Family Service of Lake County

11/28/2022

Tomorrow is !

2022 has been a difficult year for all of us, and has challenged us mightily here at Family Service of Lake County.

We began the year talking about our "village," the inter-connected group of individuals who make our work possible. It was fitting, because this year called us to needing our village more than ever in our 90+ years of operations.

From the staff who pulled double duty to get us through the summer, to our donors who gave more than any year previously to support their neighbors, to our community partners who offloaded our strategic needs in times of crisis.

Now, we're asking for your help in closing this year strong for our families and neighbors in Lake County. It was a year that started with the closing of a pandemic, and ended with a new reality for our home communities of Highland Park and Highwood.

We're grateful to have you all in our village, and are hopeful in the days ahead for our work. The concept of family is one that we believe in, and we continue to build stronger families and a stronger community with your support.

11/24/2022

Today we take the time to be grateful for our community, supporters, volunteers and donors that help us continue being a resource to the Lake County community.

We hope everyone has a wonderful day and eats lots of turkey and pie!

Family Service of Lake County wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃🍽

11/18/2022

Don’t forget the pumpkin pie 🥧, mash potato 🥔 and of course the turkey🦃 !

We are only 1 week away from thanksgiving and everyone at Family Services of Lake County is excited!

What is your thanksgiving must have dish on the list this year?

11/14/2022

We’ve been recharging and regrouping as we head into the holidays, and focusing on our staff and families as we reflect on a year of change and service at Family Service of Lake County.

We were grateful to be invited to tour the new memory garden in Highland Park.

It has been a surreal and difficult summer, but the holidays bring hope for better days in HIghland Park, Highwood, and across Lake County. We are grateful for our community who lifts us up now and always.

If you are in town, we encourage you to visit the memorial and take part in remembrance of our friends and neighbors. Better days are ahead.

10/31/2022

Happy Halloween from Family Service of Lake County! We hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween filled with treats and no tricks! 🎃👻

09/27/2022

It's the best time of the year at Family Service of Lake County!

The leaves are changing, school is back in session, and we're ready to get back to Homework Club with our Nuestro Center students.

Volunteer Orientation and Signup has been taking place at Nuestro Center the past few weeks, and we are excited for new and old faces coming together again to double down on supporting our students and families.

Students receive a snack, one on one and group tutoring, and individual mentorship to reinforce strong academic habits and their unique learning style. We're excited to share stories from past Homework Club participants in our year end report.

Still looking to get involved? Reach out to Anacany Barrera at abarrera@famservice.org to inquire about helping us with Homework Club this year.

After a difficult summer, we're ready to get back to our academics and support our students to and through the school year! Better days are ahead for Highland Park and Highwood.

09/23/2022

Family Service Fridays...

We wanted to extend our heartfelt thanks and immense gratitude to our friend Jeff Cohen Photography.

Our staff has been through a lot recently, and we wanted to do something special for them after an incredibly difficult summer. When we reached out to Jeff, he immediately offered to do a personal headshot and group photo for the entire office out of his own generosity.

It was a wonderful evening for our staff, and there's nothing like a professional headshot that captures your best "look" to boost your mood. We can't thank our friend Jeff enough, who time and time again has demonstrated his love and admiration for his home community of Highland Park.

We can't recommend his services enough, and can't wait to show you how our portraits turned out!

09/21/2022

Thank you! ❤️

We want to take this time to acknowledge all of the hard work being done by our local nonprofits and community groups in the aftermath of the Highland Park tragedy 💙

LCCF is very proud to provide grant support to Family Service of Lake County as they increase their community mental health services during this time; North Suburban Legal Aid, in support of their efforts serving the immigrant population affected by this tragedy; and Highland Park/Highwood Rotary Club in support of their Highland Park business recovery initiative 🏘

Thank you to these organizations (and many others!) for working above and beyond to serve our community and thank you to all donors who have given to the Lake County Community Crisis Relief Fund, enabling us to respond quickly with grant dollars.

Learn more here: https://www.lakecountycf.org/crisis-relief-fund/

09/19/2022

Mission Mondays at Family Service of Lake County...

It was a great weekend at Highland Park Public Library for the third session of our therapist Nicole Levand's "Six Emotions" Series. This Saturday's workshop was on something we all feel, anger.

Children and parents made glitter shakers for shaking during times of stress, practice "shredding" where they draw and rip up what's upsetting them, release some energy with feather blowing, and a number of other fun activities to understand our emotions.

We understand that the recovery effort will be a long one, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to bring our services on the road and meet the people where they are!

Interested in hosting a session like this at your business, library, or school? Please reach out to our Clinical Intern Nicole Levand at nlevand@famservice.org to discuss the sessions.

Better days are ahead for Highland Park.

09/13/2022

Volunteer tutors needed!

Family Service of Lake County’s Nuestro Center is seeking volunteer tutors for the After School Homework Club Program working with elementary school students in 1st-7th grade.

Join us at our upcoming information meeting on Wednesday September 14th @ 4:40 via zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84563210808

Apply using this link: https://forms.gle/NYZKe5CPMRe9Ewn57

09/12/2022

Don’t forget to join us at our upcoming mental health workshops for parents and children under 12!

At Family Service of Lake County we believe that stronger families make stronger communities. Thats why we have developed a new mental health workshop series for children and parents.

These 1 hour workshops will focus on the 6 emotions we all experience: Anger, Fear, Sadness, Happiness, Disgust, Surprise. These skill-based events will teach children language needed to express their feelings, coping strategies to help them regulate their emotions, and an art activity to build engagement and promote the use of skills.

All of the information presented in these workshop are developed from evidence-based practices such as Cognitive Behavior Therapy,
Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Art Therapy.

To sign up please click the link below:

https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/mental-health-workshops-emotion-series-1109489