July 09, 2026

We at Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC) get many calls and questions about the availability of mental and behavioral health services and how to access those.

Our friends at Promise Healthcare offer a variety of Mental/Behavioral health services that are affordable, and accessible in a timely way.

We want to share information with you about their services, and how to access those.

Promise Healthcare Mental/Behavioral Health Services: Promise Healthcare offers the following services:

• Psychiatric care, including with psychiatric nurse practitioners
• Individual Counseling
• Group Therapy
• Family Therapy
• Crisis Intervention
• Substance Abuse Counseling
• Case Management

Promise Healthcare’s Behavioral Health Groups include:

• Addiction Recovery
• Mothers Pregnancy Group
• Fathers Group
• Anger Management
• Life Transitions
• LGBTQ+
• Domestic Violence
• Sexual Abuse

READ ON!

June 16, 2026

One of the greatest hardships that someone can face is a health event that leads to a disabling condition that leads to an inability to work, which, in turn leads to a loss of income. If that disabling condition is long-term, a person should be able to apply for Disability benefits and start receiving monthly income.

But getting approved for Disability benefits in the State of Illinois is notoriously difficult:

• High initial denials: Approximately 65-70% of initial applications in Illinois are denied, requiring applicants to go through the lengthy appeals process;
• Long wait time: Illinois is facing severe backlogs, with some studies ranking Illinois at the bottom of the 8 states with the worst processing times, sometimes exceeding 200 days for initial decisions;
• Long waits for the last level of appeals with an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ): Once a person’s disability application has been denied at the appeals stages, the last appeal is with an ALJ, but people may have to wait for 12-18 months for their ALJ hearing.

These statistics are grim. The people who are waiting for disability benefits – sometimes waiting years for their cases to wind their way through the process – also have no income for their living expenses. Many people end up in dire situations where they are losing their housing, selling off possessions to survive, and becoming homeless. Many of us are only one illness, injury, or accident away from needing disability benefits.

CCHCC is here to help our community members get through the Disability application process as smoothly as possible, and as quickly as possible – and we are good at it! Over the years, we have been able to build a team of Disability Application Specialists who are available to serve anyone in Champaign County. And, as with all of our other services, our Disability Application Services are free!

And, we are very happy to announce that one of our Disability Application Specialists is now an attorney! Babatunde Amao, CCHCC’s Director of Health & Disability Policy, is now a licensed attorney in the State of Illinois. As such, Babatunde is able to represent his disability clients at the ALJ level. In a few short months, Babatunde has already received three approvals from the ALJ level, including one case involving a child!

READ ON!

April 30, 2026

Our friends and neighbors who depend on SNAP (food stamps) are entering a difficult period starting tomorrow, Friday, May 1, 2026, as a result of new “work requirements” for SNAP benefits.

SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

CCHCC is here to help Champaign County residents to maintain their benefits! Please read below for important information, and see the link to a WCIA TV news story featuring CCHCC’s Chris Garcia discussing exemptions to the SNAP work requirements.

What do SNAP beneficiaries in Illinois need to know?
On July 4, 2024, Trump signed a budget bill that included massive changes to SNAP, and those changes take effect tomorrow, on Friday, May 1, 2026.

The Trump Administration is now imposing “work requirements” for SNAP beneficiaries. At CCHCC, we refer to these as “paperwork requirements” because the reality is that most SNAP beneficiaries who are able to work, are already doing so. It is important to remember that many low-wage jobs or part-time jobs do not pay enough for people to be able to afford nutritious food.

Still, complying with the new documentation requirements can be challenging. CCHCC can help!

Further below, we outline the circumstances under which someone can be exempt from the new requirements.

But first, some facts.
Governor JB Pritzker and IL Department of Human Services recently held a press conference to remind Illinois residents about the new SNAP requirements. Here are some key points from that press conference:

– Due to Trump’s budget bill, around 150,000 Illinoisans are at risk of losing food assistance beginning May 1, 2026.

– Illinoisans on SNAP are encouraged to use the state’s screening tool to check their status: https://aberp.illinois.gov/screener/ABAWD?lang=EN

–  The State of Illinois has resources for work and volunteer opportunities through Job Ready IL and Serve IL: https://www.dhs.state.il.us/?item=177800

To learn more, read the full press release: https://gov-pritzker-newsroom.prezly.com/trump…

Who is eligible for a Work Requirements Exemption?
Anyone who can answer YES to ANY of the questions below, and provide proof if asked to do so, is considered “Exempt” from the SNAP Work Requirements:

READ ON!