Community Counseling Centers of Chicago
 News from Community Counseling Centers
                    of Chicago (C4)        August 2012
     
In This Issue
We're A Best and Brightest
Helping Eric
Back to School Boost



Inspire someone's life-







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Thanks to
Leon Korol!

  toys for kids

Our development office looked like a toy warehouse last month, thanks to generous donations from the
 Leon Korol Company.
The toys and art  supplies will be distributed to families who use our parenting and mental health services.


Thank you, Leon Korol Company!











Drop-In Center Celebrates
Grand Opening
 

group photo with C4 consumers
Michelle Saddler ( far right) with C4 staff and consumers. CEO Eileen Durkin is next to Saddler. 
Back row ( left to right) : Drop-In Center coordinator Herb Cobbs, Dan Wasmer, IDHS regional director; C4 medical director Dr. Johnny Williamson. 
 

C4's Drop-In Center celebrated its grand opening August 9 with speeches from Illinois Secretary of Human Services Michelle Saddler, C4 chief executive Eileen Durkin and moving testimonies from consumers who use the center. Saddler praised the center as "a wonderful, innovative idea that helps people with severe mental illness gain social and life skills and transition from institutional to more community-like  settings."  

 

"I'm thrilled to be part of this celebration here today that shows how much we're caring for our neighbors," Saddler observed. "This center promotes personal growth, responsibility and independence."

 

Perhaps the most dramatic testimony came from a middle-aged woman who credited drop-In center coordinators Herb Cobbs and Troy Butler with "saving her life."

 

"This is a wonderful place for people to come who are between the rocks," she said. "If it weren't for the drop-in center, I might not be here today to tell my story." Cobbs returned the compliment, praising the consumers as the driving force behind the center. "Everything you see here today was inspired by consumers," he said.

 

Learn More   

 

Read about our drop-in center in Streetwise! 

 

 

C4 staff at best and brightest banquet
C4 staff celebrate at Best and Brightest Banquet. Pictured from left, back row:  Cheryl Croll, Human Resource Director; Tania Morawiec, Job Coach; Jessica Wheeler, MHFA Coordinator; Kim Webb, Information Services. Front row:  President & CEO Eileen Durkin ( holding award); Malik Shah,  Recovery Point counselor.

C4 a 101 Best and Brightest!

 It's official! C4 joined the elite ranks of workplaces when it received an award at an August 20 banquet luncheon honoring this year's Chicago 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work for.  The symposium and award luncheon,sponsored by the National  Association for Business Resources (NABR), recognizes companies with the most innovative human resource  programs.

C4 is one of only two non-profits to receive this year's award. 



    Helping Eric: One Family's Story


Eric's family
Pictured:(from left) Maria,Carlos, Sr., Melissa, Eric and Carlos.



C4 helps more 4,500 families every year cope with depression, anxiety, ADHD, trauma  and other mental health issues.  Here is one family's story.

Nine-year-old Eric  was often overwhelmed by an anxiety that was taking control of his life. The third-grader bit his nails, had falling grades even though he had been a top student,  and was so anxious at times that he would sleep with his parents or older brother.

 

"We didn't know how to help him," explains his mother, Maria, who added that Eric's troubles had a profound effect on his entire family: his brother, Carlos, 11; his sister, Melissa, 6; and his father, Carlos.

 

"As adults, we think we are right," says Carlos. "But kids have their own reasons for how they feel. We have to try to discover what these are and help them."

 

Eric's pediatrician suggested the family seek counseling at C4, where a family counselor  helped Eric discover what was making him anxious and find ways to control his anxiety. Guided by bi-lingual counselor Maria Donamaria, Eric learned ways to become calmer. Gradually, his parents saw hopeful signs.

 

Eric no longer bit his nails. His grades improved so much that he was accepted into the VIP Club. He entered the school science fair, testing if acid from a lemon could power a light bulb.

 

Maria and Carlos also had sessions with the counselor.

"As a parent, you think you know what is best for your kids, but a different pair of eyes can help you see things in a different way," explains Maria. 

 

Like his wife, Carlos shared his appreciation for the support his family received at C4.

 

"I trust Maria, and can share what is happening in our family," adds Carlos. "I trust and believe that we can help our kids."

 

Eric's mother recommended C4 to another family having problems. "I think that C4 can help them, too," Maria said. 

 


Generous Donors Help Families Get Ready for School


C4 families are ready for school, thanks to the generosity of donors!

Walgreens donated 250 backpacks stuffed with notebooks, pens, pencils and folders.  Thanks to suggestion of  employee Robyn Black, a former C4 caseworker,  Optum Health Behavioral Solutions contributed 50 backpacks. 

The donations are a lifesaver for our families, most of whom cannot afford to buy school supplies for their children.  

                   Community Counseling Centers of Chicago (C4)
4740 N. Clark
Chicago, Il 60640


773.769.0205 Crisis Line and All Services

Offering hope and healing to 10,000 adults and children every year.