‘You need us to be right there, and we are’: Community Crisis Center marks 50 years
Community Crisis Center Executive Director Maureen Manning likens what they do to insurance. You hope you never have to use it.
“But when you do, you really want us to be there,” she said.
The Elgin organization has been there for people in crisis 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for 50 years.
“When you’re hungry, when you don’t have a roof over your head, when someone’s abused you, you need us in that moment,” Manning said. “You don’t want an appointment six months from now, you need us to be right there, and we are.
“That makes us really unique.”
Founded by volunteers in 1975, the center is now one of the oldest domestic violence shelters in Illinois. But Manning, who has been there for 48 of the 50 years, says that’s only part of how they serve the community.
“Community Crisis Center is a really good name for us because it’s an umbrella over all our programs,” she said.
The nonprofit also has programs for victims of sexual assault and gives shelter and food to people in economic crisis. The staff offers individual and group counseling for adults and children as well as medical and legal advocacy.
A 24/7 crisis hotline for people seeking help with situations including domestic violence, sexual assault, homelessness, suicide and other crisis situations has fielded more than 670,000 calls in the last 50 years.
Manning said much of what they’ve done had little precedent in the beginning, so they figured it out as they went along. In 1982, she started a partner abuse intervention program, which counsels perpetrators in an effort to stop the cycle of violence.
“At the time we were told ‘You don’t want to work with those guys, they’re crazy’,” Manning said. “But these guys aren’t pathological, they’re normal people with bad behavior. Jail’s not turning it around for them. Counseling works.”
It was the first, and now longest-running, program of its kind in Illinois.
The organization also was a charter member of the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
Last year, the center served more than 4,100 clients, providing 47,610 meals to 1,089 households, distributing 707 coats to 257 families, delivering 55,838 diapers to 400 households, and giving more than $700,000 in rental assistance to prevent evictions and maintain housing.
“We’ve impacted people in a lot of different ways in this community,” Manning said, adding that she’s constantly meeting people who say they stayed at the center as kids or adults or have family members who have been helped by their services.
Events have been held throughout the year to mark the 50th anniversary. They’re holding a fundraising raffle with a $5,000 grand prize at their annual gala on Nov. 6. Tickets, which are $10 or three for $25, are available on their website.
Some tickets remain for the nearly sold-out gala. The tickets are $50 each and on sale through Nov. 3.
Manning said uncertainty about federal funding and the economy are always concerns, but the community has been there to help.
“We just have to keep moving forward,” she said. “We’re going to keep our doors open and we’re going to continue to serve the community and be here 24/7 for survivors who need us.”