Durbin Announces $1.1 Million To Support Runaway And Homeless Youth In Illinois
CHICAGO – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded state organizations grants totaling $1,186,435 to provide housing support, case management, and treatment services for runaway and homeless youth in Illinois. These investments will provide critical services to keep homeless youth from entering the juvenile criminal justice system, mental health facilities, or child welfare programs.
“This funding is an investment in the future of Illinois and delivers on our promise not to give up on any child, regardless of the traumatic experiences they may have faced,” said Durbin. “It will help us empower our youth—especially those in underserved communities—to realize their dreams for a better and brighter future.”
Under this announcement, the following organizations will receive funding:
· The Night Ministry: $200,000 to provide 40 runaway and homeless youth with safe and stable housing, case management, counseling and referrals to effect family reunification or long-term placement, educational and support groups, and aftercare.
· Youth Service Bureau of Illinois Valley: $120,000 to provide Basic Center program services to runaway and homeless youth less than 18 years of age as an alternative to law enforcement, child welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice systems. The program covers a large five county area, including LaSalle, Bureau, Marshall, Stark, and Putnam Counties of Illinois.
· Teen Living Programs: $168,812 to TLP’s Bronzeville Youth Shelter, which provides emergency shelter and support services for approximately 70 runaway, homeless and street youth ages 14-17 and responds to over 800 calls from youth in crisis on their 24-hour hotline.
· Teen Living Programs: $192,019 to TLP’s street and community outreach program, which is located on Chicago’s south side and serves an area of noted economic deprivation. The project specifically targets ten markedly underserved community areas: Grand Boulevard/Bronzeville, Kenwood, Oakland, Douglas, Washington Park, Hyde Park, Woodlawn, Englewood, Chatham and South Shore.
· Aunt Martha’s Youth Service Center Inc.: $200,000 to serve the most vulnerable runaway, homeless and street youth up to age 21 that are located in Will, Kankakee and South Suburban Cook Counties by offering access to temporary living arrangements 24 hours/day, harm reduction counseling and safety plans, assessments, intensive case management, and follow-up services.
· Midwest Youth Services: $108,000 to provide temporary shelter and counseling services to youth who have left home without permission of their parents or guardians, have been forced to leave home, or other homeless youth who might otherwise end up in the law enforcement or in the child welfare, mental health, or juvenile justice systems.
· The Livingston County Basic Center: $197,604 to serve runaway, homeless, and street youth up to age 18 in Livingston County, Illinois. The program’s goal is to reunite youth with their families whenever possible, and to find nurturing, safe alternatives when it is not possible.