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1100 West Cermak Road
Suite B404
Chicago, Illinois 60608
312 377-4735
Our primary mission at ChildLink is foster care, provided to area children through a contract with Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. We are proud to announce that upon our annual DCFS review this summer we were ranked Number One in the State for ensuring that the children in our care are placed into permanent homes with loving families that will last into adulthood. We had excellent scores in all the areas reviewed: child safety, legal support, and court performance.
Women - Investing in the Future
Women have made many advances over the past few years, professionally, socially, and globally. Give a girl a modicum of encouragement, and see a successful women grow. It just takes a drop of encouragement for most of us to shine. Our mothers and grandmothers, strong women in their own right, pioneered the way for us, showing us dedication, commitment and at times outspoken courage in everything they stood for.
The young women we support have no mothers, grandmother, aunts, or sisters to show them the path. But with a little encouragement they shine nonetheless. We need women who are willing to support the extra curricular activities, educational supplements, scholarship endowments, and broader life experiences that can only be provided by resources dedicated to investing in building successful, well educated, well rounded young women.
Our annual Women's Initiative Luncheon brings together women in business, industry, government, and civic leaders to support our Girls First Club and Professional Mentoring.
Young people, especially young men, are the most challenging group to provide permanency for. During this transition time, these young people can become increasingly vulnerable to negative influences in the community. Many times these youth find themselves in high-risk situations. There are hundreds of homeless youth. We can seek out shelters, churches, police authorities and youth services that are the first contact for homeless youth. We identify 50-75 homeless youth on Chicago's West Side. Many are without basic necessities.
We provide them with immediate intervention support and coordinate delivery of emergency supplies, clothing, and recreational items. They don't know their options or the kind of services they are eligible for. We provide clinical services within 24 hours of contact. We arrange for an intake evaluation to determine the cause of their homelessness, and begin to develop an Individual Service Plan around their needs. Often they are ill when they come from the streets. Many do not have medical support, we will work to get them an emergency medical card and provide each young person with a medical examination.
Many homeless youth don't know that there are several different options for them, from full independence while working or going to school to living with foster parents or in a group home. We work to understand conditions that led to homelessness, provide them with advocacy regarding their best options and begin to develop a long-term permanency plan for each youth.
As a community, we are frustrated with seeing youth suffer the effects of their environment. It is exhausting to see another kid falling into the gang trap. If there is yet another teen death, whether it is from gang violence or suicide, it will be too soon. We need to come together to provide youth counselors in the community.
Youth counseling is a service that is desperately needed in our community. Out of 42 local organizations, only three have youth counseling services and only one serves the general public. ChildLink hopes to provide youth counseling to all those teens that seek help.
Child Link will have clinical consultations to evaluate the children and adolescent’s physical and psychological makeup to determine their needs. Our licensed professionals work with the youth and their families to formulate a plan to provide them with the treatment required. This may include individual, group and family therapies, as well as referral linkage for other needed services.
The need for youth counselors is greater today than ever before. Without resources, valuable programs are often unable to benefit those who really need it. Please join us in building a comprehensive youth counseling program in the Pilsen, Little Village, and Lawndale areas that will benefit so many of our troubled youth.
The support of our donors and volunteers make all of these pioneering programs possible. Our volunteers provide professional mentoring to our Girls First Club. Volunteers organize and promote our fund-raising events, and provide support services like graphic design and public relations. To get involved in changing the lives of disadvantaged kids, contact ChildLink to see what volunteer opportunities are right for you: info@childlnk.org
Download our Volunteer Enrollment Form. (38KB doc file)
School Supply & Clothing Drive
Back to school…it always brings mixed feelings that time of year. The children are always sad to see the summer end, but eager to see old friends again. For many of the children we serve, they will not be seeing old friends. For them there may be very little to look forward to regarding “back to school.” We hope the promise of new school supplies and clothes will bring a smile to the faces of youngsters.
Child Link solicited help from area corporations to donate new school supplies for the children. Donations included Trapper Keepers, 64 box of crayons, Bic erasable pens and piles of ruled paper. Retailers such as the Disney store, Talbot's for Kids, Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, and Gifts In Kind International also helped supply the children with clothing.
Baby Supply Drive
We currently care for over one hundred children, including infants. Car seats, strollers, and other baby supplies are desperately needed. State budget cuts have affected our agency greatly. For each child we are now given $1/month for baby equipment and $1/month for clothing, which includes shoes and coats. In attempts to make up for the loss in revenue, Child Link hold a Baby Supply Drive, which has proven very successful, thanks to area organization such as LaGrange Area Newcomers and Neighbors.