City urges parents of students with disabilities to apply for $500 grants before applications close Friday

The city of Chicago is urging parents of students with disabilities to apply for the Diverse Learners Recovery Fund before applications close Friday.

The $5 million fund, launched earlier this year through a partnership with the city and Ada S. McKinley Community Service , aims to provide financial assistance to families with disabilities, who were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fund provides one-time grants of $500 to up to 8,000 eligible K-12 students through a lottery system. Families with two eligible students may receive grants of up to $1,000.

"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," Commissioner Rachel Arfa of the Office for People with Disabilities, said in April when the fund was announced.

There are no restrictions on how the grant can be used.

One parent told the Sun-Times she would use the funds to buy her son noise-cancelling headphones, to help with overstimulation.

Applications for the Diverse Learners Recovery Fund close on Nov. 15.

To apply, 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.