On October 15, the MOPD All Access Podcast had its second live show. For this episode, we welcomed content creators and disability advocates Yare Tua and Natasha Caudill to take the stage for a conversation.

Yare and Natasha are Chicago-based content creators who talk about their disabilities in content they make for YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and more. As part of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Yare and Natasha talked about their own career paths, using their platforms, and what advice they might have for anyone interested in creating content.

Stream podcast audio at mopdallaccess.podbean.com or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow MOPD at mopdchicago on X, Facebook, Instagram and connect with us on LinkedIn.

This podcast was recorded on October 15, 2025 at Central West Community Center, 2102 West Ogden Avenue.

In 2024, the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities launched a new project to help people in Chicago with disabilities from gun and community violence. At our Gun Violence Awareness event this past June, gun and community violence survivors and anti-violence advocates shared their powerful stories and MOPD was able to highlight some of the community-based organizations who are working with survivors every day.

On this episode of the MOPD All Access Podcast, we share part of that conversation, but first, Christina and Lauren talk to Porcia Seals, the coordinator of the Disabled Survivors of Gun and Community Violence Project, and Clare Stanhope, training officer, about their experiences working on the project.

At the end of the episode, high school student Sky Sims from Young Authors Chicago shares an original poem she wrote called “Grief is a Windy City.”

Learn more about MOPD’s Disabled Survivors of Gun and Community Violence Project here: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/mopd/supp_info/gun-violence-disability-chicago.html

Stream podcast audio at mopdallaccess.podbean.com or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow MOPD at mopdchicago on X, Facebook, Instagram and connect with us on LinkedIn.

One of MOPD’s best known programs is the Home Modification program, or HomeMod, which makes accessibility updates to the homes of people with disabilities and older adults. Ramps, lifts and wider doorways can help someone get in or out of their house or apartment. Accessible kitchens and bathrooms can adapt an existing home to make it easier to use.

2025 marks the 25th anniversary of the HomeMod program, which also just worked with its 2,000th client!

This month, the MOPD All Access Podcast spotlights this program and its major milestone. Program Director Mark Nobriga and Disability Specialist Yazmeen Ramirez talk about how this program came to be and how it allows Chicago residents with disabilities to live independently.

Stream podcast audio at mopdallaccess.podbean.com or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow MOPD at mopdchicago on X, Facebook, Instagram and connect with us on LinkedIn.