Family Support and Prevention staff visit Evanston schools

Staff from the Family Support and Prevention Program at our Evanston/Skokie Center are making connections in the community!

Clinical Program Supervisor Haley Hansen and Program Manager Jennifer Jenks visited 10 elementary schools in Evanston School District 65 to provide information about Family Support and Prevention, a free counseling and case management program for Evanston families funded by the City of Evanston Mental Health Board.

“There are times when families struggle, and they don’t know where to turn,” says Jennifer. “There can be so many barriers to accessing services, which include getting to appointments, meeting the qualifications of a program or having insurance or the money to pay for services. This brings up the importance of Evanston residents knowing about Family Support and Prevention.”

In addition to being free, the services can be home-based to meet the needs of the family, says Jennifer. Program staff provide intensive case management, in addition to counseling for children and their parents. “Program staff work to reduce the stress that families feel and increase the overall strength of the family,” she says.

We’re glad for the opportunity to get to know our neighborhood schools a little better. Haley and Jennifer met with Dawes Elementary, Dewey Elementary, Kingsley Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, Lincolnwood Elementary, Oakton Elementary, Orrington Elementary, Walker Elementary, Washington Elementary and Willard Elementary.

FAMILY SUPPORT AND PREVENTION
This program of Metropolitan’s Evanston Center offers home-based, bilingual (English-Spanish) services for families with a variety of challenges and works with parents and children to improve overall family functioning.