The DuPage Community Transformation Partnership (DCTP) is awarding $1.03 million in new Immediate Intervention grants, following action taken at a Tuesday, Aug. 13, County Board meeting.
16 grants awarded in three different categories
A total of 16 grants were awarded to various nonprofit groups in three separate categories: food insecurity, housing instability, and mental health and substance use disorder.
The partnership between the county and the DuPage Foundation, through the DCTP, was forged in 2022 as uses for federal COVID-19 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds were reviewed. A total pool of $10.6 million was established for the Immediate Intervention grants, and, to date, $6.2 million has been allocated.
DuPage Foundation President and CEO Mike Sitrick was on hand at the County Board meeting to discuss the importance of the partnership in recent years as needs have continued, post-pandemic. He described the partnership as “a coordinated impact in action.”
“The county and DuPage Foundation share a common interest in leading efforts to address our community’s greatest challenges and opportunities,” Sitrick said. “Today, the needs of our most vulnerable neighbors continue to grow. More than one in four households struggle to meet basic needs.”
Full list of grant awardees
The 16 awardees in the latest funding round are as follows:
Food Insecurity Grants: $197,000
- DuPage Senior Citizens Council: $70,000
- Hope’s Front Door: $20,000
- Milton Township Food Pantry: $22,000
- People’s Resource Center: $85,000
Housing Instability Grants: $473,144
- Catholic Charities: $113,700
- DuPagePads: $75,000
- ICNA Relief: $20,000
- Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans: $100,000
- WeGo Together for Kids: $34,444
- World Relief Chicagoland: $130,000
Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Grants: $362,633
- Alive Center: $19,700
- DuPage Health Coalition: $50,000
- Easter Seals DuPage & Fox Valley: $50,000
- Mercy Housing Lakefront: $51,933
- NAMI DuPage: $126,000
- Samara Care: $65,000
Addressing most pressing needs in the county
In a news release following the grant awards, County Board Chair Deborah Conroy said the collaborative system in place with the DuPage Foundation helps address the most pressing needs in communities throughout the area.
“Each year, the selection process allows us to effectively assess what the most pressing issues are in our county and direct our grant dollars directly to address those services or funding gaps,” Conroy said. “Collaborating with DuPage Foundation streamlines the process and ensures that we can make an important difference in these critical areas.”
Jenny Fabian, CEO of Wheaton-based People’s Resource Center, spoke on behalf of all of the recent grant recipients at the County Board meeting after all awardees were announced.
Speaking to her own organization, which serves people across DuPage County with emergency food and empowerment programs, Fabian noted needs were — and have remained — high since the pandemic’s onset more than four years ago.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and emerging from it, our neighbors across DuPage have needed immediate responsive help and ongoing support as they seek to strengthen their lives,” Fabian said. “We are so grateful for the ways DuPage County and the immediate intervention partnership have stepped up to strengthen our collective capacity to respond.”
Fabian said partnerships such as the one in place between the county and DuPage Foundation have been a lifeline as efforts to address critical needs continue.
“We are taking care of our neighbors here in DuPage, and we’re collaborating even more closely with one another,” Fabian said.
Photo courtesy: DuPage County
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