DuPage Foundation Grant Assists Family Shelter Service with Counseling Programs
Family Shelter Service, whose administrative offices are located in Wheaton, serves the county with a range of support groups targeted at adults, teens and children with a significant number of counseling programs aimed at women who are victims of domestic violence.
"We want to help these women break the silence about what has happened in their life," said Milligan. "This is the objective in our group counseling as well as providing support for each other."
The women support groups are offered in English and Spanish and one of the counseling groups is aimed at helping moms and kids. "The moms meet together-in support group style-and the children meet separately in age appropriate groups simultaneously," said Milligan. The content of each session is similar for the moms and kids. "The best way we can hope to help each family is to teach moms how to take care of themselves first," said Milligan. "A healthy mom can take better care of her children."
The moms and kids group counseling teaches safety planning and healthy ways to express feelings, again in age appropriate methods for the children. "Sometimes we teach kids to talk about the weather in their house," said Milligan. "First there might be clouds, then a thunderstorm and then the sun comes out.
This is the cyclical life of domestic violence but it gives children an easy way to grasp the concept and to identify and talk about what's going on in their house."
"One of the really important things that the DuPage Foundation grant has allowed us is to expand and to do things that are different," said Milligan. "We've been able to purchase program supplies for engaging activities and ensure that we have enough facilitators to make the program its best."
One counseling program that Family Shelter Service is extremely proud of is its teen group. "Teens have a lot going on in their lives and for our counseling program to be a priority for them is pretty special," said Milligan. "We're very pleased that this program has been so successful."
The teen counseling program is run by one of the child counselors and a prevention educator, who works with students in the schools on healthy relationships and how to build self-esteem. Milligan attributes the success of the program to these resources being made available by the grant and the amazing synergy that these two counselors have. "They have a great partnership," said Milligan. "They have the teens talking-which isn't always easy-and they're engaging them."
The success of the Family Shelter Service counseling programs did not just happen by accident. It was a purposeful approach. "This is the first time we've attempted our programs with a co-facilitated style," said Milligan. "And the grant has made it possible to add a meal component to some of the programs. We never had that before and it has proven to be beneficial to the moms who may not have had time to get dinner together after work and before their sessions. It's made it easier for some of our clients to participate. And that's a good thing."
About Family Shelter Service
Family Shelter Service was founded in 1976 by a group of caring and concerned individuals who wanted to help the growing numbers of homeless people in DuPage County. The mission of Family Shelter Service is to transform lives by offering help and hope to those affected by domestic violence. Anyone interested in additional information is encouraged to call the hotline number, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 630-469-5650. The agency's administrative office is located in Wheaton and has shelters in several locations throughout the county.
About the DuPage Foundation
The DuPage Foundation seeks to raise the quality of life throughout DuPage County by
fostering philanthropy, connecting donors to area needs and building community partnerships. Based on the American virtues of volunteerism and philanthropy, the Foundation fosters a legacy of support for the people of DuPage County by making grants to not-for-profit organizations working in the areas of arts and culture, education, environment, health, and human services. Since its inception, the Foundation has built its endowment to more than $63 million and awarded more than $21 million in grants to not-for-profit agencies serving the residents of DuPage County and beyond.
Established in 1986, the DuPage Foundation is a publicly-supported 501(c)(3) organization to
which contributions are tax deductible. It was created to benefit the people of DuPage County and receives contributions and bequests into a permanent endowment from individuals, corporations, organizations and foundations wishing to make lasting contributions to the people of DuPage. The earnings on these funds are then used, in accordance with donor wishes, for the Foundation's grantmaking and community leadership activities.
For more information about the Foundation, or to arrange future media opportunities, please contact Joelyn Kott, marketing & communications officer, at (630) 665-5556, extension 19, or joelyn@dupagefoundation.org.