Fr. Gary Graf Center

Program Description:  Community Social Services began over twenty years ago as a community soup kitchen in Waukegan and has grown over the years into a permanent multi-facility social service offering year round emergency shelter, a soup kitchen, food pantry operations, education, counseling and support.  The mission of Community Social Services is “To welcome and assist all of our brothers and sisters who are unable to meet their daily living needs of food, clothing and shelter, while focusing on programs to help each of them to become self-sufficient and to live in society with dignity, independence and pride as productive members.”  While all of Community Social Services’ programming addresses the needs of the poor and marginalized, two of its key initiatives that we would like to highlight are the Fr. Gary Graf Center programming and the Phoenix program. 

The Fr. Gary Graf Center offers education and assistance to immigrant individuals and families so they may fully integrate in their communities as American citizens.   To this end, the Fr. Gary Graf Center provides English as a Second Language education, GED, Spanish literacy, citizenship processing, civics education, legal aid and citizenship naturalization application processing.  The Graf Center partners with the Center for Economic Progress to provide free tax preparation to low-income families, with the College of Lake County to provide the training that adults need to progress, with Catholic Charities for family re-unification, VAWA and U-Visas and with Mano a Mano to help families receive the LINK card, giving them access to food.  By fostering individuals' knowledge gain and providing the education and resources necessary, we create a pathway to help individuals to become fully functioning citizens in the Lake County community.  Because of the Center’s success in the Lake County community, the Archdiocese of Chicago has replicated this program through the creation of a Catholic Immigrant Center serving the Little Village/Pilsen area of Chicago.

For more information please contact 847 775-0858

510 10th. St.

Waukegan, IL 60085

For more information visit us at

http://holyfamily.mivims.com/

The Phoenix Domestic Violence Support Program

Meaning “reborn” or “to rise from the ashes,” the Phoenix program provides support for women and children struggling with domestic violence through bilingual individual and group counseling, education, a weekly support group, referrals and ongoing one-on-one case management, and connection to key community resources.  Female immigrants struggling with the poverty of violence are forced to live under the radar and have little or no access to the community outside of their home.  These women fear the legal system and have a lack of trust in local government.   Counseling helps these women to learn healthy behaviors, develop coping strategies and change their axis of control.  The connection to a support system and counseling, as well as education on legal rights and available community resources allows these individuals to regain their sense of power and control of their lives.  Clients are referred to legal assistance and social services, connected with food, clothing and furniture, and are provided shelter, if needed. 

Through individual counseling and support group sessions, the women are encouraged to practice long-dormant leadership and advocacy skills.  The Phoenix program enhances the skill set of participants and provides accessibility to resources, allowing them  to be effective advocates for social change in their families and in our community.  Through the Phoenix program, women experiencing domestic violence improve their ability to function and cope through a higher comprehension of the cycle of violence and control, an increased level of self-respect and self-esteem and a greater sense of control over oneself.  

Weekly Support Group takes place every Tuesday from 6-9pm for more information please contact 847 775-0858