City Opens Community Healing Center for Area Youth

Today, Mayor Tom McNamara helped officially open the Community Healing Center at the Boys and Girls Club - Stenstrom Unit. The Community Healing Center, an initiative of the Mayor's Office of Domestic and Community Violence Prevention, is based on the Family Peace Center multi-agency, co-located service delivery model. Children can receive wrap-around navigation services in one location.

Guided by community feedback, the goal is to provide a safe space for kids where they can access a variety of services. Through a collaboration with multiple current community partners, including the Boys and Girls Club of Rockford, Youth Services Network, The Workforce Connection, City of Rockford Health and Human Services and GRO Community, the City will deploy prevention and intervention strategies, address risk factors and build upon protective factors to prevent and reduce the impact of exposure to violence on children.

The Center helps remove barriers to accessing services and resources that provide holistic healing to children who have experienced trauma from violence and provide support for their families. Center staff and community partners provide therapeutic services, mentoring, recreation and service navigation in one facility to assist youth and their families with connection to community healing resources, support and services.

While the Community Healing Center supplements programming of the Boys and Girls Club, youth do not have to be a member of the club to participate.

Walk-ins are welcome during the Center's hours:

Monday - Thursday
Noon to 8 p.m.

Friday
Noon to 5 p.m.

This project is supported by the FY22 Strategies To Support Children Exposed to Violence grant from the United States Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.