Our Blog
What’s Happening Behind Closed Doors? Your Help is Needed
Because 62% of child abuse is perpetrated by a member of a child’s own family, since the Illinois stay-at-home order in March, many children are in crisis. Normally, mandated reporters, neighbors, and friends would report suspected abuse, but times aren’t normal, and no one can see behind closed doors. Calls to the DCFS hotline have dropped dramatically, with only the most critical cases being exposed.
Reports of Child Abuse Plummet by 60%
Illinois’ chronically overburdened Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS} report cases of child abuse are down by 60%. For the uninitiated, this may be interpreted as the stay at home lockdown has had a positive effect. In reality, it underscores many youths are in greater danger by being isolated with their families.
News From The Trenches: Emergency Group Homes
Sometimes it takes a crisis to discover the real power of dedication and teamwork. The COVID-19 crisis has shown a spotlight on our two emergency group homes, Jennings Home for Girls and the Boys’ Group Home, revealing what can be accomplished when we all work together…
12 Ways To De-Stress in Stressful Times
During the Covid-19 pandemic, we can’t change that our lives have been altered and that stress and anxiety are rapidly becoming the “new normal” for many of us. But we CAN change our attitudes and keep our mental health intact…
Your Gift to 12.66 Million People
If you ever wanted to be a Superhero, now’s your chance. By investing a few minutes of your time, you can give a gift to yourself and over 12 million other people in Illinois simply by completing the 2020 Census. No magic cape, shield, or superpowers are required…
News from the Trenches
Shelter’s Healthy Families abuse prevention program is for first-time parents with multiple challenges whose babies are birth through five. Normally, the program consists of intensive home visitations with goals of enhancing family functioning, promoting healthy child growth and development, and positive parent-child relationships…
How to Calm the Perfect Storm
It’s safe to say there are untold millions of parents experiencing high levels of stress during the Covid-19 pandemic….
Selling America’s Children: Human Trafficking Awareness Month
Fiction: Human trafficking of children mostly happens in third-world countries.
Fact: The U.S. is one of the largest markets for trafficking children. It happens in every state. Shelter has served children from the suburbs who have been victims of commercial sex traffickers…
The Death of Two Boys and a Toxic Silence
As of January 5th, there had been eight homicides listed in metropolitan Chicago that included three babies. Two of them were 7-month-old Ameer Newell, who was stabbed and scalded in the bathtub and his 2-year-old brother Johntavis, thrown from an 11th-floor window. Both died at the hands of their mother, Aleah.