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Since June 1971 the Schaumburg Township Mental Health Board has provided
assistance and advice to Schaumburg’s elected Township Trustees so that the
latter group can ensure that the mental health needs of the community are met
with quality comprehensive services.
Organization. The Schaumburg Township
Mental Health Board (the “MHB”), is comprised of eight voting members who are
appointed to four year terms by Township Trustees. The MHB meets monthly on
Tuesday evenings from September through June each year. Annually, a Township
Trustee is named as a “liaison” to the Board and works to assure communication
and coordination of the MHB’s efforts with those of the Town Trustees.
MHB members are volunteers who give their time
and skills for the benefit of those in the community who need mental health
assistance. Individuals with experience or interest in mental health and social
services are welcome to join in the work of the MHB.
In doing its work, MHB members have been
guided by four basic objectives:
- Identify and relate present mental health needs of Schaumburg Township
- Review and monitor current services and programs
- Inform residents of available services
- Review plans for responses to the future needs of Schaumburg Township
Over time, many agencies with which the MHB deals have added a number of
social services which
are adjunctive and complementary to their basic commitments to provide mental
health services. As a
result, the MHB’s interests have broadened to include concern for generic
social service needs as well
as for the mental health needs in the community.
Schaumburg Township Mental Health Board: 2007-2008 Members
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Dr. Charles F. Falk - Chair
Peggy Vorona, LCSW - Vice Chair
Dr. Peter Justen - Secretary
Kathy Gerber, M.S.W. - Member
Mark Hanley – M.B.A. Member
Patrick O’Donnell, J. D. - Member
Cheryl Runion, M.A.., LCPC, CADC - Member
Joanmarie Wermes - Member |
What Agencies Are Supported by Schaumburg Township?
Over the years, and in cooperation with Schaumburg Township Trustees, the MHB
established
relationships with a number of mental health and social service agencies which
it believed were in a
good position to assist in providing mental health and social services to
residents of Schaumburg
Township who are in need. Generally, township funds are provided to selected
agencies that can
provide support services that will meet the family, marital, addiction,
psychiatric, or legal needs of the
township residents. With the burgeoning stress of modern life, Schaumburg
Township was an early
leader in assuring that its residents would have access to affordable
counseling services, crisis
intervention, and support groups regardless of their ability to pay.
How Can these Agencies Help You?
- Behavioral Health/Lutheran Social Services of Illinois serves individuals
and families who
are seeking help for issues related to alcohol and/or other drug use or
dependency.
Treatment services are provided on an outpatient and intensive outpatient
basis.
Assessments and treatment services for Spanish-speaking clients are provided
on an
outpatient basis. Sliding scale fees are available for eligible clients.
- Salvation Army Family and Community Services - Hoffman Estates has been a
mainstay
in the community since the late 1960s. This agency offers group and individual
marital,
personal and family counseling and therapy services that address a multitude
of problems faced by citizens. For more than thirty years, Salvation Army
Family and Community Services has been located in the facilities of Schaumburg
Township government in Hoffman Estates.
- Kenneth Young Center is the local community mental health
center providing assessment, counseling, and psychiatry to Schaumburg Township
residents of all ages. Services are client driven and rehabilitation oriented.
Our mission is to "help people feel good, do better and find solutions."
- The SHARE Program is a not-for-profit residential
alcohol and drug abuse detoxification and rehabilitation treatment facility.
SHARE offers a variety of service for male and female adults 18 years of age
and older. SHARE also offers and array of outpatient level services, including
gambling addition treatment. This agency’s facilities are located in Hoffman
Estates.
- Life Span, Inc. provides comprehensive services to victims
of domestic violence in Cook County, including counseling, advocacy and legal
representation in the area of family law and immigration
- The Society for Preservation of Human Dignity (PHD) affirms
the lives of women and families facing the issues of pregnancy and parenting.
PHD provides opportunities for hope and growth through (1) professional
counseling that includes: crisis intervention, decision-making, pregnancy and
parenting issues, post-abortion, grief and loss, support groups; (2) education
that includes: budget counseling, employment readiness, and parenting classes;
and (3) support services that include pregnancy testing, community referrals
and a baby and maternity closet. PHD in providing its service aims to meet the
practical and emotional needs of each individual client. PHD also empowers you
to make health life choices through: abstinence education in high schools;
character building education in grade schools; and coaching junior high school
parents in how to talk to their child.
- The Northwest Center Against Sexual Assault (CASA) is
available to help adults and children in need of counseling and emotional
support if they fall victim to sexual assault, sexual abuse, or incest.
Therapy is provided in English as well as Spanish. The agency 24-hour advocacy
for victims at police stations, and through a crisis line. Victims also
receive legal support in court. This agency is located in Arlington Heights
and its services are offered free of charge. Contact via:
- The Renz Addiction Counseling Center is your community’s
resource for programs that effectively prevent and treat alcohol and substance
abuse and compulsive gambling. Outpatient services are tailored to meet the
needs of each individual and the program offers the most comprehensive array
of services in Western Cook Count and Kane County. Prevention programs for
alcohol, drugs, and HIV/AIDS are provided to schools and organizations.
Employee Assistance Services, an employee assistance program provided
behavioral health care programs to area businesses and other employers.
How to Contact the Agencies from Which You Might Get Help.
Interested in joining the Mental Health
Board as a Member or as an Associate Member?
If you want to know more about the mental health and social service challenges
in our community and if you would like to contribute to addressing them, you may
want to consider applying for membership on the Township Mental Health Board.
If you live or work in Schaumburg Township, and
if you are not employed by any agency receiving funds from Schaumburg Township,
you may be eligible for membership on the Mental Health Board. Vacancies for
voting members occur periodically. Any number of Associate Members can be
accommodated at any time. Typically, as voting members leave the Mental Health
Board, replacements are chosen from the ranks of the Associate Members.
Again, membership involves attending eleven
meetings per year and some committee work. Interested parties are encouraged to
express that interest with an e-mail, a letter, or a telephone call to the
Office of the Administrator of Schaumburg Township. (See contact information,
below.)
Interested in Helping the Agencies in
Other Ways?
- You can make monetary donations to any of the agencies that work in areas
where you have
particular interest.
- Most of the agencies eagerly accept “gifts in kind.” Several agencies have
re-sale shops,
baby closets, and similar entities that can use gifts of goods. They also can
use things like
excess office supplies, surplus office equipment, and surplus food items. If
you have
something that you’d like to donate, call the agencies and they will tell you
if they need your
type of donated item.
- Attend fund-raising events sponsored by the agencies. Many have annual golf
outings,
dinner-dances, art auctions, and similar events where your participation would
be welcome.
- Offer to serve the agencies in a volunteer capacity. Each agency has its
own type of needs.
Contact them to see if your time and talent would be useful to one of them.
Contacting the Mental Health Board.
Inquiries or informational materials may be sent to the Mental Health Board at
the address provided
below or via e-mail at
mhb@schaumburgtownship.org.
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