In mid-August, I participated in a group meeting with the five other providers of residential services supporting children with intellectual/developmental disabilities in the State of Illinois. Two of the most senior executives from the State were in attendance as well, and their support for our work was both noted and greatly appreciated.
Over the past couple of years, our existing group of six providers has become smaller for several reasons, as staffing challenges coupled with a lack of house capacity are real issues to overcome. While our group represents support for one-hundred-five (105) children in the Department of Human Services state system, there are another 400 children who are placed outside the State because there just aren’t enough homes and beds to meet these needs. Our conversation focused on things that we could do to help and support more children who need these kinds of resources.
Related to expansion, Little Friends has been approached by the State and asked if we would consider increasing our capacity for children in a residential setting. I’m pleased to share that in the past year we purchased two different homes with intentions of supporting four young individuals in each home. While it doesn’t seem like a lot, two new homes literally increase the State’s capacity by 7.6%. It makes a difference; yet, so much more remains to be done.
In Positively Naperville, I will often “speak” about our ambition to help as many people as we can given the resources we can bring to the challenges at hand. The idea of expanding our footprint to help more individuals and their families is nothing new. Yet, we work with what we have to try and make a difference.
I acknowledge that this doesn’t happen without support from our communities and for this, thank you! It helps us do more, and we appreciate your help to make this happen!
