Volunteers or staff members from human services, civic, and faith-based organizations are invited to attend the 2011 People in Need Forum from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29 at McHenry County College, 8900 U.S. Hwy. 14 in Crystal Lake. The forum connects participants to community resources and important information for those in need.
The half-day event will begin with continental breakfast and keynote speaker Marcy Piekos, executive director of Leadership Greater McHenry County.
Highlights include educational sessions and exhibit booths of community, social service, and government agencies in McHenry County who will provide information and handouts about available resources. Presentations will feature topics such as Mortgage Foreclosures, Debt Management, Veterans’ Affairs, Health Care Services for Underinsured, Housing and Homelessness, Senior Wellness, Emergency Assistance, and Suicide Awareness and Prevention.
“The forum is geared toward supporting volunteers and professional staff in human services who are faced every day with questions from people in need,” said Bev Thomas, of the 22nd Judicial Circuit, Family Violence Coordinating Council and the Center for NonProfit Leadership.
Some questions that service providers may hear include: “Where can I apply for food stamps and what will they cover?” or “I am near foreclosure and I’m concerned that my family will have no place to live” or “My neighbor is 84 years old and has bruises on her arms. She lives with her 25-year-old son and I hear him screaming at her every night. Who can help her?”
“Whether you are a worker at your neighborhood food pantry a doctor’s receptionist, or a case manager for a social service agency, you are faced with people having multiple and complicated problems and you need to know what community resources are available to help,” Thomas said.
Thomas said that the People in Need Forum started in 2003 with 50 attendees and grew to more than 300 last year, which she attributes to a sign of the times.
“We’re seeing more and more veterans returning home who need social services, along with others who are downsized from jobs or facing financial crises. The forum is a wonderful way for people to connect service providers with people who care,” she said.
The People in Need Forum is sponsored by the McHenry County College Center for Non-Profit Leadership and about 20 other supporting organizations.
Admission is free. Each registered attendee will receive a People in Need Resource Directory, the only printed directory of its kind in McHenry County. Registration is available online at the website www.peopleinneedforum.org, or by calling Bev Thomas at MCC at (815) 479-7792.
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