CEL builds on efforts to fight isolation during pandemic
As the nation honors Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month throughout March, the Chicago area's one-of-a-kind Center for Enriched Living is celebrating its impact over the past year, while continuing to build awareness of the need for inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Throughout the pandemic, CEL was able to provide needed services to its members with IDD by moving programs online so they could learn and socialize from home. CEL even provided its members with a virtual Career Academy and continued to partner with local businesses to help people find work.
"People with IDD are already so isolated in many cases, so the pandemic was an especially lonely and scary time for them," said Harriet Levy, CEO of CEL.
"Our goal was to continue providing the social connections and growth that they depend on CEL for even in the best of times."
Now CEL is launching plans to regain its pre-COVID momentum and preparing for the return of more in-person programming for its members. CEL's state-of-the-art Universally-Designed center in suburban Riverwoods recently reopened for the REACH Adult Day Program, as well as evening and weekend social programs.
Other enrichment and educational offerings are expected to follow soon. In addition, CEL leadership has launched a "Bounce Forward" rebuilding plan to "recapture membership lost during the pandemic and come back stronger than ever," according to Levy.
CEL has a 53-year history of providing life-changing opportunities for people with IDD. The organization works to enable them to be fully included in the community, achieve personal success and enjoy a good quality of life.
CEL does this by providing social enrichment, innovative day programs and community-based employment opportunities that are often lacking for people with IDD. The majority of programs take place at the Riverwoods facility, which, prior to the pandemic, was serving hundreds of teens to seniors from more than 50 Chicagoland communities.
When the shutdowns began, CEL acted quickly to move programs online, including art classes, dance parties, yoga, book club, Coffee Talk and virtual adventures around the world. CEL is normally membership based, but for several months the programs were offered for free so everyone could take advantage.
Levy says that, over the past year, there has been great concern about people with IDD being even more ignored and left behind than they already are.
"At CEL, we do everything we can to fight for equal opportunities so everyone, regardless of ability, can have personal fulfillment and a good quality of life. But there is still a long way to go," she said, adding that the situation is especially challenging in Illinois, which ranks 48th in the nation for support for adults with IDD.
To demonstrate the importance of providing opportunities for people with IDD, CEL invited the community to join virtual open houses during Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.
To register to attend a virtual program with CEL members, contact Niki Bartosiak at niki@CenterforEnrichedLiving.org or (847) 315-9916.
CEL is also planning its popular Chefs' Night for Monday, June 28. The event, which once again has been transformed into a virtual format, is CEL's biggest fundraiser and normally attracts hundreds of supporters each spring. It will look different again this year, but it will still include stories of CEL members and their families and demonstrations from chefs and mixologists.
Learn more at www.centerforenrichedliving.org/events/chefs-night.
In addition, CEL is sponsoring the raffle of a Ford Bronco or $30,000 cash. Tickets, which are available at www.centerforenrichedliving.org/car-raffle, are one for $100 or three for $275, and only 1,299 will be sold. The grand prize drawing takes place at Chefs' Night.
For more information about the Center for Enriched Living, visit www.CenterforEnrichedliving.org.
• To submit Your news, go to dailyherald.com/share.