Family Community Resource Center(FCRC)-Presented by Jennifer Bittle of FCRC March 10, 2015

This month Jennifer Bittle presented on the Family Community Resource Center (FCRC). This program was established in 2004 and provides advocacy for families who are involved with DCFS. They do this by informing clients of their rights, offer support, resources, and help to collaborate with service providers like Children’s Home & Aid and others. They are able to work with intact and non-intact families. Families are often referred by DCFS, public defenders, and community agencies. All services are funded through DCFS.

Taken from their website (2011), “The Family Community Resource Center strives to preserve the structural and operational integrity of families. As a link between support networks and troubled families, FCRC offers a number of services and educational opportunities to help promote and maintain a safe home environment for children… All programs and services are free of charge.”

They are able to:

  • Work with the legal system to ensure that proper assessments are completed and aspects of domestic violence are reexamined
  • Attend meetings and court hearings and serve as a liaison between the family and IDCFS.
  • Complete home visits that help with teachable moments with parenting
  • Assist families and clients to think outside of the box
  • Help parents seek the root of problems
  • Provide wrap around services to help establish positive support systems.
  • As many parents don’t trust DCFS/caseworkers, FCRC is able to help parents understand why children were taken into care
  • Help parents process grief, loss, and acceptance of the situation
  • Provides community outreach to help educate the community and conducts sensitivity training to partnering agencies and community partners

To learn more about the Family Community Resource Center and how they can help, please visit their webpage. To see all of the programs that they off please visit their programs and services page.

To contact the Family Community Resource Center you can reach them by phone at (309)821-1616. The office is located at 509 W. Washington St. Bloomington, IL.

AGENCY UPDATES FEBRUARY 10, 2015

Mobile Health Project (Home Sweet Home Ministries, Community Health Care Clinic, and McLean County Health Department) has a new mobile health care truck that is fully equipped to meet your needs!

You must meet the following qualifications:

  • Must be 18 years old or older
  • Must not be enrolled in health insurance, or do not have the ability to pay for coverage or copays
  • Must be willing to complete intake paperwork

This facility functions on a walk-in basis and is available for a variety of healthcare services including physicals, check-ups, medication, and much more!

There is a clinic at Home Sweet Home Ministries every 3rd Monday of the month.

There is also a clinic at St. Vincent de Paul every other 4th Monday of the Month.

Stop in during clinic days and get your healthcare needs met!

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Salvation Army has a transitional housing (4 bedroom) unit open. Referrals are being accepted for families who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. Please contact Gaby Bontea at (309) 829-9476 for more information.

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Marcfirst

  • SPICE has partnered with Target to offer a Story Hour one Friday a month at SPICE located at 1606 Hunt Drive, Normal, IL. Contact Audrey at (309)452-0069 ext 260 or at audreyhensley@marcfirst.org to RSVP today!
    • March 20, 2015
    • April 17, 2015
    • May 15, 2015
    • June 19, 2015
    • July 17, 2015
    • August 21, 2015
    • September 18, 2015
  • SPICE has teamed with Starplex Cinemas to offer Sensory Friendly Screenings the 2nd Saturday of the month at 10:00a.m. These films have adjusted lighting and sound. (Free child admission with $6 adult ticket purchase)
    • The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, March 14, 2015

Please attend our next meeting on March 10, 2015 for more exciting agency updates and to learn more about the community!

BRIDGE OF HOPE–Presented by Brittany Cline of Home Sweet Home Ministries February 10, 2015

This week Brittany Cline of Home Sweet Home Ministries presented on their program, Bridge of Hope. This program has existed for 25 years and has a national network of supporters.  According to their website, “Bridge of Hope at Home Sweet Home Ministries is a proud program site for Bridge of Hope, a national organization that is helping us empower churches in the Bloomington and Normal community in a ministry of friendship with the homeless single mothers and children in our town.”

  • Program assists homeless or at-risk single mothers for 12-24 months.
  • Offers case management to help to work towards housing, financial stability, employment and/or school, building positive relationships, and achieving personal goals.
    • Can provide rental assistance
    • Enhances family relationships
    • Teaches life skills
    • Assists with budgeting
  • Connects each mother with a number of mentors from a local church group
    • Builds relationships with 8-12 mentors
    • Provides friendship and mentorship
    • Provides self-esteem enhancement emotionally, spiritually, and physically
  • Provides rental assistance
    • Housing First (Places mother in market rate housing and offers rental assistance–up to $5000 which decreases over time)
      • Hopes to use it strategically so they can go back to school/find a job

For more information please visit the Home Sweet Home’s webpage about Bridge of Hope.

Please contact Brittany Cline at 309-828-7356 and ask for her directly, or you can email her at bcline@hshministries.org.

Want to know more about other services available in your community? Come to our next Human Service Council Meeting on March 10, 2015. We hope to see you there!

Agency Updates from HSC Meeting on January 13, 2015

SPICE at Marcfirst has some interesting events coming up:

  • On Saturday, February 7th, 2015 Marcfirst will be holding the 22nd Annual Integrity Bowl-A-Thon to benefit people with developmental disabilities in McLean County. For more information please click here.
  • On Saturday, February 21, 2015 Marcfirst will be leading a Saturday Parenting Session.
  • SPICE has partnered with Target to offer a Story Hour one Friday a month at SPICE located at 1606 Hunt Drive, Normal, IL. Contact Audrey at (309)452-0069 ext 260 or at audreyhensley@marcfirst.org to RSVP today!
    • February 20, 2015
    • March 20, 2015
    • April 17, 2015
    • May 15, 2015
    • June 19, 2015
    • July 17, 2015
    • August 21, 2015
    • September 18, 2015
  • SPICE has teamed with Starplex Cinemas to offer Sensory Friendly Screenings the 2nd Saturday of the month at 10:00a.m. These films have adjusted lighting and sound. (Free child admission with $6 adult ticket purchase)
    • Paddington, February 14, 2015
    • The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, March 14, 2015

Interested in other fascinating agency updates? Join us at our next HSC meeting on February 10, 2015 at Lifecil.

