Center on Halsted

See Schedule O

Youth Services:In FY24, the Youth & Family Services Department provided 8,943 units of service to 5,717 unduplicated individuals. Among these 5,717 unduplicated individuals were 168 youth who have registered with our youth program 5,549 who have not. The 168 individuals who have registered with our program are youth who participated in our on-going youth groups (To Be Human, Trans Youth Group, & Lavender Living) our LGBTQ+ affirming Drop-In (After-School Hang), our Youth Advisory Board (Q+ Council), our Youth Horizons mentoring program, and drag education program (Dare 2 Drag).

Senior Services:Program participation increased by 15% from FY2023 to FY2024. This can be attributed to new program offerings, improved outreach and clients returning after pausing participation due to Covid. FY2024, Senior Services began hosting providing a special quarterly lunch that is not provided by the City of Chicago. These included a Labor Day grill out, a Valentine's Day special meal, a Memorial Day grill out and a pizza party. The special menus were greatly enjoyed by the attendees and resulted in increased participation on these days. Senior Services plans to expand these special lunches to every other month in FY2025.Senior Services received a grant from the Chicago Community Trust to expand employment services. This included offering two cohorts of a 2-week employment bootcamp class. 18 older adults participated with a 100% completion rate. Senior Services plans to offer this again this fall.The Intergenerational Dialog Project, in partnership with the School of the Art Institute, continues to be very successful with this being the 5th year it was offered. The event culminated with a well-attended art exhibit and storytelling event. In June, the project was referenced in two articles:https://chicagoreader.com/columns-opinion/opinion/intergenerational-lgbtq-connection/ https://windycitytimes.com/2024/06/29/lgbtq-elders-tell-their-stories-at-chicago-gathering/ Town Hall Apartments was in receivership for most of FY2024. However, new owners, Full Circle Properties were identified and should be in place soon. In May, a new Senior Services Case Manager was hired, after that position was open for 9 months. The new case manager speaks Spanish so we will be able to better serve our Town Hall Spanish speaking residents. Satisfaction Survey results from the Town Hall indicated that 100% of the respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the case management services provided in Town Hall.

Culinary Arts Services: Center on Halsted has a strong history of job training, particularly since the opening of our current facility in 2007. Center on Halsted launched the Silver Fork Culinary Job Training Program in November 2010. This is the first professional culinary arts training at Center on Halsted designed specifically for underserved and at-risk adults. Silver Fork addresses short and long-term vocational needs, and ensures the successful outcomes of our community members while focusing on shortages within the Chicago employment market. Graduates of our Silver Fork program are trained and prepared to enter this growing workforce. In addition to cooking, the students take a Food Service Safety Management Certification course and those who pass have management level certification for Illinois and the City of Chicago. We also take the BASSET certification for serving alcohol in Illinois. We spend time writing resumes, role playing how to handle stressful situations, and offer job assistance. Additionally, we offer a mock interview workshop with industry professionals.

Youth Housing Initiative:Youth Housing Program boasts a wonderful group of participants, and staff who have been working with the program for quite some time. Youth and staff have an overall great rapport. Staff have seen an increase of communication and responsiveness from the youth this year as well. Additionally, there have been minimal behavioral issues and no acts of violence occurred towards any participant of the program by another participant. This is major decrease from the previous year, which consisted of multiple severe behavioral and safety issues.

Volunteer Services: In FY24, Center on Halsted was supported by 43 dedicated volunteers who contributed a total of 6,759 hours across key program areas, advancing the Center's mission to promote the health and well-being of the LGBTQ+ community.-Youth Housing: 5 volunteers contributed 156 hours, assisting with laundry services for residents in the transitional housing program.-Behavioral Health:o 4 Behavioral Health Trainees provided 3,208 hours of supervised clinical services.o 5 Volunteer Therapists donated 299 hours offering pro bono mental health support. Pride in Aging:o 13 volunteers supported the Golden Diners lunch program, contributing 2,520 hours.o 16 volunteers assisted with special events or facilitated programming such as yoga, Reiki, meditation, and technology assistance, contributing 576 hours.The commitment of these volunteers continues to play a vital role in delivering essential services and fostering a more inclusive and supportive community.