On Saturday, October 15, the Fluid Events Center will welcome the 10th Annual Disability Resource Expo. The event, which takes place from 9 a.m.–2 p.m., connects community members to local resources, services, and technologies for people with disabilities. This year’s Expo features nearly 100 booths and exhibitors and activities for both children and adults.
The Expo began in 2007 with the goal of informing people about the resources for people with disabilities in Champaign County. According to Barbara Bressner, the event’s coordinator, the Champaign County Developmental Services Board planned the first iteration of the Expo.
“We are a resource-rich community, but people who need resources don’t know always know about them or how to access them,” said Bressner. “We highlight resources for people with disabilities that will help them lead the most self-sufficient lives possible.”
The Expo will feature exhibitions by businesses and organizations that address physical disabilities, intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental illness, hearing and visual impairments, elderly services, substance abuse services, refugee services, and more. In particular, this year’s Expo features new technologies, such as a robotic arm that also works as a feeding system and a “freedom track,” which is a motorized system that helps a mobilized chair work as an off-road vehicle.
Bressner emphasized that Champaign County has a lot to offer for people with disabilities.
“We have both a Mental Health Board and a Developmental Disabilities Board,” she pointed out. “That’s pretty unique. And both of those boards work so that services can stay here in our community.”
The demand for disability services is certainly in place. Bressner noted that in the Expo’s ten years, it has nearly doubled in size. In 2007, the event began with roughly 50 exhibitors at the Lincoln Square Mall.
“We outgrew that space,” Bressner laughed. This year, she expects between 1,500-2,000 people will stop by the event.
One attraction of the Expo is that it also features a wide variety of activities and entertainment. The Champaign-Urbana Theater Company and The Penguin Project, which is a performing arts program for children with special needs, will be presenting scenes from Aladdin, Jr. Participants in the First Gig Rock Rock N’ Roll Camp for Kids will perform. And a classical pianist and jazz & Latin band will also join in later in the day.
An “Artistic Expression” room will also be on site, which will show off the creations of artists including photographers, painters, and jewelry makers.
Many aspects of the Expo are interactive. Bressner described an interactive game about “employment first success stories” in which ten pictures of individuals working will be hidden in different exhibition booths. “Kids will search for pictures of individuals at their place of employment and be able to see what they do, how they do it, and the success they have in their lives,” said Bressner. “As they search, they will be introduced to the vendors.”
Although many of the Expo’s activities and entertainment are geared toward families and children, Bressner emphasized that the event is for everyone. And that includes people who have attended in previous years. Over the past ten years, the Expo has grown and changed in response to exhibitor and participant feedback, and new exhibitors attend each year.
“We want to change things up every year,” said Bressner. “Some exhibitors are still the same, but there will be lots of new faces as well. We never want things to be same old, same old.”
The Disability Resource Expo takes place on Saturday, October 15 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Fluid Events Center in Champaign. Find them on Facebook for more information and a full schedule of the day’s activities.