Heartland Human Care Services, Inc.
Chicago Safe Start Services
Through Chicago Safe Start, Heartland Human Care Services, Inc. is creating a Safe From the Start Community Council designed to assess and address the needs of families and their children, predominantly ages 0-5, who have been exposed to violence in the Lakeview, Uptown, Edgewater, Rogers Park, and West Ridge communities.
The Community Council will consist of community service providers, law enforcement, child health and welfare entities, and community residents dedicated to creating an effective and collaborative response to the needs of children and their families.
During the first phase of the project, the Community Council will assess community resources and gaps in systems change/policy, direct service, and public awareness; propose recommendations in response to findings; and develop a sound strategy for implementation of service provision and systems change recommendations.
The second phase of the project, scheduled to begin in July of 2008, will focus on continued collaboration of community services and service implementation, discussion on best practices for service provision, identification of new trends or service needs, systems change to ensure service and governmental responses are appropriate and public awareness campaigns on the impact of violence on young children.
HHCS will base the implementation of best practice services at The Learning Center of HHCS, Inc. The Learning Center, which opened in October of 2006, is an innovative therapeutic child care center for children who have witnessed violence in their homes or homelands.
The Center is located in Lakeview and provides a blended educational and therapeutic approach to pre-school and after school programming. For more information on services and registration, please contact The Learning Center at (773) 751-1870.
If you are interested in joining the Community Council or would like additional information, please contact:
Jill Geltmaker at:
(773) 728-5960 x6280
or jgeltmaker@heartlandalliance.org
Agency services overall
Heartland Human Care Services, Inc. works to achieve freedom from want, fear, and injustice for people marginalized by poverty, displacement, or situations of vulnerability by developing and providing a continuum of services that meet basic needs, build strengths, safeguard human rights, and provide opportunities for positive change.
Heartland Human Care Services (HHCS) is the human services partner of Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights, a service-based human rights organization providing economic security, housing, health care and legal protections to more than 100,000 individuals annually.
HHCS addresses poverty at its roots with a continuum of services for individuals in poverty and danger throughout Chicago and the surrounding communities, including homeless and low-income families, immigrants and refugees, travelers in crisis, survivors of domestic violence, people living with HIV/AIDS, and other impoverished populations.
