Family Support

Real-life Results:

One former Y.O.U. participant, who graduated from the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, had problems at home when he was in school in Evanston. His mother drove him out of the house, and he was at a police station. Returning home was not an acceptable option, so Y.O.U. intervened, finding a group home where he was able to stay for about a month until other arrangements could be made.

This young man, who is now starting a career as a design engineer, credits Y.O.U. with giving him “a whole lot of hope. [They] helped get me out of that situation [at home] and they [stayed] with me throughout high school supporting me.” A Y.O.U. staff member became his mentor, meeting with him every week and sometimes after school to “make sure I was OK.” The continuing support and guidance from Y.O.U. “helped set me free after high school to go to college and do the right thing.”

Our after-school programs support families by providing a safe and positive environment for students after school hours when working parents are not available or when there may not be enough space at home to concentrate on studies. In the words of one Y.O.U. Site Coordinator:

“We are serving youth who many times do not have anywhere to go after school and whose families cannot afford childcare or any other program.  Many of the youth do not understand their homework, nor do their parents, so we are helping to give them some useful tools each day so that they may go home and complete their homework assignments.”

At Washington Elementary School, as at other Y.O.U. sites, “We have well-attended family nights once a month that average 100 people. At our family nights we typically do something that displays or shows what the children have been working on so the family members love to come and see.”

Y.O.U. is well prepared by many years of experience to assist youth and families in crisis situations. The organization works proactively with the juvenile court system and has a contract with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to provide emergency housing for children and teens in crisis. According to Marybeth Schroeder, Senior Program Officer of the Evanston Community Foundation, who has followed Y.O.U.’s work for nine years: “They are known for their good work in Evanston and their work with the youth. They seem to have the potential to be sustainable over time.”