As Downers Grove and Woodridge have grown, so has the array of social services available to residents of the two towns, and most agency officials believe there are enough in place to serve the population well into the future, perhaps with a little tweaking of the programs they offer.
Waring Webb, a volunteer and past board chairman for the Downers Grove area FISH, an ecumenical social service organization that provides a food pantry, clothes closet, transportation and emergency financial assistance for area residents, said things have come a long way since the group began 31 years ago.
“When we started, there was virtually nothing in the way of a food pantry, and it was not unusual for us to get calls from the police in the middle of the night asking us to put a homeless person up in a motel,” he said.
Today, other local, township and county agencies have stepped in with programs and services to meet those and other needs of community members. Some services are free, but most agencies charge fees on a sliding scale based on income and other factors. Most of the agencies work together to share resources and provide referrals.
“We network and are associated with many agencies in DuPage County so we can avoid duplicating services,” said Barbara Lieber, director of the Downers Grove Department of Social and Health Services.
The department, which was formerly known as the Department of Health and Human Resources, has offered general counseling for families and individuals on a sliding scale fee basis for 23 years. Though Lieber said the agency is operating at its peak, seeing 700 clients in 1999, there are no plans for expansion.
A partnership with the Downers Grove Police Department allows for programming flexibility, said Lieber. The Police Department provides staff for two neighborhood resource centers in Downers Grove apartment complexes. The centers offer such things as after-school programs, English classes, computer training and women’s support groups and refer clients to the Department of Social and Health Services for counseling.
Lieber said the biggest challenge facing her department is getting information to people when they need it. The department recently installed a computerized information kiosk in the Downers Grove Public Library where community members can find a social service agency to suit their needs.
As for food pantries, over the years FISH has been joined by the Lisle Township Food Pantry and the Woodridge Community Pantry. Founded in 1970, the all-volunteer Woodridge Community Pantry provides food and personal care items to needy Woodridge residents. Although space is tight in the pantry’s rented quarters in the former village recycling center, publicity coordinator Jennifer Loper said the group has expanded its offerings in recent years, and now provides dairy products and frozen meats to clients.
“If our numbers continue to grow, I could see us taking up a more intense search for a new facility, but right now we’re fine,” she said.
Keeping services close to home is important. Public transportation remains limited, making it difficult for people without cars to reach some services, especially medical care. A community coalition called Partnership for a Healthy Community is working to locate a satellite of the DuPage Community Clinic in the area. Other sites of the clinic, which provides free primary medical care to qualified DuPage County residents, are in Wheaton and Villa Park.
“People on our end of the county have had a hard time getting there,” said Mary Beth Hardy, director of Healthier Communities for Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, who also serves on the community clinic’s board of directors. “We need care for the uninsured and underinsured on the eastern side of DuPage County.”
For Geoffrey Korous, Woodridge chief of police, improving social services for youth is a priority.
“Young people are not just our future, they are an important part of our present, and we need to get them to care about our community,” said Korous.
Toward that end, the Woodridge Resource Center on Janes Avenue, which is overseen by the Police Department, will be shifting its focus toward more youth-oriented programs with the hiring of a youth officer.
The storefront center will continue to provide after-school programs, counseling services, a computer learning center, classes and a senior bingo program, but some services, including an emergency food pantry and clothing closet, have been eliminated. A satellite resource center in an apartment complex on Woodward Avenue offers many of the same programs for residents of that neighborhood.
Though he’s not sure how, Korous would like future services to bring the community youth and seniors together.
“We are going to have a growing youth population and aging population, which reinforces my belief that we need to create an intergenerational dialogue,” he said.
Gary Moores, Lisle Township Youth and Family Services director, said his department will also continue to develop programs to support local children, including a youth mentoring program that is in the works. His department often teams up with the Woodridge resource centers for programs.
Moores’ counterparts at Downers Grove Township also offer and plan to expand prevention programs geared toward youth and parenting issues, said Township Supervisor Barbara Wheat.
Even private agencies are recognizing the need for beefing up such programs. Nancy Lenz, clinical supervisor for Lutheran Social Services, which has had a Downers Grove office for nearly two decades, said the group has gotten requests for anger management and divorce adjustment groups for children.
WHERE HELP CAN BE FOUND
Bethlehem Center Food Bank, 600 Industrial Drive, St. Charles, IL 60174, 630-443-6910. Non-profit, non-denominational distribution center for food and related products to agencies serving those in need.
Bridge Communities, 505 E. Crescent Blvd., Glen Ellyn, IL 60137, 630-545-0610. Transitional housing for families.
Care and Counseling Center, 5329 S. Main St. No. 103, Downers Grove, IL 60515, 630-960-1060 (24-hour information line). Assists women and families facing unplanned or problem pregnancies. Free pregnancy testing; individual/family counseling; information and referral; support services through delivery and after childbirth.
Childserv DuPage, 1220 Iroquois Ave., Naperville, IL 60532, 773-693-0300 (administrative office). Assessment, counseling (individual and family) an(Reg. trademark)d extensive life skills programs to prepare boys and girls 13 to 17 with personal, behavioral or family problems.
FISH, Downers Grove branch, 4340 Prince St., 630-964-7776 (24-hour answering service). Ecumenical organization provides food pantry, clothes closet, transportation for medical care, emergency financial assistance for rent, utilities, etc.
