Mount Prospect wants center for immigrants
Mount Prospect trustees this week gave the green light to a neighborhood center concept on the village's south side. The center would assist new immigrant to Mount Prospect.
Village officials must still determine center finances and location.
"It is an idea whose time has come and may be overdue," Trustee Michael Zadel said. "I support it and endorse it."
The center could be located in a storefront building, staffed by three employees -- a neighborhood resource coordinator, receptionist and a community service officer, said Clare O'Shea, Mount Prospect's senior planner.
Health and human services would be provided at that location with additional referrals if the center couldn't provide help, O'Shea said.
Village staff members did not discuss how much it would cost to run the center, but now that the board has approved the general idea staffers will determine that and return to the board at a later date, she said.
The large number of immigrants located on the village's south side is why a recommendation was made to the board, O'Shea said.
The center would be available to all residents, but would likely be used by immigrants who need help, she said.
The top three recent immigrant groups in the village come from Mexico, India and Poland, Mayor Irvana Wilks said.
"Mount Prospect is considered a port of entry for individuals who arrive in our country and this is an effort to address these individuals in our community," Wilks said.
Nancy Wagner, superintendent of instruction with Elk Grove Township Elementary District 59, said the center would be greatly welcomed by her district because schools like Jay and Frost are usually where immigrants come to first for help.
As a result, school staffs are taxed with questions that have nothing to do with education.
"It's exhausting for our staff and we don't deliver some of the services they need," Wagner said. "But they come to us because they know us."
The village received a $50,000 grant from Chicago Community Trust to determine whether a community center was needed in the village.
Residents and business owners were interviewed for the study, O'Shea said.