HPCF funding supports United Way of Lake County 211, a free, confidential, 24-hour information and referral helpline. 211 connects individuals and families in need with access to a vast number of available health and human services. Residents can connect to a wide range of services by phone or text, and an expert navigator will guide them to the help they need, regardless of the time of day, the language they speak, or where they live.

Youth Services offers programs focused on early intervention, intervention, and crisis response. Specific programs include individual and group therapy, boys and girls clubs, academic support, crisis intervention services, and SHARE and Pride Youth. Agency clients struggle with depression, anxiety, bullying and cyberbullying, issues related to gender and or sexual identity, familial stressors, academic pressure, and suicidal ideation. The majority of youth are referred by local schools, and no one is turned away if they cannot afford to pay. HPCF’s funding supports Youth Service’s Pride Youth Program, which provides meaningful social activities, peer support, and leadership development for Highland Park and Highwood LGBTQ+ youth and their families. It also supports the SHARE Program, which provides workshops for youth grades 5-12 in schools and community organizations on healthy relationships and LGBTQ+ identities and allyship, in addition to providing education for parents and professionals about how to support youth development and healthy relationships.

Zacharias Center provides quality, comprehensive, client-centered services to survivors of sexual assault and abuse. The agency’s services are free and available to all survivors regardless of race, gender, language, ability, sexual orientation, or religion. They include counseling, which provides therapy in individual and group settings; advocacy, which provides staff, who are available 24 hours a day, to answer a support line, meet victims in the local police stations and emergency rooms, or attend local trial proceedings; and prevention education, which reaches into the community to provide safety education workshops to students and adults. HPCF’s grant supports Zacharias Center’s ability to provide all of these services for Highland Park and Highwood survivors of sexual abuse and assault.