Downers Grove Department of Social and Health Services, 842 Curtiss St., Downers Grove, IL 60515, 630-434-5595. Sliding-scale counseling, individual, family and group, for area residents. Also information and referral, community education, crisis intervention, medical equipment loan program and home chore matching service.
Downers Grove Resource Centers, Autumn Grove Apartments, 2048 Prentiss Drive, Apt. 112, Downers Grove, IL 60516, 630-964-2357. Arbor Park Apartments, 4424 Arbor Circle, Downers Grove, IL 60515, 630-435-9851. Homework help, English classes, GED classes, job listings, support groups, social events.
Downers Grove Township, Division of Human Services, 4340 Prince St., Downers Grove, IL 60515, 630-968-6408. Emergency and general assistance, holiday food baskets, life skills classes, parenting classes, Dial-a-Ride for seniors. Available to township residents.
DuPage Community Clinic, 1506 E. Roosevelt Rd., Wheaton, IL 60187, 630-682-0639. Free primary medical care for qualified uninsured residents of DuPage County.
DuPage County Human Services Department, 421 N. County Farm Rd., Wheaton, IL 60187, 630-682-7000 or 800-942-9412, TDD 630-682-6926. Multiple social services for the elderly, the economically disadvantaged, people with disabilities and other people in the county in need of assistance.
DuPage Housing Authority, 128 S. County Farm Rd., A&C, Wheaton,IL 60187-2400, 630-690-3555. Section 8 certificate and voucher programs provide housing assistance to families and the elderly.
DuPage PADS Inc. (Public Action to Deliver Shelter), 705 W. Liberty Ave., Wheaton, IL 60187, 630-682-3846. Shelter for the homeless.
HOPE Fair Housing Center, 2100 Manchester Rd., Building B, No. 1070, Wheaton, IL 60187. 630-690-6500. Investigative and legal referral services to people who have been denied housing, lending or home insurance opportunities because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual preference, source of income, or because they are disabled or have children in their family.
Illinois Employment and Training Center, 837 S. Westmore-Meyers Rd., Lombard, IL 60148, 630-495-4345, TDD 630-495-0655. College of DuPage, DuPage Job Training, the Illinois Department of Employment Security and the Parents Alliance Employment Project have consolidated their services by establishing this one-stop career center that offers a wide range of employment and training services.
Illinois Department of Human Services, 146 W. Roosevelt Rd., Villa Oaks Office Concourse No. 2, Villa Park, IL 60181, 630-520-1120. Transitional assistance, mental health services, disability and behavioral health services, substance abuse assistance, health services and other services to promote independence and self-sufficiency.
Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services, 2901 Finley Rd., No. 109, Downers Grove, IL 60515, 630-495-0500. Vocational rehabilitation services for people of working age with disabilities; counseling, training, adaptive equipment and job placement.
Lisle Township General Assistance, 4721 Indiana, Lisle, IL 60532, 630-968-2087. Emergency and general assistance for township residents to meet basic needs such as food, rent, utilities and prescriptions; food pantry available by appointment; senior transportation program; information and referral.
Lisle Township Youth and Family Services, 4721 Indiana Ave., Lisle, IL 60532, 630-968-1880. Wide range of services for youths and families living within the township, including after-school programs, life skills programs, youth employment service, parenting classes, support groups, job clubs for the unemployed, and counseling for individuals, families and couples.
Love Christian Clearinghouse, P.O. Box 50, Clarendon Hills, IL 60514, 630-512-8665. Provides referrals to agencies and church volunteers for food, clothing, shelter, furniture, friendship, budgeting, parenting, prayer and unusual requests.
Lutheran Social Services of Illinois-Downers Grove Office, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 4501 Main St., Downers Grove, IL 60514, 630-993-0100 (administrative number). Counseling for children, families and couples; support groups.
Metropolitan Family Services/DuPage (formerly Family Services DuPage), 222 E. Willow Ave., Wheaton, IL 60187, 630-682-1802 (recorded message after hours). Woodridge Branch, 1999 W. 75th St., Suite 201, Woodridge, IL 60517, 630-910-1880. Professional counseling for families and individuals for issues including marriage and divorce, parent/child conflicts, teen/family problems and personal adjustment. Emphasis on short-term counseling.
Prairie State Legal Services, 350 S. Schmale Rd., No. 150, Carol Stream, IL 60188, 630-690-2130. Legal counseling and representation in a wide variety of problem areas, including landlord-tenant disputes, evictions, living conditions and federally subsidized public housing.
Respite House, 7 S 721 Illinois Highway 53, Naperville, IL 60540-9258, 630-789-3447. Respite care for chronically ill children.
Woodridge Community Pantry, 1 Plaza Drive, Woodridge,IL 60517. 630-512-9921. Need-based food pantry available only to residents of Woodridge.
Woodridge Resource Center, 8274 Janes Ave., Woodridge, IL 60517, 630-910-7027, Counseling and programs for Woodridge residents, including after-school and other youth programs, senior programs and computer-literacy and English classes. Also provides information and referral and crisis intervention services.
World Relief DuPage, 1825 College Ave., No. 230, Wheaton, IL 60187, 630-462-7566. Broad-based resettlement assistance and social services to refugees and immigrants in the western suburbs.
YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago, DuPage District, 739 Roosevelt Rd., Building 8, No. 210, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137, 630-790-6600. Broad range of supportive services to women experiencing transition/turmoil in their lives, including sexual assault services, counseling services, employment services, legal information and referral.
