Des Plaines awards nearly $216,000 in social service grants
Thirty-eight social service organizations will receive grants from Des Plaines totaling nearly $216,000 to help people dealing with homelessness, mental health issues, transportation needs, food insecurity and other problems.
Individual grants ranged from $1,500 to more than $17,000.
The city council approved the payouts this week. Funding was included in the annual city budget.
Grants included:
• Nearly $4,542 to Avenues to Independence, a Park Ridge-based group that supports people with disabilities.
• About $6,632 to the Josselyn Center, a Northfield-based organization providing mental health services in that town, Northbrook and Waukegan.
• $5,000 to Journeys: The Road Home, a Palatine-based organization focused on homelessness.
• $5,500 to the Frisbie Senior Center's weekly Feed My Sheep meal program in Des Plaines.
• $12,000 to MaineStay Youth & Family Services, a Maine Township department that provides counseling and other mental health services.
That latter group's grant was increased from $6,272 moments before the vote after a plea from 8th Ward Alderman Shamoon Ebrahimi. A counselor at Maine West High School in Des Plaines, Ebrahimi said he knows the group and lauded its work.
"The level of service they provide is quite intense," Ebrahimi said. "(I've seen) how much support they give to the most vulnerable people in our community."
Sixth Ward Alderman Malcolm Chester spoke in favor of increasing the grant for MaineStay and the future funding for the city program.
"They perform vital functions for our community," Chester said of the grant recipients. "We're fortunate to have these agencies working for us."
The city's health and human services division evaluated the grant requests. The grants were awarded based on several criteria, including: the number of Des Plaines residents served in the past year; local needs; community support; and use of prior funding, if applicable.
Thirty-three grants totaling $160,000 were awarded in 2022. Most of the groups on this year's list also got grants in 2022.
More information about the grant program can be found online at bit.ly/3AcX8Yf.