As Illinois enters its 7th month without a state budget,family we may have to close our Healthy Families Program. The Healthy Families Program provides crucial education and support to first-time, at-risk parents and their babies to prevent abuse before it begins.

The lack of state appropriations has caused a growing number of critical services for children, families and communities to be reduced or eliminated altogether. One of Shelter’s major sources of revenue for the Healthy Families Program is the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS). The significant lack of funding from DHS means that Shelter will not be able to cover the program’s costs into 2016. Please help us with the vital support we need to keep the program in operation until a state budget is passed by donating to our GoFundMe campaign.

For more information about our Healthy Families Program and how you can help, call Shelter’s Development Department at (847) 590-6188, ext. 25.

The video below was recently featured in the Daily Herald, and provides a personal perspective of the value of the Healthy Families program.