YWCA SERVICES PRESENTED BY CHRISTY GERMANIS ON JANUARY, 13 2015

This week Christy Germanis, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, informed the HSC of all of the wonderful services provided by the YWCA of McLean County. All information about their services can be found here. This document simply pulls information from this website.

Services

  • Stepping Stones: provides free, confidential 24-hour assistance for sexual assault and sexual abuse victims and their families in McLean County.Services focus on empowering survivors, their families, and their friends on the path of healing; building relationships with professionals and agencies that will be part of the process; and educating the community about sexual assault.
    • Provides counseling for survivors and their significant others
    • Provides support groups for adults and adolescence
  • Girls BE U: is a teen girl leadership and empowerment program for junior high and high school girls with high potential and low opportunity.
  • Transportation: Collectively, YWCA Transportation provides over 7,000 individual trips and assist over 300 clients each year.
    • Medivan  provides rides to and from doctor appointments or home from hospital stays when public transportation is inaccessible
    • Wheels to Work provides rides to work on Sundays when public transportation is unavailable ($1 each way, must make arrangements at least a week ahead of time).
  • Home Care Services: provides a variety of in-home services to help seniors remain independent in their homes. Home Care Aides meet regularly with their clients to provide household tasks including laundry, meal preparation, light house cleaning, medication reminders, personal care and transportation errands. Home Care Aides serve over 300 older adult clients annually.
  • Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP):  is part of Senior Corps, a network of national service programs that enables older Americans to apply their life experiences to community needs through volunteerism.
    • Smart Sprouts– enables adult mentors to work one-on-one or in small groups with elementary aged students in 17 different locations throughout McLean County including schools from District 87, Unit 5 and various community centers.
    • SHIP (Senior Health Insurance Program)–offers free counseling on Medicare.
  • Child Care: provides service to 700 children annually. Year-round childcare and preschool is provided at the Hershey Road location and includes a Hershey Child Care collaboration with Heartland Head Start to offer economically disadvantaged families a nurturing environment that stimulates growth and education.
  • Before & After School Child Care: is offered at eight area elementary schools, providing before-and after-school activities and childcare for school children up to age 12. The Before & After School program also offers a themed summer camp between June and August.
  • Hallmark Programs: programming and events include annual Peace Camps, Week Without Violence Luncheons, Women’s Empowerment Parties, Money Smart Week and a Racial Justice Summit.

Other than for childcare, if there are fees associated with any of these programs there are often scholarships available. Please contact the YWCA directly at 309-662-0461 if you have any questions or concerns about any of their programs.

YWCA supports policies that contribute to the elimination of racism including policies that eliminate racial profiling, increase immigrant rights, retain and strengthen affirmative action, reduce hate crimes and result in increased education on racism and its elimination. YWCA supports the maintenance and strengthening of affirmative action laws to protect people from discrimination based on race and gender and empower women to elimination of racism.

Thank you for reading! We hope to see you at our next meeting on February 10, 2015 for another exciting speaker!

 

ANNUAL HSC HOLIDAY PARTY ON DEC 9, 2014

Thank you to all of our members who attended our Annual HSC Holiday Party!  Always a great time, with great company…

A Special Thanks to our Program Coordinator LaKeesha and President Brittani for making arrangements for food and drinks…it was quite a success on such a limited budget.

We voted and have new Board Members for 2015:

President Gaby Bontea – PATH

Vice President Stacey Wiggins – BHA

Secretary/Treasurer – Still Open (Gaby filling in for now)

Program Coordinators – LaKeesha James-Smith – MCCA and Kristin Manzi – Labyrinth Outreach

Also thank you for those of you who have made suggestions for next year’s presenters…the program coordinators are already working diligently to make that happen.

CAREER LINK PRESENTED BY KELLY SCHAPMIRE ON NOV 18, 2014

Presenter: Kelly Schapmire- Senior Case Manager Career Link

Provides funding assistance for people to go to school.

  • Resource Room available to the public (M-F 8:30 to 4:50)
  • Resume building/faxing of resumes, job searching, computers, mock interviews.
  • Mostly helping in job searching
  • Uses Illinois work net, a lot of great resources

Offers training programs

  • Eligibility is dislocated worker, youth below 21, adult above 21, and it is income based.
  • Offers different training programs through different schools/programs( nursing, applied sciences, certificate programs, last 2 years of university).
  • Can assist international students

Can assist with up to $15000 for tution and fees-$ 28 for school supplies

  • Has a separate fund for books and other supplies
  • Mileage assistance is available to those with a car

Would like the students to stay above a 2.5 GPA

  • If they fail they have pay to retake class
  • While in the program they have to fill out a time sheet/week
  • Offers childcare assistance

8 counties are eligible: Mclean, Stark, Woodford, Peoria, Marshall, Mason, Tazwell, and Fulton

  • Offers a follow up program for 1 year
  • Offers on the job training
  • Still looks at criminal history to make sure it won’t interfere with the trade]

Every summer there is a grant for youth 16-24 to get jobs over the summer (9.00/hr up to 40 hours) employers act as supervisors, summer youth employment program. Must meet income guidelines, disability criteria