You're invited to the Community Cares open house
The Community Cares Open House at the Community Resource Center, 1585 N. Rand Road in Palatine, will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25.
Community Cares is a unique, collaborative effort by the Palatine Assisting Through Hope (PATH) Community Closet, All Saints Lutheran Church Food Pantry, and Northwest Community Healthcare to provide food and clothing for those in need.
"The community comes first - this has always been Northwest Community Healthcare's mission," says Stephen Scogna, president and CEO of Northwest Community Healthcare.
"And thanks to this collaboration with PATH, Community Closet, and All Saints Lutheran Church, we are acting on that mission. Food and clothing are basic human needs, and we are proud to partner with these organizations to help the individuals and families who will benefit."
The public is invited to tour the Community Cares suite, which is inside the Community Resource Center. The suite, which is close to 4,000 square feet, would not be possible without the assistance of CRASH (Contractors Rallied Around Servicing & Helping), a 501(c) (3) organization dedicated to providing professional construction services at no cost.
"Thanks to the generosity of CRASH, they transformed this space into a pantry and community clothing center," says Karen Baker, director of Community Services at Northwest Community Healthcare.
For 15 years, Cook County Health and Hospital Vista Health Center occupied the space, but recently relocated, creating the vacancy.
PATH relocated to the Community Cares suite from Sanborn School, where access to its clothing closet was limited. All Saints moved in after losing its food pantry space.
"Northwest Community Healthcare provides free space and operational support in the Community Cares," Baker says.
Volunteers from PATH, All Saints and Northwest Community Healthcare are helping with Community Cares efforts along with many other community helpers.
"We are working collaboratively with a number of organizations on Community Cares," Baker says.
The Community Resource Center is owned by Northwest Community Healthcare and Partners for Our Communities (POC), another not-for-profit organization that manages the day-to-day operations of the center. Community Cares will offer a much-needed service and complement the other offerings at the center, which include health care, education, counseling, employment assistance and more.
Northwest Community Healthcare is committed to meeting the health care needs of the community and addressed food insecurity over the summer by providing a breakfast program in Community Consolidated School District 15 and a lunch program for children at Dryden Apartments, collaborating with School District 25 in Arlington Heights.
Food insecurity was identified as a need in the Community Health Needs Assessment conducted by Northwest Community Healthcare this year.
Beginning in October, Northwest Community Healthcare will begin screening all inpatients for food insecurity and provide referral resources to local pantries, Meals-on-Wheels programs and information on how to apply for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).