Mt. Prospect community center, library branch opening Saturday
A ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening celebration for the Mount Prospect Community Connections Center will be held Saturday, Aug. 29.
The Center, at 1711 W. Algonquin Road in the Crystal Court Shopping Center, opened earlier this month, and will serve as a satellite office for many Village services, a branch for the Mount Prospect Public Library, and will offer services from District 214 Community Education, Elk Grove Township Elementary District 59 and Northwest Community Hospital.
The ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. followed by a Grand Opening Celebration for the Community from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. There will be a DJ, refreshments, prizes and fun for kids and families. Staff will conduct tours of the Center and representatives from the partner agencies will provide information about the services they offer.
Services provided at the Center will focus on information and referral and include:
• A police department community service officer.
• The village Human Services Department will provide the majority of their social services and public health nursing programs and services including Information and referral, financial assistance, counseling, and advocacy.
• The library branch provides services similar to those offered at the Main Library, including storytimes, homework support, GED and ELL materials, access to Internet connected computers, and recreational reading, viewing and listening materials in English, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Gujarati and Korean.
• Northwest Community Hospital will sponsor the Promotoras de Salud program with particular focus on chronic disease management, health screenings and education on how to utilize health systems.
• District 214 Community Education will be expanding its adult education and family literacy programming to those who find the Community Connections Center a convenient location. Among the services offered will be Citizenship Preparation and Naturalization application assistance, Public Benefits application assistance, adult English as a Second Language classes, and parent-child interactive literacy activities.
• District 59 provides parent education workshops and will focus on younger children, age birth to five, who have not yet entered their school system children.
The idea of a community resource center on the South side of Mount Prospect had been discussed for many years.
It wasn't until the Village of Mount Prospect received a grant from the Chicago Community Trust in 2007 to do a feasibility study on a center that the concept really began to take shape.
The study determined that Mount Prospect has a wealth of organizations providing services; however, access to and information about services are obstacles to residents and businesses taking advantage of them. It also found that an additional access point could provide centralized information and referral.
In 2008, the Village received a follow-up grant to help fund construction. And in 2009, the Village board of trustees and partners made a commitment to fund the center.
The Village of Mount Prospect, serving as the lead agency on the project, worked with other service providers in the community to gain their support and involvement. In addition to the Village, the Library, District 214 Community Education, District 59, and Northwest Community Hospital are partners in the Center, and several other organizations are considering participation.
For more information, call the Community Connections Center at (847) 506-4930.