Partnerships: Outreach Community Center

The Outreach Community Center at 345 S. President St. in Carol Stream, is a community service of Outreach Community Ministries Inc., a private, non-for-profit, Christian organization that is interdemoniationally sponsored by churches throughout central DuPage County as a service to the community. The Center is privately funded by local churches, area corporations, local business, service clubs, individuals and the local United Way. See map.

The goal of the Center is to encourage people to work together to build a better community. This goal is achieved by providing services that assist people in making positive adjustments in their lives and community. The staff at the Center are trained professionally and in their work they share the common commitment to ministering to the whole person.

Services at the Center are available without preference to people of all races, creeds, cultures, ages, sex, and handicap. Where fees for services are charged the fees are based on an individual or family's ability to pay for the service. The lack of financial resources will not prevent anyone from full participation in the services of the Center. Please call 260-7600 for more information.

Counseling Services

Families and individuals often face problems and stresses in their lives. Counseling services at the Community Center can be helpful in resolving:

• Parent-child conflict
• Problems for children related to school, home and community
• Problems for family members related to divorce, single parenting and re-marriage
• Communication problems
• Conflict or abuse in relationships
• Emotional difficulties, such as anger, anxiety or depression
• Alcohol or drug related problems
• The purpose of counseling is to resolve the problem presented and promote growth and change. Staff draws on the strengths and resources of the individual family to assist them in accomplishing this.

Staff will also assist in locating additional resources, such as AA or support groups. Group counseling is offered at the Center periodically.

A fee is charged for service based on the client's ability to pay; no one is refused services who is unable to pay. All counseling is confidential.

Family Support Services

Practical Assistance

The Center's staff provides assistance to help people resolve a wide variety of concerns:

• Financial Problems, housing needs, legal concerns
• Employment, job training needs
• Health, dental, medical needs, child care needs
• Emergency food and clothing
• Problems with Public Aid, Social Security, etc.
• Access to English as a second language
• Information on community services
• When a person calls for assistance, the staff begins with an assessment of needs. A person is then provided with information and referrals, personal support, advocacy to obtain needed services, assistance with budget management, and if available, access to transportation to appointments. In this way, staff and clients work together to solve the problem. The goal is to resolve the original crisis and then achieve long-term stability.

Supportive Relationships

The Center sponsors two programs that provide positive role models and personal support to children, families, and adults in an effort to strengthen the family experience:

• Family-to-Family
Families from our community are matched with a supportive family from a local congregation to develop a positive, supportive relationship between families. Regular activities are planned and assistance is available if a family crisis or special need arises. Regular support is provided to both families by a supervising case worker. There is no charge for this program.

• Friendly Visitors
This program matches a two-person team from a local church with an isolated senior citizen living in the neighborhood.

Community Development

Residents in the neighborhood work together to prevent problems and to address community-wide issues.

The Community Task Force is a group of residents and community members who meet together around issues that affect the whole community. This group provides the leadership for activities such as Red Ribbon Week, the Community Barbecue, and community fund-raising projects.

Neighborhood Councils at the apartment complexes provide residents with an opportunity to get involved in working on issues that are important to children and families in their complex.

Neighborhood Watch is a program where residents, in cooperation with the Carol Stream Police Department, help one another prevent crime in their own neighborhood. By becoming involved in this program, residents work together to protect and maintain control of their community.

Prevention Activities in the community include special events and workshops that address the issue of alcohol and drug abuse. There are a variety of events throughout the year for all ages.

Children's Programs

A number of children's programs are offered at the Center. These programs give neighborhood children the opportunity for structured activity, the development of positive relationships with other children and adults, skill-building, academic improvement, participation in cultural experiences and Christian education. The following programs are currently available:

• Tutoring
This program matches an adult volunteer with a child, grades 1-6, who needs extra help with Math, Reading or Language Arts. Tutors and students meet on Tuesday or Thursday evening throughout the school year, with the option of continuing informally during the summer. Additional special events are also scheduled at various times during the year. The Coordinator will have contact with each student's school teacher and will provide training, materials and assistance to each tutor as needed.

• Junior High School
This program is for boys and girls in grades 6-9, meeting every Monday evening at the Center for skill-building, friendship, recreation, and Christian education. Overnight retreats, outings, and special activities such as a Great America Trip are also planned throughout the year.

• Summer Camp
During the summer children in grades 3-8 can experience a week-long camp at Lake Geneva Youth Camp in Wisconsin. A limited number of scholarships will be available to those who qualify. Parents are asked to pay a portion of the tuition and the balance of the cost is provided in the form of scholarship. Transportation to and from camp is provided.

• The Jubilee Neighborhood School
For children grades 1-6 with working parents, the Jubilee Neighborhood School (JNS) is an educational program that "wraps around" the public school program, providing a supervised, educational setting during the school from 3:30-6:30pm and during the summer.

The Jubilee Neighborhood School is staffed by teachers with their college degrees in education or youth ministry. They are assisted by college interns. The average class size is 12-15 students per teacher. JNS does not provide day care services and it is not licensed as a day care center by the State of Illinois. If parents require day care services, the Community Center's staff can provide a list of referrals.

The School Year program meets daily from 3:30pm until 6:30pm during the school year. Transportation is provided by District 200 from the public schools to the Community Center. MWF or TTH sessions are available with three grade level classes (1-2,3-4,5-6). If there are openings in the grade level class, a child may be registered for both sessions. Classroom activities include homework completion, Christian education and a recreation class with crafts, games and music. Tuition is based on a parent's ability to pay.

The Summer Day School program is an eight-week program with MWF TTH sessions, with six grade level classes (grades 1-6). If there are openings in the grade level class, a child may be registered for both sessions. Classroom activities include educational classes, a crafts and music program, a Christian education class and recreation that includes swimming and weekly field trips. Tuition is based on family income and a sliding tuition scale.