Description
Founded in 1930, Family Service is a community organization which provides a variety of social services to families, regardless of socio-economic backgrounds. The agency was originally formed to provide concrete services for families devastated by the Great Depression. Uniquely responsive, Family Service provides a wide array of Health and Wellness programs ranging from family and individual counseling, Senior support services, Youth Advocacy services, in home services to mentally/physically frail clients as well as an array of bilingual services for Latino children and families. The agency is headquartered in Highland Park, Illinois with offices in Barrington, Wauconda, Round Lake, Highwood and Lake Forest. Family Service maintains Nuestro Center in Highwood as a haven and education center supporting the needs of low-income Latino families. Through all of its services, Family Service touches the life's of over 3,000 clients annually.
Nuestro Center was established to meet the needs of the Mexican immigrant population in the City of Highwood. Originally, the intent was to simply offer information and referrals. It quickly became apparent, that in order to be successful, this low income Spanish-speaking population needed many more on-site services. The center offers resources that help children and adults achieve their full potential. Family Service's bilingual staff members support positive health through a myriad of specific health and wellness programs for children and adults. Educational Programming includes sessions on nutrition and healthy lifestyles, exercise as well as disease specific sessions including diabetes, breast and colon cancer, hypertension, asthma and alcohol abuse. Ongoing activities include after school tutoring, La Escuelita homework club, use of a computer lab with educational software, daily healthy snacks, special interest groups such as art, weekend events and field trips for youth, a multi-cultural summer teen leadership program and Nuestro Verano, a children's summer day camp program that includes a healthy lunch each day. Notable outcomes include having all families enrolled in these two programs having been assigned a Primary Care Physician through the North Shore Health Clinic. Innovative programming includes a customized English as Second Language (ESL) initiative, "Medical English" which empowers participants to play an active role in healthcare decisions.
