McLean County holds Youth and Family Resource Fair

Image Courtesy of British Heart Foundation

NORMAL, Ill. – McLean County outreach organization Systems of Care held a youth and family resource fair last week to provide community members in need with essential goods. Event Coordinator Kelley Jacobs gave insight on what they hoped to accomplish with the fair. 

“It’s always been a goal of the System of Care to bring people together to share resources that support children, youth, and families,” Jacobs said. “We started reaching out to local organizations who serve this population and had great success finding 20 who wanted to be a part of our first event.”

According to Jacobs, the fair was beneficial to families beyond giving them tangible supplies.

“This resource fair was a great opportunity for parents and families to get information on lots of different services in one convenient location,” Jacobs said. “We want to improve access to services and remove barriers…so it was important to bring providers together in one place…We want parents and families to know that they are not alone and there are organizations who want to help them.  We have a lot of support in McLean County that individuals might not be aware of”. 

Jacobs also mentioned that families can come in and have a one-on-one conversation about their needs if they feel it’s necessary. 

“We want parents and families to know that they are not alone and there are organizations who want to help them,” Jacobs said. “We have a lot of support in McLean County that individuals might not be aware of.” 

 Systems of Care hopes to eventually expand by creating a Parent and Youth Advisory Board.