Des Plaines to award $250,000 in social service grants
Forty-two community programs and groups that aim to assist people with mental health issues, young mothers who are homeless and others in need are in line to receive grants totaling $250,000 through an annual initiative in Des Plaines.
The city council could approve the latest round of social service grants Monday.
A grant review committee evaluated 42 grant requests totaling $409,763, city social worker Angelika Danek said in a memo.
The proposed grants were based on several criteria, including the number of Des Plaines residents served in the past year, local needs, community support and the applicant’s fundraising efforts.
The grants to be awarded include:
• $11,000 to the Northfield-based Josselyn Center, which provides mental health services including medication monitoring, therapy and psychiatric evaluations.
• About $7,219 to Bessie’s Table, a program at First United Methodist Church in Des Plaines that provides free dinners and sack lunches to needy people on most Monday nights.
• Roughly $5,166 to Des Plaines-based Alliance for Immigrant Neighbors, which offers affordable legal services to immigrants and refugees, especially on immigration status and citizenship matters.
• $5,000 to the Harbour, a Park Ridge-based group that provides shelter to youth and young mothers experiencing homelessness.
• About $4,901 to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital’s adult day service, which contracts with the Illinois Department on Aging’s Community Care Program to offer low-income seniors supportive day care services with no out-of-pocket costs to them.
• $3,000 for the Salvation Army’s Partner Abuse Intervention Program, which is a psychological and educational program for men facing domestic violence-related charges.
Thirty-seven grants totaling $250,000 were awarded in 2024. Nearly all of this year’s proposed recipients also received grants last year.
Monday’s city council meeting is set for 7 p.m. at city hall, 1420 Miner St. The meeting is open to the public and also will be livestreamed at desplainesil.gov/livestream.