Bensenville opens Elm Court resource center

In an effort to prevent crime and help keep teens off the street, the Bensenville Police Department is opening its new Neighborhood Resource Center Wednesday, Sept. 22, in the Elm Court apartments.

Located on the village's south end, the center will offer after-school programs for two hours Mondays and Wednesdays for students in sixth through eighth grade who live in the complex. It also will be home to neighborhood watch meetings and function as a station area for officers on walking patrol.

After-school programs will be run by community volunteers and staff from another Bensenville teen center on Green Street.

"We have already had success at the other teen center and this will be an extension of that," police Chief Frank Kosman said.

Plans for the center were launched in early summer and space was donated by the company that owns the Elm Court complex. The venture is a partnership among the Crime Free Multi-Housing, Business Watch and Neighborhood Watch organizations, along with the Bensenville Police Crime Prevention Unit.

Because the space was donated, the center was created at no cost to the department, Kosman said. He added that he believes the center will be helpful in alleviating higher crime rates in the area, since a similar resource center worked for more than a decade in another Bensenville neighborhood before the area was torn down as O'Hare International Airport expanded.

"We think we can bolster crime prevention," Kosman said.

The grand opening will be at 6 p.m. at 1025 Ferrari Drive. For details, call (630) 350-3455.