You may have read about Association House Staff member Mary in our 2019 Annual Report success stories. Her journey includes first coming to Association House for treatment eventually leading to her roles now as Drop-In Center Team Lead and ACT Community Support Specialist. In her roles, she does home visits for multiple clients, ensuring their safety, hygiene and in the scheduling and attendance of their appointments.

Same as many members of community, Mary’s work has been impacted by the novel coronavirus. With the Stay-at-Home order in place across the state of Illinois, access to Association House for participants is limited. As an essential worker, Mary has transitioned into continuing care for our participants across digital means, along with home visits and more.

With the commitment and support of dedicated staff, we are able to keep our doors open to ensure that our 5,000 participants and their families have us to depend on. Of that number are those who are in our Psycho-Social Rehabilitation program, which builds social, economic, vocational and independent living skills in preparation to participate in the greater community. Our participants meet with the PSR team regularly to assist in overall improvements, which was threatened due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Association House is proud to announce the addition of a new member to our Board of Directors, Noam Avidov, Director of US Business Strategy at IMC Trading.

As a member of our board, she will provide leadership and insight for the execution of our efforts of being a community resource to Chicago through educational, vocational and health programming.

Shortly after her addition to the Board of Directors, Noam highlighted what inspired her to take the next step in furthering Association House’s mission.

Updated June 25

As the city of Chicago enters phase four of the state reopening plan Association House provides the following updates to programming and building access for participants:

• All participants that will enter Association House will be screened.
• Masks are to be worn inside the building and social distancing guidelines posted throughout the building are to be followed.
• Behavioral Health has resumed Visions programming groups with restrictions. The Drop-In Center is currently hosting outside activities with restrictions. For more information about Behavioral Health Services, please call (773) 772-8009.
• Workforce Development is offering Work$Ready, a free, online, job readiness training for individuals who are seeking employment. For more information visit here.
• Mental Health First Aid will resume providing virtual training workshops in July. Please check our Eventbrite calendar here.

Updated April 6

Association House High School’s schedule and resources have been released. They are available here.

Updated March 19

Services temporarily postponed for Technology – Open Lab and Know Your Status – Walk-In Rapid Testing.

Association House High School students can go to any CPS school to receive boxed meals during the closure. AHHS is not providing any food service.

Association House high school is celebrating 30 of our students who are taking a step toward their college education by enrolling in classes at Wright College. We hosted a pep rally and invited parents of the students who are in our dual enrollment courses to a celebration, which included breakfast, a brief overview of the program and a speech by the Dean of Wright College.

The Behavioral Health division of Association House is adding the SMART Recovery Distance Training Program to continue to aid participants who graduate from the Visions program.

As you know, last winter Association House experienced a flood that impacted 25,000 square feet on multiple floors, which required restoration efforts that occurred throughout 2019.

Prior to reconstruction, Association House had to relocate staff and participants of the affected areas throughout the building in order to ensure services went uninterrupted.

Diana, a resident of our Buena Vista group home, has received assistance with her moderate intellectual disability at Association House for years. With the help of AHC, she increased her competency areas and even held a job, which has allowed her to save money for an annual trip to celebrate her birthday. Her past trips included cruises and island adventures, but this year’s 77^th birthday trip was especially meaningful.

In December 2018, Symone applied to AHC’s Financial Careers Training (FCT) program. She dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur and saw FCT as a step towards that. Her goal in joining the program was to gain customer service and financial literacy skills that would prepare her for owning her own business. Symone had prior work experience as a sales associate, receptionist, and production worker, but was ready for a more stable career in banking, in the meantime.

During the intake process, it became clear that Symone presented a few barriers to employment: she did not have stable housing and at the time was living in a shelter. Symone was connected to Income Support Services (ISS), where she received assistance in meeting her basic needs, including applying for public benefits. She qualified for Illinois’ Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the ISS Specialist helped her complete and submit an application. The ISS Specialist also helped Symone obtain transportation, allowing her to get to and from class easily, and assisted her in obtaining business attire for job interviews.

By taking advantage of AHC’s wraparound programs, Symone successfully completed FCT and landed a job as a Relationship Banker with TCF Bank.