologists work together in the same space. Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), is the global leader in physical medicine and rehabilitation for adults and children with the most severe, complex conditions — from traumatic brain and spinal cord injury to stroke, amputation and cancer-related impairment.
South Asian American Policy & Research Institute (SAAPRI) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that focuses on research, advocacy, and policy recommendations to address unmet needs of South Asian Americans in the Midwest.
Thresholds is a community mental health agency that fights to transform the lives of people living with mental illnesses and substance use disorders. They offer opportunities for housing, employment, and recovery.
UIC Child and Family Development Center (CFDC) Early Intervention Program offers coordinated interdisciplinary services in early intervention and early education. CFDC promotes positive outcomes for young children and their families through play-based evaluation and therapy services; routine-based interventions; and family support, education and training.
UIC Neighborhood Center in Auburn Gresham is part of the Auburn Gresham Healthy Lifestyle Hub. The center aims to address disparities in the community through workshops, legal services, and health education and research.
University of Chicago Medicine, Occupational Therapy provides occupational therapy services as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide comprehensive rehabilitation and support services in a patient-centered environment with individualized therapy treatment for the following services: rehabilitative acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient services, and home care therapy & rehabilitation.
University of Illinois Chicago, Wellness Center supports student learning, academic success, and retention by providing wellness services that promote healthy attitudes and behaviors, empower students to make informed choices, and enhance holistic well-being.
University of Illinois Children’s Center provides early childhood education to the preschool children of UIC students, faculty, and staff and neighboring community.
UI Health Pediatrics delivers compassionate, personalized care to children of all ages, from infancy into young adulthood.
Wellness House provides a variety of programs and services to better the lives of people living with cancer and the people close to them. They emphasize a whole-person approach to healing that takes all aspects of living with cancer into account — from the physical to the emotional, and everything in between.